At the heart of Musk’s engineering philosophy is a five-step process he refers to as “the algorithm.” This iterative approach, often repeated with an almost obsessive fervor, serves as a guiding mantra for everything from rocket design to factory layouts to software development.
Question Requirements: The first step is to scrutinize every requirement, no matter how seemingly sacrosanct. “Always do so, even if the requirement came from me," Musk instructs. This includes identifying the specific individual responsible for each requirement and then challenging its rationale, no matter how seemingly brilliant or experienced the person may be. The goal is to expose hidden assumptions and eliminate unnecessary constraints.
Delete Parts & Processes: Musk’s second commandment is to ruthlessly eliminate anything that doesn’t demonstrably add value. “Delete any part or process you can,” he urges. “You may have to add them back later.” This counterintuitive approach forces engineers to justify the existence of every component and process, exposing redundancies and simplifying designs.
Simplify & Optimize: Once unnecessary elements have been eliminated, the focus shifts to streamlining and optimizing what remains. Musk emphasizes that this step should occur only after the initial deletion phase, to avoid wasting time perfecting elements that should not exist.
Accelerate Cycle Time: Musk relentlessly pushes to speed up every stage of the production process, creating a “maniacal sense of urgency” that permeates his companies. This constant drive for faster cycle times forces teams to find creative solutions and overcome roadblocks, often achieving results that seemed impossible.
Automate: The final step is to automate tasks, but only after the first four steps have been rigorously applied. Musk emphasizes that premature automation can lead to costly mistakes and delays.
Musk acknowledges his own over-reliance on automation in the early days of Tesla, stating, "Excessive automation… was a mistake. To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.” This self-awareness reflects his willingness to adapt and refine his approach based on experience.
Musk believes that success in complex engineering projects requires a seamless integration of design, engineering, and manufacturing. This philosophy, often referred to as “vertical integration,” contrasts with the traditional approach of outsourcing components and relying on separate teams working in silos.
Musk’s insistence on having engineers work directly on the factory floor, literally side-by-side with assembly line workers, underscores this principle. “The people on the assembly line should be able to immediately collar a designer or engineer and say, ‘Why the fuck did you make it this way?’ ” he explains.
This philosophy extends to in-house manufacturing. Musk champions building as many components as possible within his companies, rather than relying on external suppliers. This allows for tighter quality control, reduces reliance on third-party timelines, and enables quicker iteration and innovation.
“Designing the factory to build a car — 'the machine that builds the machine' — was as important as designing the car itself," he declares. This statement reflects his conviction that the manufacturing process is as crucial to success as the product itself.
Musk’s approach to problem-solving is deeply rooted in first-principles thinking. This method involves stripping away assumptions and conventional wisdom and drilling down to the fundamental physics underlying a problem. Rather than relying on established practices or accepting limitations imposed by industry norms, Musk encourages his engineers to start with basic physical principles and then build up from there.
This approach is exemplified by his decision to challenge the exorbitant costs of traditional rocket building. "Rockets had an extremely high idiot index," he states, referring to the ratio between the cost of a finished product and the cost of its raw materials. By applying first-principles thinking, he was able to deconstruct the traditional rocket-building process, expose inefficiencies, and develop innovative solutions that dramatically reduced costs.
Tom Mueller, a founding engineer at SpaceX, describes the impact of this principle: “If you were negative or thought something couldn’t be done, you were not invited to the next meeting.” This statement reflects the demanding, can-do culture that Musk cultivates, one that prioritizes results over excuses.
Musk is a firm believer in an iterative approach to design, one that emphasizes rapid prototyping, testing, and continual refinement. He encourages his teams to build fast, test often, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and iterate quickly towards solutions.
This contrasts with the more traditional engineering approach of spending months or even years on analysis and planning before building a final product. Musk’s mantra is to "Move fast, blow things up, repeat," reflecting his willingness to take risks and learn from mistakes.
“It’s not how well you avoid problems,” explains Tom Mueller. “It’s how fast you figure out what the problem is and fix it.” This statement captures the essence of Musk’s iterative design philosophy: speed and adaptability are more valuable than avoiding all possible risks.
Musk sets ambitious goals for his companies and measures progress by closely tracking specific metrics. This data-driven approach, coupled with his relentless pursuit of urgency, creates an intense, results-oriented culture.
Whether it's cost per pound to orbit for SpaceX, miles per intervention for Tesla’s self-driving cars, or gigawatt-hours of battery production, Musk establishes clear performance targets and pushes his teams to achieve them with a “maniacal sense of urgency.”
He readily acknowledges, “I became a broken record on the algorithm... But I think it’s helpful to say it to an annoying degree.” This obsessive focus on the algorithm, coupled with unrealistic deadlines, can be demanding and even demoralizing for his team. However, it has also driven them to accomplish feats that were deemed impossible by industry experts.
Musk's famous quote, “A fully reusable rocket is the difference between being a single-planet civilization and being a multiplanet one,” embodies both his ambitious vision and his sense of urgency.