It is reported that Elon Musk's IQ is 155. Great geniuses like Einstein and Hawking had an IQ of 160, which puts Elon in a great position. He can actually be considered a genius, lets get to that later in the article.

The times are changing, and with the changing times, few individuals push the envelope for change, and if this were interpreted in the 20th century, then the people who pushed for change would have been Einstein, Marie Curie, Lenin, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and so forth.

But, in the 21st century, we don’t really connect with these people the way we would have done in the 20th century. Many names have come to the limelight in the current times, but they have been very minimal, and they managed to get back into the shadows again.

However, like every century, there is always that one human being who we see constantly trying to push the limit, and it would be considerate to suggest that Elon Musk is that human being. Much has been said about how he is trying to shape the world and how he manages to do it correctly.

There has never been a moment in history when we have not tried to attach a person’s work with his intelligence, and the same is the case with Elon Musk. Many people are curious about his IQ level.

This article will highlight some of the estimates made on his IQ and try to explain some of the initiatives he has taken as an innovator, entrepreneur, and optimist. 

Read this article not just to know the IQ level of Elon Musk but also to understand how he climbed to the top of the business world by just observing how he uses his intelligence for good and how his qualities can make us a contributor towards making the world a better place to live.

What is Elon Musk’s IQ?

Elon Musk’s IQ is estimated to be around 155. Great geniuses like Einstein and Hawking had an IQ of 160, which puts Elon in a very good position, along with Jeff Bezos. He can actually be considered a genius. But we will get to that later.

Now that we have the straightaway answer to the question of Elon’s IQ, let us try to understand how a human being’s IQ is tested and accordingly categorized, as is the case of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, etc. 

We will try to understand how a human being’s IQ is calculated and also discuss the methods by which one’s IQ can be considered on par with other human beings. But, let us understand the definition of IQ first.

Few Bits That Defend Elon Musk’s High IQ

Jim Cantrell was on the founding team of SpaceX. Jim worked with Elon Musk for over two years before leaving SpaceX to start his own company. Taking to BusinessInsiders, Jim says, “He is the smartest guy I’ve ever met, period.”

While answering another Quora question, Jim Cantrell says Elon’s IQ can range from 160 to 165. Jim is well known in the media for being Elon’s industry mentor while starting SpaceX in 2002.

Jim Cantrell also says Elon Musk has taught himself Rocket Science JUST by reading books.

Elon Musk is the only personality on Earth to have a few billion-dollar companies associated with him. Even though he is criticized for not being the founder of most of his multi-billion-dollar companies, we must acknowledge that idea generation is challenging but executing the idea into a money-making business is tougher.

X.com, PayPal, Tesla, Solar City, OpenAI, Neuralink, and The Boring Company; are the companies that Elon either founded or invested in a very tricky stage of their life cycle. In the recent past, after a long-drawn legal and personal battle, Musk finally bought the uber-popular social media platform Twitter for a price of close to $44 billion.

Companies Run by Elon Musk

A human being can be called a genius, brilliant, intelligent, or intelligent individual. Still, it all starts with the work they are associated with, and it is the same in the case of Elon Musk.

Musk has been working on many sectors such as space, electric vehicles, solar energy, friendly artificial intelligence, and hyperloop technology to speed fast the transportation sector. Let us try to understand each sector in a nutshell to get a better grasp of his IQ.  

SpaceX

Space X is an initiative to make Mars habitable like Earth for human beings. Initially, it started off as a project to initiate plant growth on Mars, but eventually, it became a project to make it a liveable planet with time.

The company garnered its reputation with the novel ideas it represented, such as refueling and reusing the rockets sent into orbit. This revolution in the space race saw rockets as airplanes that could fly and get back to their station after the mission is over.

This intrigued many scientists, and it also received a lot of backlash in the beginning, but after a few successful missions, the idea’s potential became a reality.

SpaceX’s Mission in Elon Musk’s Words: “You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”

Tesla

Tesla is pioneering the work in developing vehicles that could be run on electricity, helping to change the status quo of carbon emissions. This was another entrepreneurial venture that Musk joined in pushing the envelope for alternatives in energy usage. 

However, the company is struggling to reduce the cost of production to make it affordable to normal working-class citizens of the world because only people with a huge income are in a position to purchase a Tesla. 

Tesla Energy and Solar City

As the name itself suggests, it is an initiative to expedite solar energy usage and make it more accessible for industrial works to reduce industrial pollution.

After acquiring Solar City, Tesla created a division under it to redefine the development of batteries to enhance their durability naming it Tesla Energy.

The Boring Company

Don’t go by its name, The Boring Company is yet another exciting company started by Musk. The company focuses on developing underground tunnels that Tesla vehicles will be able to use to transport cargo and people across cities in the United States of America.

