Tesla founder Elon Musk has recently grabbed media attention with his impact on both the cryptocurrency and stock markets. With a net worth of $290 billion as of November 2021 and currently the richest person in the world, it’s no surprise that Musk is a hot topic for students dreaming of success.
But surprisingly, this billionaire doesn’t care much about degrees or college. For Elon Musk, college doesn’t hold much value since success depends more on real skills and abilities learned outside the classroom than on a diploma.
“I think college is basically just for fun… not really for learning,” the Tesla founder openly said at a 2020 conference when asked what universities should do to give students more opportunities.
Knowledge Is Everywhere
According to Musk, young people don’t need college to access basic knowledge, especially in today’s tech-driven world where free information is everywhere. He sees college as a burden full of annoying homework that rarely applies to real jobs later.
Musk believes the biggest value of college is the chance to socialize and build networks with peers before entering the workforce and starting a career. Those relationships are the most valuable asset for future entrepreneurs.
“What matters is having deep knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ability to effectively apply neural networks. You don’t need a college degree, and I don’t care if you haven’t even finished high school, as long as you have the skills,” Musk said during an AI seminar.
In fact, Elon Musk has stated that Tesla’s hiring process does not require college degrees because it’s unreasonable. Ironically, many of the tech and engineering roles Tesla hires for do require a certain level of education.
The Steve Jobs Example
Musk’s dismissive view of college isn’t new. Back in 2014, he expressed admiration for Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison, successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college to start their companies.
“College isn’t proof of superior ability. In fact, you can drop out and still do something great. Ideally, you drop out and do something. For example, Bill Gates is extremely smart but dropped out. Steve Jobs was especially smart and also dropped out. Larry Ellison, a smart guy, dropped out too. Clearly, college isn’t necessary. Did Shakespeare go to college? Probably not.”
Despite his criticism, Musk spent two years at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where he earned degrees in physics and economics. He dropped out of a PhD program at Stanford to launch his first startup, Zip2.
Part of Musk’s frustration with college might come from the $100,000 tuition debt he had after graduating. Just two days after enrolling in Stanford’s PhD program, he dropped out to start Zip2, which he later sold to Compaq in 1999 for $22 million.
