one of the most difficult choices I have
ever faced in life was was in 2008 it
was the worst day on Wall Street since
the crash of 1987 I think I had maybe
thirty million dollars left thirty or
forty one dollars left in 2008 I had two
choices I could put it all into one
company and then the other company would
definitely die or split it between the
two companies
and but if I split it between two
companies they both might die when you
put your blood sweat and tears into
creating something building something
am I gonna let one starve to death
SpaceX’s alive by the skin of its teeth
so is Tesla if things have just gone a
little bit the other way both companies
would be dead I can bring myself to do
it surprised I split the money between
two
fortunately thing goodness they both
came through I remember thinking and
saying that America is where we’re great
things are possible more than any other
country in the world you really have to
ask you know whether something it is
true or not it doesn’t make sense if it
and in the beginning I only actually
won’t even let my friends invest because
I had a choice that either put the rest
of the money in or the companies are
gonna die I ended up putting all the
money in and borrowing money or rent
from friends 2008 we had the third
consecutive failure of the Falcon rocket
for SpaceX Tesla one whispering bankrupt
we closed our financing around 6 p.m.
Christmas Eve 2008 it was the last hour
of the last day that it was possible we
would have gone bankrupt two days after
Christmas present so personal wishful
thinking causes a lot of a lot of
trouble you really have to ask it we
know whether something it is true or not
it doesn’t make sense if it ever feels
I think in order to make the right
decisions things may not work in the
first place but if they will work later
and we’ll get there well there’s a ton
of failures along the way that’s for
sure the first three launches failed
just barely able to scrape together
enough parts and money to do the fourth
launch that both launch should fail we
would have been dead so multiple
failures along the way you how do you
plan a business where you know the
rocket business you know some of these
things are going to blow up I don’t have
a business plan you know there are
American heroes who don’t like this idea
Neil Armstrong gene cernan have both
testified against commercial spaceflight
in the way that you’re developing it and
I wonder what you think of that I was
very sad to see that because those guys
are yeah you know those guys who heroes
of mine so it’s really tough you know I
wish they would come and visit and and
see the hardware that we’re doing here
and I think that would change their mind
when we do something difficult tend to
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and others
always say that the the real steps
forward the real innovation in in a
society in a civilization occur at the
frontier and it it hasn’t been a
physical frontier for a long time now it
can be again but it occurs at the
frontiers of knowledge and at the
physical frontier you need to get people
and to see them casting stones in your
direction it’s difficult
so they hoping they would
what I’m trying to do is to make a
significant difference in in spaceflight
and and and help make space life
accessible to to almost anyone and I
would hope for as much support in that
direction as we as we can er see crazy
things can come true because I said like
I didn’t really think this would work
and like when I see the rocket liftoff I
see like a thousand things that that not
but I think it’s gonna open up a sense
of possibility I think it’s gonna
encourage other companies and countries
to say hey if SpaceX which is a
commercial company can do this and
nobody paid for Falcon Heavy is to pay
for it with internal funds
then then they could go to so things can
encourage other countries and companies
to raise their sights and say hey we
could do bigger and better which is
if something didn’t happen to improve
rocket technology would be stuck on
earth forever just wanted to get people
interested in space I guess capture the
imagination yes that would that was the
idea I was showering in the at the Y and
sleeping on the office floor one thing I
really admire about you is you don’t
just talk about the future of humanity
you actually start companies and do
things about it so what made you so
audacious if your size think technology
just automatically gets better over year
but it actually doesn’t it only gets
better if smart people would work like
crazy to make it better
that’s how any technology actually gets
I don’t really think of these things as
all out of daesh’s they seem like
natural things to do it’s sort of a more
of a long-term optimization rather than
a short-term one and yeah I just but not
that I think you know everyone should be
doing these things but someone needs to
so if I see that well somebody’s not
doing this and maybe I could be helpful
then then then I could try to do
something in that regard and there were
less people that try to talk me out of
it and the jerk was you know how do you
how do you make a small fortune in the
rocket business where you start with a
large one I already thought the
probability of failure was was high and
that you know with that the likelihood
of success was low and so this was not
in your information I thought maybe
SpaceX had I don’t know ten or twenty
percent chance of success just you know
all the ways they can fail and and
that’s like the sort of mental checklist
that’s scrolling through your mind
because all the things that can can
