8 Books That Made Elon Musk Colonize Mars

From an early age, Elon Musk showed a great passion for computers and business. Following his decision to pursue his passion, he eventually left Stanford University two days after enrolling for his Ph.D. in energy Physics because he believed that the internet had a greater potential to change the world. After that, he made enormous strides in the business and technological worlds.

Other than being an inventor and an engineer, Elon Musk is a serial entrepreneur and an investor; Musk is the founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX; co-founder of Tesla Motors; chairman of SolarCity; and co-chairman of OpenAI. In 2016 started “The Boring Company”, a tunnel construction company that aims to eliminate serious traffic.

In May 2012, Musk made history when SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle to dock with the International Space Station.

Musk’s mission is to create a colony on Mars in order to eventually make humans a multi-planet species. He hopes that the world will follow his innovation if he proves something in this project. He believes that at some point in time in the future earth there will be destroyed. And the best time to start innovating to is as early as possible.

Elon Musk is a well-rounded human being and a huge success. That’s why everybody is curious about his life, what he does, and, of course, the books he reads.

He likes reading books related to innovations, the application of physics in our lives, thought process books, and business-related books.

These are the books that influenced Elon Musk to colonize the planet Mars.

1. “Superintelligence: Pathways, Dangers, Strategies” (Nick Bostrom)

A book that caught Elon’s attention is a book written by Nick Bostrom, “Superintelligence

This book discussed exactly what the subtitle suggests: the paths, dangers, and strategies of humans creating a superintelligent object. 

When it was first published in 2014, it sparked a lot of interest due to the rather terrifying scenario attributed to it by popular journalism: a future dominated by intelligent robots who had taken over the world as a result of being able to design and produce even more intelligent versions of themselves.

It probably served a useful purpose as a wake-up call to the potential risks of new developments in artificial intelligence.

2. “Zero to One: How to Invent the Future” (Peter Thiel)

The first book on the list, written by Peter Thiel, is a guide for business owners in which he lays out step-by-step instructions on how to stop being a mediocre business owner and develop a distinctive brand in the industry. 

Zero to One explores how companies can better predict the future and take action to ensure the success of their startup.

Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur, investor, and billionaire. In 1998, he co-founded PayPal with Elon Musk. Four years later, they sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion. 

Since the author is an investor himself in the South African tycoon’s businesses, a significant portion of the book is actually based on the author’s experiences and everything he learned in his journey.

This book describes clearly what is needed for a startup to be successful.

A rational thinker like Elon Musk relates to this book on a different level. 

This book could be a little too abstract at times, which could be confusing for some readers.

It is a bit of a challenge, but you will gain the most valuable and critical insight.

3. “Structures or why things don’t fall” (JE Gordon)

J. E. Gordon is known as one of the founders of materials science and biometrics. 

He wrote an informal explanation of the basic forces that hold things together.

The book explains, with a pleasant and casual style of writing, the importance, and properties of the different types of structures. 

Like why bridges don’t fall, or how birds fly.

This book is one of those that had the greatest impact on modern inventors like Elon Musk

He emphasized that having money isn’t as important as what is done with it

This book is highly recommended, as it has been translated from English into Spanish, Portuguese, German, and more than 50 other languages.

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4. Merchants of Doubt (Erik M. Conway and Naomi Oreskes)

Oreskes and Conway tell the story of how a group of high-level scientists and advisers, with deep connections in the world of politics and industry, conducted effective campaigns to mislead the public on topics such as tobacco use, medication and even on climate change. Perhaps you already know this, since the book encouraged Robert Kenner to make a self-titled documentary released in 2014.

5. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

A must-have book in any personal library, this book is one of Elon Musk’s favorite and  Bill Gates as well.

The lines of this adventure novel are so good that Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. The story was also brought to the big screen in the 1990s by director Harr Hook.

6. Foundation Trilogy (Isaac Asimov)

This trilogy is considered the best in the field of science fiction. In it, man lives on different planets throughout the galaxy. Perhaps this work inspired Musk to start one of his missions: get man to colonize Mars by 2050.

This book will travel you to different planets and bring you into conflicts that were started for unknown reasons by people you would never suspect. This book is somewhat akin to a psychology text because it teaches you how the general public responds to crises.

7. Einstein: His Life And His Universe (Walter Isaacson)

The prestigious American journalist Walter Isaacson offers us an excellent account of the life of Albert Einstein where the rigor of the scholar is combined in an unusual way with the amenity of the columnist.

To describe the scientific work, he is advised by some of the best physicists. The result is a credible, yet insightful portrait of the most famous scientist in history. All the important aspects of his life are covered in depth: science, thought, politics and family.

8. “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” Walter Isaacson

Here’s another book from Isaacson that is recommended by Elon, the story of Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin was one of America’s greatest scientists, inventors, and businessmen. Elon Musk acknowledges that he is one of his heroes.

Benjamin Franklin made important contributions in science and engineering. He invented the bifocal glasses that people still rely on today. He proved that lightning is electricity with his famous comet experiment. 

These are some bonus lists of books that might as well interest you.
These 3 books are also in Elon Musk’s library.

9. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen

This book explores why some companies succeed while others fail when faced with new technologies and disruptive innovation. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how to stay ahead of the curve and maintain a competitive advantage.

10. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

The Lean Startup is all about how startups can use continuous innovation to create successful businesses. It’s packed with useful advice for entrepreneurs who want to get their business off the ground quickly and efficiently.

11. The Paypal Wars: Battles with eBay, Credit Card Companies, and Banks by Eric Jackson

Paypal Wars chronicles, PayPal’s early days as an upstart payment company taking on the establishment. It’s a fascinating story of how one company took on some of the biggest names in finance and influenced the online market.

There are a lot of books that can teach you how to become innovative and create successful businesses, but there are only a few that have made a real impact on Elon Musk. These are the books that have inspired him to become the world-changing entrepreneur he is today.