I wanted to know how the universe works and how the economy works. So, I studied physics and economics. You need to be able to bring a lot of people together to create something. It’s difficult to do something as just an individual, especially for a significant technology.195
I was concerned if I didn’t study business I would be forced to work for someone who did, because they would know special things I didn’t know. I didn’t like the sound of that, so I made sure I knew those things, too.196
Physics gave me the basics, a good analytical framework.197 Physics was rigorous, and we learned a lot of math. Later, I was in an advanced securities analysis class in the business school, and they were teaching people matrix math. I realized if you can do physics math, then business math is super easy.198
My goals were to engineer products by having a feel for the physics and to never work for a boss with a business degree.199
One reason SpaceX could move so quickly is I made both the engineering decisions and the spending decisions together in one brain. In most companies, those decisions require at least two different people.
There’s some engineering guy who’s trying to convince a finance guy that this money should be spent. But the finance guy doesn’t understand engineering, so he can’t tell if this is a good way to spend money or not. Plus, they may not trust each other. I’m making the engineering and spending decisions together with all the information in one place. My brain trusts itself.200
I’m head engineer, chief designer, and CEO at SpaceX, so I don’t have to cave to some money guy. I encounter CEOs who don’t know the details of their technology, and that’s ridiculous to me.201
To make the right decisions, you need to understand something at a detailed level.202