break I mean there’s thousands of things
that can go wrong and everything is to
go right once look once the rock deal if
Attila there’s nothing opportunity to do
a recall or upload a software fix or
anything like that it’s like you see the
and I’ve seen Rockets blow up so many
different ways so you know it’s a big
relief when it actually works you want
to be inspired by things you want to
wake up in the morning to think the
futures gonna be great if SpaceX and
Tesla almost didn’t survive I mean came
very close to perishing as companies in
2008 and 2009 with the Great Recession
was extremely close Cole I mean they’re
lots of people that said that the
likelihood of failure was extremely high
but those temperatures sliding lower as
you move through the day they’re down a
little bit more than 10% right now
somehow it’s levitating and I think it’s
Elon Musk is the greatest salesman in
the world he paints this vision of an
unlimited future I think they’re doomed
I’m skeptical private enterprise will
not ever lead a space frontier that’s us
to sell sell sell you don’t know you
don’t want you shouldn’t even it’s an
overpriced car company and they have to
become a car manufacturer and becoming a
car manufacturer is a lot more difficult
than becoming a high-tech darling
nothing’s nothing’s working this is an
elegant the Titanic taking on water
after hitting the iceberg and then tying
up to a freighter that’s going down you
know there are American heroes who don’t
like this idea the Armstrong gene cernan
have both testified against commercial
spaceflight in the way that you’re
developing it and I wonder what you
think in that
I was very sad to see that because those
guys are yeah yeah those guys here’s
mine so it’s really tough Rock verify
range go the flight computer has control
the vehicle a wealth a well-thought-out
critique of whatever you’re doing is as
valuable as gold when you had that third
failure in a row did you think I need to
pack this in that way why not
I don’t ever give up I mean I’d have to
be dead or completely incapacitated
eight weeks later must bet the company
on another flight this time around
everything worked perfect if that fourth
launch hadn’t worked that would have
been it we would have not had the
resources to the amount of fifth
successful entrepreneurs probably come
in all sizes shapes and flavors some of
the things I’ve described already I
think I’m very important I think really
an obsessive nature with respect to the
quality of the product we’re really
really liking what you do whatever area
that you get into given that you know
even if you if you’re the best the best
there’s always a chance of failure so I
think it’s important that you really
like whatever you’re doing if you don’t
like it life is – for when my brother
and I was studying our first company
instead of getting an apartment we just
rented us a small office and we slept on
the couch we had just one computer so
the website was up during the day and I
was coding at night seven days a week
all the time you just keep going okay
you put 90 billion dollars like 50 years
worth of breaks into into solar and wind
to decide Solyndra and Fisker and Tesla
and her one I mean I had a friend who
said you don’t just pick the winners and
losers you pick the losers I’m available
24/7 to help solve issues I called me
three a min of Sunday morning I don’t
care we didn’t just repay the principal
we actually repaid it with interest and
and a bonus man so ultimately the the US
taxpayer actually made a profit of over
20 million dollars on this most work
like hell I mean you just have to put in
you know 80 hour and you don’t hurt our
weeks every week if other people are
putting in 40-hour work weeks and you’re
putting in 100 hour work weeks you will
achieve in four months when it takes
them a year to achieve natural human
tendency is wishful thinking so the
challenge for entrepreneurs is to say
well what’s the difference between
really believing in new ideals and
sticking sticking to them versus
pursuing some unrealistic dream that
doesn’t actually have merit your product
or service needs to be much better can’t
and I think Wyatt might sort of drive to
get it done is somewhat disconnected
from hope enthusiasm or anything else I
just I actually just don’t care about
hope or enthusiasm motivation we just
give ever give it everything I’ve got
irrespective of what the circumstances
may be but I think people can choose to
be not ordinary you know they think they
can choose to not necessarily conform to
the conventions that were torture them
by their parents
yes I think I think it’s possible for
Denari people to choose to be
I think also just just don’t don’t be
afraid of new arenas you know you can
get a book you can learn something and
and experiment with your hands and you
know just make it happen find a way
you’ll make way to get something done
not being motivated by personally by
money is not the same as saying that I
think SpaceX shouldn’t make money in
fact it’s very important that SpaceX is
profitable or we will not be able to
earn the money necessary to continue
it’s like the Nike Slotin you know just
do it that’s you know you know just
showing up is half the battle you got to
try hard to do it and don’t be afraid of
failure you also need to be rooted in
reality so you shouldn’t it’s easy to
you’ve got to not be afraid to innovate
but also don’t delude yourself into
thinking something’s working when it’s
not or you can get fixated on a bad
solution you go to the very basic laws
of physics the things to which we
believe to be extremely well
