Elon Musk read these 3 books as a child, they made him into the engineer that he is

With companies like Tesla, SpaceX and X (earlier called Twitter) under his watch, billionaire Elon Musk has much to offer to the world. Be it his aim to colonise Mars or concerns regarding the fast-paced development of AI, Musk often makes headlines and is one of the most-known personalities of the tech world.

His biography, penned by Walter Isaacson, was launched recently and it takes us through his journey, from a shy and socially awkward child in South Africa to the billionaire that he is today. The book also briefly touches upon how Musk, as a teenager, was fond of reading and what made him into the engineer that he is today.

A bookworm since childhood

According to his biography, Musk would read whenever he got the chance. Be it the encyclopedias in his father’s office or superhero books, he was inspired by the books that he read. A book in his father’s office described inventions that would be made in future and little Elon would read it over and over. This book had an idea of a rocket, propelled by an ion thruster, using particles rather than gas for thrust. Musk told Isaacson that this book was what first made him think about going to other planets.

More specifically, the books that appealed to Musk as a child were - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was first published in 1966. In the book, a supercomputer called Mike gains consciousness and helps the protagonists during a rebellion. Mike even sacrifices itself for the cause of the rebellion. According to Isaacson, this book led Musk to think if AI will be for the good for humanity or be a threat to the living.

Asimov’s Foundation series

The next book that was Musk’s favourite is Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. The books focus on laws of robotics and one of these is the Zeroth Law. This law states that a robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Other two laws that the book talks about are a robot obeying human beings’ orders and protecting its own existence as long as it doesn’t conflict with other laws.

Isaacson writes that these ideas motivated Musk to make space-travel possible and harness the power of AI for the good of humans.

In June 2018, Musk, in a tweet, said that the Zeroth Law from the book was ‘fundamental’ to the creation of SpaceX.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The third book that influenced Musk the most, as per Isaacson, is Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Musk, while speaking to Isaacson, admitted that the book helped him ‘come out of his existential depression’ as a teenager.

The book tells the story of a human rescued by a spaceship before the earth gets destroyed. He then explores the galaxy and attempts to understand the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. The book also talked about a supercomputer that answered a question by humans that confused them even more. The question was about life, universe and everything. The computer then says that the problem is that they (humans) never really knew what the question was.

This lesson from the book stayed with Musk, as per his biography. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy also elaborates on the idea that we all are living in a simulation that is being controlled by superior beings. Musk, after reading this book, has been fascinated with the thought.

Science-fiction, thus, took up majority of Musk's time as a child and influenced his ideas about what he wants to do and the companies he wants to build.