Why does Elon Musk appear so much smarter than all the other tech CEOs?

One of the reasons I think Elon appears to be (and perhaps is) smarter than many other CEOs, is because he believes in getting down to the first principles of multiple disciplines.

He has been observing and learning about different kinds of business and technical problems closely, and loves taking part in the core engineering solutions to problems. Contrary to what most CEOs are found doing – running business, partnerships, strategy and getting into countless meetings and discussions – Elon minimizes the time spent on managing, and increases the time he spends on solving problems. Yes, all problem solving involves communication and some meetings are bound to happen. Elon understands this too, as he has said in interviews, but he likes to talk solutions and work on solutions to problems. There is nobody who has become successful that hasn’t faced and solved problems – Musk is no exception. The difference lies in how he approaches problem solving – from different lenses, but in a positivist way, by orienting towards spaces where solutions may come from, and by learning about the principles and mechanism of how things work.

Elon does not believe in manifest destiny, perhaps, and in this sense, he is different from demagogues, but he does believe in applying scientific and engineering effort on problems that need our attention, or which open up possibilities for humanity. In this sense he thinks big. But even when thinking big, he doesn’t imagine business empires and piles of cash necessarily – at least not as the main thing. This is the kind of guy who gets a kick out of launching a car into space. In this sense, he’s not out to prove that he’s entirely rational about what he wants, just that he can solve something he puts his mind to. Musk also admits that there are specific times at which specific problems are important to humanity. We have seen this play out with Tesla and Paypal. SpaceX has been a bit of a slog from him – and industries like this require a lot of credibility building, done over a long term, kinda like automotive tech or safety equipment. It doesn’t happen overnight.

I’ve heard Peter Thiel say something to the effect of, “Don’t bet against Elon blindly” – and he may be right. We don’t have to see Elon’s actions as being part of some “God complex” that many of his fanboys see it all as. Instead, we can appreciate his way of doing business as someone who is trying to solve problems and do it well.