This technology is one of the most exciting ventures Musk has as it is developing a technology that could provide transportation services at twice the speed at which a metro train functions or operates. The technology was effectively implemented and is currently being developed to make it a commercial project.

Neuralink

This is the most advanced venture that Elon has invested in. Neuralink is a company that is striving to create an interface that will help human beings to gain access to the cells that have become inoperative. These dead cells eventually lead to physical ailments.

The positive outcome of this venture is tangible, especially for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. 

The company is connecting the human brain with computer-generated chips which provide the required signals to the brain to enable the disabled body part or ailment of any kind. It is perhaps the first step toward the prospect of Robo-humans.

Twitter

After his controversial acquisition of Twitter, a publicly traded company, it seems that there was something about the social media giant that drew his interest. Despite his public admission of love for the platform, he attempted to back out of the deal. However, the Twitter board was able to apply enough pressure to see the deal through to completion.

It has since been announced that he will be stepping down as Twitter’s CEO. He ran a poll on the platform to gauge public opinion on whether he should resign and appoint someone else as CEO. The poll results indicated that the majority favored a change in leadership, prompting him to announce that he will be stepping down as soon as a replacement is found.

What is IQ & How It Is Calculated?

It stands for Intelligence Quotient. It means conducting a test on various grounds to comprehend the ability of a person intellectually. It was first developed by a German psychologist, William Stern. He used a series of tests to determine a person’s mental capabilities, which vary from one age to another.

From a historical point of view, the IQ of a human being was tested by considering the mental age of that person and by calculating the years, months, and days of the brain being active, which is divided by the score of the intelligence test, which is like the normal exam one takes.

• Intelligence score ÷ person’s chronological age = fraction
• Fraction ✖ 100 = IQ score

The result coming from the above-mentioned calculation was again multiplied by 100 to get the final score.

In the modern context, IQ is tested in a complex manner. The test score is calculated bearing the total population with an average mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Confusing? You just got your IQ score. 

The important thing to keep in mind is the keywords: test score/ total population/ average mean of 100 and standard deviation. You can have your research on that if you are inquisitive about it. 

If Elon Musk’s IQ has been tested for real, it is tested based on the modern method of IQ testing. Elon Musk would not be in a position to do what he is doing if he had an IQ of an average human being which makes it evident that his IQ is pretty good, and so the speculation is considerate in that manner. 

Additionally, while hosting a late-night show, he did reveal that he has Asperger’s syndrome, which justifies his brilliance because most people with Asperger’s syndrome are brilliant and intelligent.

Enough has been said about the IQ of this man. Let us try to understand the kind of work that he is doing now to be in a position to justify the level of IQ that has been associated with him.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the IQ of Elon Musk?

It is estimated that Elon Musk’s IQ ranges from 150-155, which is significantly higher than the average human IQ of 100. Although compared to geniuses like Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein with above-160 IQ Elon Musk stands at a lower position, an IQ of above 150 puts Musk in a great position in today’s world, which he has proved time and again.

Is Elon Musk more intelligent than Bill Gates?

Although it is hard to actually quantify the intelligence level of individuals, we cannot say that Elon Musk is more intelligent than Bill Gates. While Bill Gates is essentially a great innovator, Elon Musk can be considered a greater businessman.

Is Elon Musk smarter than Steve Jobs?

While both Elon Musk and Steve Jobs have similar qualities in terms of being great businessmen, Steve Jobs is considered to be a smarter individual than Elon Musk. Moreover, according to reports, Jobs had an IQ of above 160, which puts him on par with geniuses like Einstein and Marie Curie.

Conclusion

What would it take for someone to be so creative and inventive in his life and to make it full of work? A good IQ, I suppose, and perhaps a good EQ too. Elon has a combination of two, which is a testament to his 155 IQ score.

One cannot escape from the fact that every initiative that this person has undertaken is taking the human race forward. But does that mean that he is a genius?

Well, it depends on how you understand the connotation of the word ‘genius.’ Historically, the word is attributed to those people who invent or provide something to the human race that is never discussed or thought about.

Einstein, Newton, Hawking, Ramanujan, C.V Raman, Abdus Salman, and Steve Wozniak are some examples of the way we define conventional geniuses. Still, the case with Elon Musk is as complicated as the deal with Steve Jobs. 

He initiates the plans and manages them and perhaps even contributes to them, but the experts make the actual developments in the very field that he has invested in. So, is he a genius in choosing the right business venture from the future’s perspective? Absolutely, he is.

But, is he a genius in comparison to Einstein, C.V Raman? No, he is not that kind of a genius. He is a good businessman who is smart enough to choose the right business. 

I would like to end it by stating that he manages the orchestra while the musicians play their music, but in the performance, he is the person in the limelight, and so he is a genius with an IQ of 155.