Quote of the Day by Elon Musk: 'If something's important enough, you should try. Even if - the probable outcome is failure' 

“If something's important enough, you should try. Even if the probable outcome is failure.” An insightful quote by Elon Musk, CEO and Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.

This quote by Elon Musk means that a worthy and meaningful goal justifies taking action. You should pursue it even when the chance of winning is very low. Purpose and conviction matter more than the fear of a negative result.

Who is Elon Musk 

Elon Musk is a prominent billionaire entrepreneur, engineer, and tech mogul best known for founding and leading groundbreaking companies in space exploration, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence. Beyond electric cars and rockets, his current focus spans a massive empire of cutting-edge industries, including his brain-computer interface firm Neuralink, tunnel-construction business The Boring Company, and his generative AI startup xAI.

Musk consistently ranks as the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth tracking between $912 billion and $956 billion according to real-time billionaire indexes from Forbes and Bloomberg. This historic level of personal wealth is primarily anchored in his significant equity stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. It has been supercharged by a massive 2026 industrial ecosystem merger with his generative AI startup, xAI.

Musk’s technical, aerospace, and business leadership has earned him some of the highest distinct honours in science and industry. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society and a peer-elected member of the National Academy of Engineering. His work in rocketry has won him prestigious aerospace accolades like the FAI Gold Space Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.

When was this quote said by Elon Musk?

Elon Musk said this during a 2012 television interview with correspondent Scott Pelley on the American news program 60 Minutes.

At the time, entering the aerospace market without background knowledge seemed "insane". SpaceX's first three rocket launches had failed, nearly bankrupting the company before the fourth succeeded.

What does this quote mean? 

This quote highlights that a worthy goal justifies taking action, even when the odds of winning are extremely low. It argues that conviction and purpose should drive our decisions, rather than a safe calculation of success. By choosing to act despite the threat of failure, a person prioritises the deeper meaning of the mission over personal comfort or a guaranteed reward.