Transcript: Elon Musk’s 2007 Interview & Trading Parallels
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more
Key Takeaways:
- Traders must take full responsibility for their results.
- The biggest enemy is often their own mistakes and emotions.
- Discipline drives long-term success.
Hello. Recently, I watched a real interview of Elon Musk from 2007. That interview gave me an insight into how he thinks, his beliefs, and his core values.
I’m writing this article because there are direct parallels between his way of thinking and trading. There are lessons, points, and nuggets that we can take from his mindset and apply to the markets.
In 2007, he was already the CEO of Tesla. Although he wasn’t the original founder, he joined the company as a major investor and shareholder, became the chairman of the board, and later took over as CEO. I watched this interview with intent and was able to gather about four or five lessons that can be applied to trading.
In those days, he was not yet a billionaire—he was a multimillionaire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He didn’t actually become a billionaire until 2012.
Lesson 1: You Are Your Own Worst Enemy
During an interview back when Elon Musk was the chairman of SpaceX, he was asked about his competitors. At the time, SpaceX was facing competition from major players: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the European Space Agency (ESA), and competitors in Japan.
When asked about them, Musk explained that he didn’t care about the competition. He did not view these companies as enemies or saboteurs. Instead, he acknowledged a fundamental truth: if SpaceX failed, it would be due to their own internal errors, carelessness, or mistakes—not because of outside forces.
What This Means for Traders
Traders must adopt this exact same mindset. In the market, you do not have external enemies. The market is not your enemy. Your broker or exchange is not your enemy. The trader on the other side of your trade is not your enemy.
You are your own enemy.
If a trade goes wrong or your account suffers, it is typically the result of your own incompetence, a lack of discipline, flawed psychology, or careless mistakes. True accountability means realizing that your trading success or failure is entirely in your own hands.
