In a revealing look behind the curtain of extreme wealth and innovation, Justine Musk, the Canadian author and former spouse of tech titan Elon Musk, has shared rare insights into the core personality traits that catapulted the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to become the world's richest individual.
The Two-Pillar Formula for Extreme Success
Drawing from her 2013 TEDxOlympicBlvdWomen talk and a widely discussed 2015 Quora essay titled 'How to be Elon Musk', Justine Musk, who shares five sons with the billionaire, pinpointed two defining characteristics. She identified relentless obsession and the strategic power of saying no as the critical separators between extreme achievers like her ex-husband and everyone else.
"He worked very hard—much harder than your average bear—and he said no a lot," Justine explained during her TEDx presentation, reflecting on Musk's ascent. "He said no to people who wanted his time and attention and energy. And I realized that behind every no there is a deeper yes to whatever it is that you do want."
The Role of Obsession and an 'Insane Work Ethic'
In her detailed Quora post, Justine Musk emphasized that extraordinary success is not born from moderate ambition. She stressed the necessity of an all-consuming focus, writing emphatically, "Be obsessed. Be obsessed. Be obsessed." She advised that if one isn't obsessed with their current pursuit, they should stop and find what truly captivates them.
She described individuals like Elon Musk as combining intellectual brilliance with a work ethic that defies normal standards. "These people tend to be freaks and misfits who were forced to experience the world in an unusually challenging way," she noted. According to her, they develop unique survival strategies and later leverage those hard-won insights to gain massive advantages in business and innovation.
Emotional Intensity Behind the Ruthless Exterior
While Justine has been candid about the emotional distance she experienced during their marriage from 2000 to 2008, particularly after the tragic loss of their firstborn, Nevada, to SIDS at just 10 weeks old, she has always respected his visionary capabilities. Elon Musk publicly acknowledged her as "an amazing woman," highlighting a mutual respect that persisted through their divorce.
This perspective finds an echo from Musk's second wife, Talulah Riley, whom he married and divorced twice between 2010 and 2016. In a 2022 BBC documentary, Riley offered a complementary view, describing Musk as "the most emotional person I know." She shared an anecdote of him walking barefoot through a Colorado blizzard on Christmas Eve to fetch flowers after forgetting her gift, all while managing the immense pressures of Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity.
Justine Musk's core message remains powerfully clear: the path to extreme achievement, as demonstrated by Elon Musk's journey, demands a singular, almost ruthless, obsession. It requires sacrificing conventional comforts and relentlessly guarding one's focus through strategic rejection—a high price for reaching the pinnacle of global success.
