In an interview with CNN in 2014, Musk described his love of books, particularly biographies, and how much he enjoys reading on his iPhone while traveling.
These nine books are just some of the books that Musk has discussed reading. Over the years, Musk shared different books he enjoys, books he recommends, and books he believes changed his life in various interviews.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy by Douglas Adam
He said about the book, “it highlighted an important point which is that a lot of times, the question is harder than the answer. And if you can properly phrase the question, then the answer is the easy part.“
In an interview with the New Yorker, Musk said, “The heroes of the books I read, The Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series, always felt a duty to save the world.”
This book spurred him to found SpaceX, the home to the Falcon 9 reusable rocket. On June 15, 2018, he again recommended the book, tweeting, “The Foundation series [is] fundamental to [the] creation of SpaceX.”
In December of 2014, Musk tweeted, “Dune series by Herbert also brilliant. He advocates placing limits on machine intelligence.” As a tech mogul, Musk has often spoken about the dangers of AI and machine intelligence.