demonstrated in other words the reason
they call it a law is that no one has
as Edison said you know it’s 1%
I think it’s it’s really a mindset you
have to decide we’re going to try to do
things differently well provided that
they’re better you can do things
differently just because they’re
different things are different better
but I think you just have to sort of
decide them let’s let’s think beyond the
normal stuff this is a great Holy Grail
potential in the future you have to stay
grounded in the short term so you know
because if you don’t do things that pay
the bills you’re not gonna have you know
achieve the offering launch an objective
but it’s nice to have that sort of Holy
Grail long term potential out there as
I know I’m a volunteer I mean I don’t
need the money there’s nothing I mean I
I’m something like I’m sitting in saying
I wish I could buy such and such a thing
I buy it I get paid minimum wage
actually don’t even get overtime but I
think people can choose to be not
ordinary you know they think they can
choose to not necessarily conform to the
conventions that were taught to them by
yes I think I think it’s possible for
Denari people to choose to be
well it’s like the Nike Slotin you know
definitely one of the best days of my
life and I think also for a lot of
people here at SpaceX it’s the
culmination of a dream I messed up the
first three launches launches failed
unfortunately the fourth launch which
was the that was the last money that we
had for Falcon one that fourth launch
worked or it would have been that would
have been it for for SpaceX but fate
liked us that day the fourth launch
today is the is the ninth anniversary of
it’s about it naval extension of life
beyond Earth fundamentally the future is
vastly more exciting and interesting if
we’re a spacefaring civilization and a
multi-planet species than if we’re not
it you want to be inspired by things you
want to wake up in the morning you think
the future is gonna be great
and that’s what what bring a spacefaring
civilization is all about it’s about
believing in the future and thinking
that the future we’ve gathered in the
past and I can’t think of anything more
exciting than going out there and being
this is the first time in the four
billion year history of Earth that that
has even been a possibility you have big
greens but you’ve got to have some sense
of how you can make those a reality
you’ve got to make sure that success is
one of the possible outcomes becoming a
multi-planet species beats the hell out
and if we’re bullying this thing to go
to the Moon and Mars then why not go to
other places on earth as well except to
sort of decide let’s let’s think beyond
the normal stuff when you try new things
you try this idea of that idea a large
number of them not going to work and
that has to be okay I’m a big believer
in us becoming a space sparing
civilization and ultimately extending
life beyond Earth the extension of life
to multiple planets for the first time
extending life to another planet is a
huge quantum leap the long-term mission
is to help make life multiplanetary yeah
thanks to the hard work of basically
but you know Seiko its fourth time’s the
charm right so I mean this this really
means a lot to SpaceX obviously be
getting some of it I mean that’s just a
huge mile so there’s only a handful of
countries on earth that have done it so
only a country thing not a company thing
so it’s just an amazing achievement you
know the you know my minds kind of
frazzled so it’s kind of hard for me to
say anything but man definitely this is
one of the greatest days of my life that
I think probably for most people here
it’s you know we’ve shown people we can
do it and this is just the first step in
many I mean we’re going to you know get
to Falcon 9 to a little bit next year
get the Dragon spacecraft going I mean
you know we’re gonna be taking over from
the for the Space Shuttle we’re never
tires I mean this is yeah we’re gonna do
a lot of things you know ultimately I
think even there getting to Mars and
things like that so I think this is
definitely the future of SpaceX is
really great I don’t know what I don’t
wanna say cuz I mean it’s just like so
freaking awesome my mind blowing it just
yeah except just like they reaffirmed
this is just the this is just the first
step of many and this really opens
through a way for us to you know get
Falcon 9 going get me or manned
spaceflight I mean there’s so many cool
things that
and I actually the chief designer of the
rocket I mean I could tell you I could
redraw that rocket without without
benefit of blueprints for the most part
yeah so it sort of like seeing my baby
go up there you know and it’s it’s
pretty scary like the happy reasons that
you get up in the morning and you want
like why do you want to live what’s the
point what what inspires you what what
do you love about the future and if
we’re not out there if the future is not
include being out there among the stars
and being a multi-planet species I find
any it’s incredibly depressing if that’s
look at the future from the standpoint
of the probabilities it’s like it’s like
a branching stream of probabilities and
there are actions that we can take that
affect those probabilities becoming a
multi path species in spacefaring
civilization this is not inevitable it’s
very important to appreciate this is not
if you look at at the progress in space
in 1969 we were able to send somebody to
then we had this the space shuttle that
the space shuttle could only take people
to low-earth orbit then Space Shuttle
retired and the United States could take
no one to opens so that’s the trend the
