Did you know that Elon Musk is one of the smartest people on the planet? Various reports put his IQ above 150, which is well above average and within the genius band.
His intelligence, combined with his sharp business acumen, has helped him become the second-richest person in the world. After all, he’s the CEO and/or founder of SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and OpenAI—all of which work for the betterment of humankind and prove to be a very lucrative boon to Musk’s wealth.
So, let’s find out what makes this genius, who once talked his professor into adjusting a 98% test score into 100%, different from all other geniuses out there.
What Is Elon Musk’s IQ?
As reported by several sites concerned with IQ measurements, such as Sociosite, Alpha High IQ Society, and First Curiosity, Elon Musk’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is 155. That said, all of these sites claim there is still no official confirmation of Musk’s IQ.
But you might say there are many other people with an extremely high IQ, and they are not nearly as successful as Elon Musk. While intelligence is crucial, his wealth-oriented mindset, business savviness, and ability to learn from his mistakes separate him from other geniuses. In essence, he has found the perfect formula for wealth generation.
Let’s check out three prime examples of his intelligence and vision at work.
1. Making Mars a Livable Planet With SpaceX
The idea that life on Mars is possible has been up for debate for the last decade, and Elon Musk is a strong proponent that humanity can populate the planet within the next century. SpaceX was even founded upon the idea that Mars can become a liveable planet.
The way to do that is by building a sustainable city, he claims, that won’t lack for anything and could be supplied if and when needed with reusable rockets that could carry a 100-ton payload. With 1,000 such flights per year, Musk imagines a Mars colony could survive.
2. Controlling Tech With Your Mind With Neuralink
With Neuralink’s operations, Musk hopes they can eventually help spinal cord invalids restore the functionality of their broken bodies and walk again—a noble goal that has recently seen a breakthrough after human clinical trials have been lined up.
The technology has already been tested on a pig and a macaque monkey and has shown much promise. Best of all, extensive testing has demonstrated that the chip is safe, reliable, and removable after implantation. Musk describes the technology as the circuits that could eventually replace faulty or missing neurons when necessary.
3. Eliminating Pollution and Global Warming With Tesla Energy
Perhaps Musk’s most beneficial company for the common good is Tesla Energy—a division of Tesla that focuses on developing and manufacturing advanced photovoltaic solar power systems and various battery storage products for individuals and industries.
He hopes that these types of sustainable energy products will help reduce pollution, eliminate fossil fuels, and slow down (or even eliminate) global warming.
On an operational level, revolutionizing the energy sector takes place on two fronts: establishing renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, and developing cutting-edge energy storage products like the Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack.
His current vision imagines individuals and businesses growing self-sufficient in their energy needs, which will empower them to reduce their utility bills and generate their own clean energy, thus creating a resilient energy infrastructure and healing the environment.
Why Is Elon Musk More Successful Than Other Geniuses?
Is his immeasurable wealth due to pure hard work or his incredibly high IQ? Definitely a combination of both factors, plus several others. Unfortunately, some intelligent people waste their high IQ potential instead of using it to build a better future.
That said, the majority of the richest men and women on the planet are of a similar ilk to Elon Musk—they are hard workers with a wealthy and driven mindset who can wisely use their intelligence to make something of themselves.
For instance, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos are also considered geniuses who built their wealth thanks to their intelligence, business skills, and audacity to take risks after recognizing the reward is too great to pass up.
Elon Musk vs Jeff Bezos
Just like Musk, Jeff Bezos needs no introduction as the founder of Amazon is well-known all across the globe. In many respects, Bezos and Musk are very similar: they both made their names from nothing, made their wealth with fearless investments, and strive to reach the stars—Musk with SpaceX and Bezos with Blue Origin.
However, Musk and Bezos differ greatly in their leadership styles. While Bezos tends to take proof-driven smaller steps in order to win credibility and respect from his peers, Musk relies on his vision and makes high-risk/high-reward moves. Still, he succeeds as he inspires people, especially top-notch engineers, to believe in his dream.
Also, while Bezos operates on a customer-first approach and meets the momentary needs of the general populace, Elon Musk takes a technology-first approach as he imagines what the future could be like—another facet of his high IQ.
Elon Musk vs Steve Jobs
Another visionary that can be compared to Elon Musk is the late and great Steve Jobs. While Elon Musk meets Jobs’s daring public persona and ability to sell his dream to the public after reinvigorating his companies, they do differ in a few crucial aspects.
While Jobs took a disciplined approach to both his life and business styles and focused on one task at a time, Musk has been known to juggle too many projects as he sees potential everywhere, which often works but also leads to dead initiatives.
Furthermore, while Musk looks to revolutionize multiple industries on a grand scale, Jobs was concerned with solving everyday problems related to our interaction with the environment and how we consume content today. From listening to music and talking on the phone to working on our careers, Jobs wanted to provide a simple, elegant, and intuitive user experience via Apple’s product line that eliminates input and output hurdles.
Elon Musk vs Bill Gates
Bill Gates matches Elon Musk in several regards, the most important of which is his philanthropic efforts to donate crucial funds to various causes regularly. They could afford to do so since both founded groundbreaking companies that changed the course of humankind: Musk with Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, and Gates with Microsoft.
However, as Musk does, Bill Gates does not concern himself with futuristic and ambitious visions of transforming industries and pushing humanity towards sustainable energy and interplanetary exploration. Instead, Gates put all his attention into software development, technological innovation, and helping those in need.
As for their leadership style, while Musk often immerses himself in his companies’ day-to-day operations and engineering and design processes, Bill Gates takes a more analytical approach, as he is highly focused and detail-oriented. Moreover, he can delegate the right responsibilities to the right people and teams who are able to execute his vision.
The Takeaway
Elon Musk repeatedly proves that anyone can improve their life outlook with the right combination of courage, hard work, intelligence, and a strategic approach to their finances. While his intelligence is undeniable, he claims that utilizing it to make money is a secondary goal. At the end of the day, improving everyone’s lives is more important.