I mistaken when they think that
technology just automatically improves
it only improves if a lot of people work
very hard to make it better by itself
we look at great civilizations like
ancient Egypt and they will to make the
pyramids and they forgot how to do that
and in the Romans they’ve got these
incredible aqueducts they forgot how to
I think I think the the value of beauty
and inspiration is very much underrated
no question but I want to be clear I
like I’m not trying to be anyone’s
Savior that is not the the I’m just
trying to think about the future and not
SpaceX has got five five thousand people
and I get a lot of attention but it’s
I think we’re at the dawn of a new era
and it’s it’s I think it’s gonna be very
exciting what we’re hoping to do with
SpaceX is to push the envelope and
provide a reason people to be excited
inspired to be human you can manage to
do three launches but they they failed
and I actually only had the money for
for three launches but we managed to
that was the original client the world
after three if we haven’t succeeded will
yeah maybe that that should be that
that’s it so we managed to scramble and
put together the parts for one one final
launch and it worked every now and again
those grab the company was and I hope I
[Music]
three two one zero all engine running
lift
I think it’s important that humanity
become a multi-planet species I think
mostly would agree that a future where
we’re a spacefaring civilization is
inspiring and exciting compared with one
where we have forever confined to earth
until some the eventual extinction event
yeah that that’s really why I started
SpaceX what I’m trying to do is to make
a significant difference in in space
flight and and and help make space life
when something is important enough you
do it even though flowers are not in
your favor you know there are American
heroes who don’t like this idea I was
very sad to see that because those guys
are yeah you know but those guys are
heroes of mine so it’s really tough you
know I wish they would come and visit
and and see the hardware that we’re
doing here and I think that would change
them like it’s been
Dean years to get to this point taking
us a long time a lot of difficult steps
creating a company is almost like having
a child so it’s sort of like how do you
say your child should not have food even
if it ruins you yeah I remember waking
up the Sunday before Christmas on in
2008 and thinking myself and I never
thought I’d someone who could ever be
capable nervous breakdown and but I felt
so many people tried to talk me out of
starting a road company it was it was
crazy
one good friend of mine collected a
whole series of videos of rockets
blowing up and made me watch those you
and in the end I had to invest
everything and I was borrowing money
what we’d like to do is to establish a
city on Mars and and help make humanity
and multi-planet species and a true
spacefaring civilization that’s the
ultimate goal that’s saying we will do
it I’m just saying we’re gonna try you
had that third failure in a row did you
think I need to pack this in I don’t
ever give up
NASA cold and told us that we’d won a
one and a half billion dollar contract
if you need inspiring words don’t do it
I think wishful thinking is innate in
the human brain having civilization and
life as we know it can extend beyond
Earth to the rest of the solar system
and ultimately to other star systems but
that’s that’s the future that’s exciting
any kind of neat things like that to
make super tip to be glad to wake up in
the morning we’re doing these things
that seem unlikely to succeed and if
we’ve been fortunate and at least thus
far they have succeeded that life can’t
be just about solving problems like they
have a few things that are inspiring and
exciting that make you glad to be alive
ultimately be out there among the stars
that’s actually been a very difficult
journey I have to say here’s a path to
do it even if that path has a lot of
danger associated with in risk and and
maybe it won’t succeed why it’s
important and even if the odds are that
it won’t succeed it’s worth trying to do
it
I just incredibly proud of the SpaceX
team for able to achieve this incredible milestone in the history of space
ever faced in life was was in 2008 it
was the worst day on Wall Street since
the crash of 1987 I think I had maybe
thirty million dollars left thirty or
forty one dollars left in 2008 I had two
choices I could put it all into one
company and then the other company would
definitely die or split it between the
two companies
and but if I split it between two
companies they both might die when you
put your blood sweat and tears into
creating something building something
am I gonna let one starve to death
SpaceX’s alive by the skin of its teeth
so is Tesla if things have just gone a
little bit the other way both companies
would be dead I can bring myself to do
it surprised I split the money between
two
fortunately thing goodness they both
came through I remember thinking and
saying that America is where we’re great
things are possible more than any other
country in the world you really have to
ask you know whether something it is
true or not it doesn’t make sense if it
and in the beginning I only actually
won’t even let my friends invest because
I had a choice that either put the rest
of the money in or the companies are
gonna die I ended up putting all the
money in and borrowing money or rent
from friends 2008 we had the third
consecutive failure of the Falcon rocket
for SpaceX Tesla one whispering bankrupt
we closed our financing around 6 p.m.
Christmas Eve 2008 it was the last hour
of the last day that it was possible we
would have gone bankrupt two days after
Christmas present so personal wishful
thinking causes a lot of a lot of
trouble you really have to ask it we
know whether something it is true or not
it doesn’t make sense if it ever feels
I think in order to make the right
decisions things may not work in the
first place but if they will work later
and we’ll get there well there’s a ton
of failures along the way that’s for
sure the first three launches failed
just barely able to scrape together
enough parts and money to do the fourth
launch that both launch should fail we
would have been dead so multiple
failures along the way you how do you
plan a business where you know the
rocket business you know some of these
things are going to blow up I don’t have
a business plan you know there are
American heroes who don’t like this idea
Neil Armstrong gene cernan have both
testified against commercial spaceflight
in the way that you’re developing it and
I wonder what you think of that I was
very sad to see that because those guys
are yeah you know those guys who heroes
of mine so it’s really tough you know I
wish they would come and visit and and
see the hardware that we’re doing here
and I think that would change their mind
when we do something difficult tend to
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and others
always say that the the real steps
forward the real innovation in in a
society in a civilization occur at the
frontier and it it hasn’t been a
physical frontier for a long time now it
can be again but it occurs at the
frontiers of knowledge and at the
physical frontier you need to get people
and to see them casting stones in your
direction it’s difficult
so they hoping they would
what I’m trying to do is to make a
significant difference in in spaceflight
and and and help make space life
accessible to to almost anyone and I
would hope for as much support in that
direction as we as we can er see crazy
things can come true because I said like
I didn’t really think this would work
and like when I see the rocket liftoff I
see like a thousand things that that not
but I think it’s gonna open up a sense
of possibility I think it’s gonna
encourage other companies and countries
to say hey if SpaceX which is a
commercial company can do this and
nobody paid for Falcon Heavy is to pay
for it with internal funds
then then they could go to so things can
encourage other countries and companies
to raise their sights and say hey we
could do bigger and better which is
if something didn’t happen to improve
rocket technology would be stuck on
earth forever just wanted to get people
interested in space I guess capture the
imagination yes that would that was the
idea I was showering in the at the Y and
sleeping on the office floor one thing I
really admire about you is you don’t
just talk about the future of humanity
you actually start companies and do
things about it so what made you so
audacious if your size think technology
just automatically gets better over year
but it actually doesn’t it only gets
better if smart people would work like
crazy to make it better
that’s how any technology actually gets
I don’t really think of these things as
all out of daesh’s they seem like
natural things to do it’s sort of a more
of a long-term optimization rather than
a short-term one and yeah I just but not
that I think you know everyone should be
doing these things but someone needs to
so if I see that well somebody’s not
doing this and maybe I could be helpful
then then then I could try to do
something in that regard and there were
less people that try to talk me out of
it and the jerk was you know how do you
how do you make a small fortune in the
rocket business where you start with a
large one I already thought the
probability of failure was was high and
that you know with that the likelihood
of success was low and so this was not
in your information I thought maybe
SpaceX had I don’t know ten or twenty
percent chance of success just you know
all the ways they can fail and and
that’s like the sort of mental checklist
that’s scrolling through your mind
because all the things that can can
break I mean there’s thousands of things
that can go wrong and everything is to
go right once look once the rock deal if
Attila there’s nothing opportunity to do
a recall or upload a software fix or
anything like that it’s like you see the
and I’ve seen Rockets blow up so many
different ways so you know it’s a big
relief when it actually works you want
to be inspired by things you want to
wake up in the morning to think the
futures gonna be great if SpaceX and
Tesla almost didn’t survive I mean came
very close to perishing as companies in
2008 and 2009 with the Great Recession
was extremely close Cole I mean they’re
lots of people that said that the
likelihood of failure was extremely high
but those temperatures sliding lower as
you move through the day they’re down a
little bit more than 10% right now
somehow it’s levitating and I think it’s
Elon Musk is the greatest salesman in
the world he paints this vision of an
unlimited future I think they’re doomed
I’m skeptical private enterprise will
not ever lead a space frontier that’s us
to sell sell sell you don’t know you
don’t want you shouldn’t even it’s an
overpriced car company and they have to
become a car manufacturer and becoming a
car manufacturer is a lot more difficult
than becoming a high-tech darling
nothing’s nothing’s working this is an
elegant the Titanic taking on water
after hitting the iceberg and then tying
up to a freighter that’s going down you
know there are American heroes who don’t
like this idea the Armstrong gene cernan
have both testified against commercial
spaceflight in the way that you’re
developing it and I wonder what you
think in that
I was very sad to see that because those
guys are yeah yeah those guys here’s
mine so it’s really tough Rock verify
range go the flight computer has control
the vehicle a wealth a well-thought-out
critique of whatever you’re doing is as
valuable as gold when you had that third
failure in a row did you think I need to
pack this in that way why not
I don’t ever give up I mean I’d have to
be dead or completely incapacitated
eight weeks later must bet the company
on another flight this time around
everything worked perfect if that fourth
launch hadn’t worked that would have
been it we would have not had the
resources to the amount of fifth
successful entrepreneurs probably come
in all sizes shapes and flavors some of
the things I’ve described already I
think I’m very important I think really
an obsessive nature with respect to the
quality of the product we’re really
really liking what you do whatever area
that you get into given that you know
even if you if you’re the best the best
there’s always a chance of failure so I
think it’s important that you really
like whatever you’re doing if you don’t
like it life is – for when my brother
and I was studying our first company
instead of getting an apartment we just
rented us a small office and we slept on
the couch we had just one computer so
the website was up during the day and I
was coding at night seven days a week
all the time you just keep going okay
you put 90 billion dollars like 50 years
worth of breaks into into solar and wind
to decide Solyndra and Fisker and Tesla
and her one I mean I had a friend who
said you don’t just pick the winners and
losers you pick the losers I’m available
24/7 to help solve issues I called me
three a min of Sunday morning I don’t
care we didn’t just repay the principal
we actually repaid it with interest and
and a bonus man so ultimately the the US
taxpayer actually made a profit of over
20 million dollars on this most work
like hell I mean you just have to put in
you know 80 hour and you don’t hurt our
weeks every week if other people are
putting in 40-hour work weeks and you’re
putting in 100 hour work weeks you will
achieve in four months when it takes
them a year to achieve natural human
tendency is wishful thinking so the
challenge for entrepreneurs is to say
well what’s the difference between
really believing in new ideals and
sticking sticking to them versus
pursuing some unrealistic dream that
doesn’t actually have merit your product
or service needs to be much better can’t
and I think Wyatt might sort of drive to
get it done is somewhat disconnected
from hope enthusiasm or anything else I
just I actually just don’t care about
hope or enthusiasm motivation we just
give ever give it everything I’ve got
irrespective of what the circumstances
may be but I think people can choose to
be not ordinary you know they think they
can choose to not necessarily conform to
the conventions that were torture them
by their parents
yes I think I think it’s possible for
Denari people to choose to be
I think also just just don’t don’t be
afraid of new arenas you know you can
get a book you can learn something and
and experiment with your hands and you
know just make it happen find a way
you’ll make way to get something done
not being motivated by personally by
money is not the same as saying that I
think SpaceX shouldn’t make money in
fact it’s very important that SpaceX is
profitable or we will not be able to
earn the money necessary to continue
it’s like the Nike Slotin you know just
do it that’s you know you know just
showing up is half the battle you got to
try hard to do it and don’t be afraid of
failure you also need to be rooted in
reality so you shouldn’t it’s easy to
you’ve got to not be afraid to innovate
but also don’t delude yourself into
thinking something’s working when it’s
not or you can get fixated on a bad
solution you go to the very basic laws
of physics the things to which we
believe to be extremely well
demonstrated in other words the reason
they call it a law is that no one has
as Edison said you know it’s 1%
I think it’s it’s really a mindset you
have to decide we’re going to try to do
things differently well provided that
they’re better you can do things
differently just because they’re
different things are different better
but I think you just have to sort of
decide them let’s let’s think beyond the
normal stuff this is a great Holy Grail
potential in the future you have to stay
grounded in the short term so you know
because if you don’t do things that pay
the bills you’re not gonna have you know
achieve the offering launch an objective
but it’s nice to have that sort of Holy
Grail long term potential out there as
I know I’m a volunteer I mean I don’t
need the money there’s nothing I mean I
I’m something like I’m sitting in saying
I wish I could buy such and such a thing
I buy it I get paid minimum wage
actually don’t even get overtime but I
think people can choose to be not
ordinary you know they think they can
choose to not necessarily conform to the
conventions that were taught to them by
yes I think I think it’s possible for
Denari people to choose to be
well it’s like the Nike Slotin you know
definitely one of the best days of my
life and I think also for a lot of
people here at SpaceX it’s the
culmination of a dream I messed up the
first three launches launches failed
unfortunately the fourth launch which
was the that was the last money that we
had for Falcon one that fourth launch
worked or it would have been that would
have been it for for SpaceX but fate
liked us that day the fourth launch
today is the is the ninth anniversary of
it’s about it naval extension of life
beyond Earth fundamentally the future is
vastly more exciting and interesting if
we’re a spacefaring civilization and a
multi-planet species than if we’re not
it you want to be inspired by things you
want to wake up in the morning you think
the future is gonna be great
and that’s what what bring a spacefaring
civilization is all about it’s about
believing in the future and thinking
that the future we’ve gathered in the
past and I can’t think of anything more
exciting than going out there and being
this is the first time in the four
billion year history of Earth that that
has even been a possibility you have big
greens but you’ve got to have some sense
of how you can make those a reality
you’ve got to make sure that success is
one of the possible outcomes becoming a
multi-planet species beats the hell out
and if we’re bullying this thing to go
to the Moon and Mars then why not go to
other places on earth as well except to
sort of decide let’s let’s think beyond
the normal stuff when you try new things
you try this idea of that idea a large
number of them not going to work and
that has to be okay I’m a big believer
in us becoming a space sparing
civilization and ultimately extending
life beyond Earth the extension of life
to multiple planets for the first time
extending life to another planet is a
huge quantum leap the long-term mission
is to help make life multiplanetary yeah
thanks to the hard work of basically
but you know Seiko its fourth time’s the
charm right so I mean this this really
means a lot to SpaceX obviously be
getting some of it I mean that’s just a
huge mile so there’s only a handful of
countries on earth that have done it so
only a country thing not a company thing
so it’s just an amazing achievement you
know the you know my minds kind of
frazzled so it’s kind of hard for me to
say anything but man definitely this is
one of the greatest days of my life that
I think probably for most people here
it’s you know we’ve shown people we can
do it and this is just the first step in
many I mean we’re going to you know get
to Falcon 9 to a little bit next year
get the Dragon spacecraft going I mean
you know we’re gonna be taking over from
the for the Space Shuttle we’re never
tires I mean this is yeah we’re gonna do
a lot of things you know ultimately I
think even there getting to Mars and
things like that so I think this is
definitely the future of SpaceX is
really great I don’t know what I don’t
wanna say cuz I mean it’s just like so
freaking awesome my mind blowing it just
yeah except just like they reaffirmed
this is just the this is just the first
step of many and this really opens
through a way for us to you know get
Falcon 9 going get me or manned
spaceflight I mean there’s so many cool
things that
and I actually the chief designer of the
rocket I mean I could tell you I could
redraw that rocket without without
benefit of blueprints for the most part
yeah so it sort of like seeing my baby
go up there you know and it’s it’s
pretty scary like the happy reasons that
you get up in the morning and you want
like why do you want to live what’s the
point what what inspires you what what
do you love about the future and if
we’re not out there if the future is not
include being out there among the stars
and being a multi-planet species I find
any it’s incredibly depressing if that’s
look at the future from the standpoint
of the probabilities it’s like it’s like
a branching stream of probabilities and
there are actions that we can take that
affect those probabilities becoming a
multi path species in spacefaring
civilization this is not inevitable it’s
very important to appreciate this is not
if you look at at the progress in space
in 1969 we were able to send somebody to
then we had this the space shuttle that
the space shuttle could only take people
to low-earth orbit then Space Shuttle
retired and the United States could take
no one to opens so that’s the trend the
I mistaken when they think that
technology just automatically improves
it only improves if a lot of people work
very hard to make it better by itself
we look at great civilizations like
ancient Egypt and they will to make the
pyramids and they forgot how to do that
and in the Romans they’ve got these
incredible aqueducts they forgot how to
I think I think the the value of beauty
and inspiration is very much underrated
no question but I want to be clear I
like I’m not trying to be anyone’s
Savior that is not the the I’m just
trying to think about the future and not
SpaceX has got five five thousand people
and I get a lot of attention but it’s
I think we’re at the dawn of a new era
and it’s it’s I think it’s gonna be very
exciting what we’re hoping to do with
SpaceX is to push the envelope and
provide a reason people to be excited
inspired to be human you can manage to
do three launches but they they failed
and I actually only had the money for
for three launches but we managed to
that was the original client the world
after three if we haven’t succeeded will
yeah maybe that that should be that
that’s it so we managed to scramble and
put together the parts for one one final
launch and it worked every now and again
those grab the company was and I hope I
[Music]
three two one zero all engine running
lift
I think it’s important that humanity
become a multi-planet species I think
mostly would agree that a future where
we’re a spacefaring civilization is
inspiring and exciting compared with one
where we have forever confined to earth
until some the eventual extinction event
yeah that that’s really why I started
SpaceX what I’m trying to do is to make
a significant difference in in space
flight and and and help make space life
when something is important enough you
do it even though flowers are not in
your favor you know there are American
heroes who don’t like this idea I was
very sad to see that because those guys
are yeah you know but those guys are
heroes of mine so it’s really tough you
know I wish they would come and visit
and and see the hardware that we’re
doing here and I think that would change
them like it’s been
Dean years to get to this point taking
us a long time a lot of difficult steps
creating a company is almost like having
a child so it’s sort of like how do you
say your child should not have food even
if it ruins you yeah I remember waking
up the Sunday before Christmas on in
2008 and thinking myself and I never
thought I’d someone who could ever be
capable nervous breakdown and but I felt
so many people tried to talk me out of
starting a road company it was it was
crazy
one good friend of mine collected a
whole series of videos of rockets
blowing up and made me watch those you
and in the end I had to invest
everything and I was borrowing money
what we’d like to do is to establish a
city on Mars and and help make humanity
and multi-planet species and a true
spacefaring civilization that’s the
ultimate goal that’s saying we will do
it I’m just saying we’re gonna try you
had that third failure in a row did you
think I need to pack this in I don’t
ever give up
NASA cold and told us that we’d won a
one and a half billion dollar contract
if you need inspiring words don’t do it
I think wishful thinking is innate in
the human brain having civilization and
life as we know it can extend beyond
Earth to the rest of the solar system
and ultimately to other star systems but
that’s that’s the future that’s exciting
any kind of neat things like that to
make super tip to be glad to wake up in
the morning we’re doing these things
that seem unlikely to succeed and if
we’ve been fortunate and at least thus
far they have succeeded that life can’t
be just about solving problems like they
have a few things that are inspiring and
exciting that make you glad to be alive
ultimately be out there among the stars
that’s actually been a very difficult
journey I have to say here’s a path to
do it even if that path has a lot of
danger associated with in risk and and
maybe it won’t succeed why it’s
important and even if the odds are that
it won’t succeed it’s worth trying to do
it
I just incredibly proud of the SpaceX
team for able to achieve this incredible milestone in the history of space
Please follow and like us: