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.
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.
“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.”
This is a common misunderstanding about Autism as a whole. The Large majority of studies on the relationship between autism and IQ show a tendency for lower than average or average IQ rather than a correlation for high IQ. There are famous examples that often skew peoples perception, but it is a known stereotype that can be reasonably debunked. I otherwise liked the article.
@ Hughes Farris- Thank you for your vote of confidence. We shall try to keep you entertained with such topics.
Asperger’s is a special type of high functioning autism whose diagnostic criteria requires above average IQ.
A persons IQ is not enough. needs curiosity
.IQ is not fixed with experience a persons IQ increases. IE using your mind increases number of neural connections. An IW of 150 is very high but 60+scientists. Medical etc have one Nobel Prices all have IQ of 180+. The Bell curve doesn’t stop at 160. MUSK IS TECJNICALLY A GENIOUS BUT PROFOUNDLY INTELLIGENT PEOPL ARE CLASSIFIED YO HAVE 180+ ONE IN S MILLION
Musk is really a gifted business man.
Thank you for your brief take on the article. We shall come up with more explicit data on such questions.
well that’s just not true, IQ is positively correlated with openness (one of the 5 traits) and openness to experience is curiosity, so having a high IQ would mean a very strong probability of having high curiosity, and no IQ does not increase, there are two categorised IQ’s. Fluid intelligence and crystallised intelligence, fluid intelligence is the one we normally associate with standard IQ and crystallised intelligence is associated with how knowledgeable a person is, fluid IQ in case of Einstein for example (being 160), does not increase with age, but decreases after around mid 20’s and you can do very little to change that (exercise helps slow the decline down). But, it is the crystallised intelligence (how knowledgeable a person is) that increases with age and that is a different metric than the one we are interested in right now, Elon in this case has very high fluid intelligence (much less than what it used to be before in his 20’s) but also a crazy high crystallised intelligence (which can be acquired through education and learning)
Id rather have Elon Musk’s vision than Hawking’s “genius” any day.
@Becky Weaver- I for one, admire the vision which Elon construes publicly and I am very optimistic about it too. However, I would also like to further extend my admiration towards Hawking for his contribution to science and the understanding of the universe is equally pertinent to push the human race forward. Both of them, represent progressive measures of uplifting the world with scientific developments in their fields.
This is my take on the parallels drawn between Hawking and Musk. What is your take on it?
I think a genius is a person whose work is for mankind not for only him so Elon is fall in this category
Great, thank you ❤️ 👍
Glad you liked it, André!!
* Brilliant yes, genius ?, A true genius is an inventor , Elon is a project manager, not an inventor as such Modern day acknowledges those who project manage & subsequently equate them with genius, even though they are merely orchestrating the symphony, those who invent the instruments & play them are the true geniuses, unfortunately the true definition of what constitutes a genius has been forgotten & has been replaced to mean the project manager. J P. Morgan did more for America than anyother project manager, yet He was a great philanthropist like Elon, both weren’t genius like Tesla,Bell & Westinghouse. 🤷
There is no public data for his IQ. He is a fraud. He did not even make his initial money using anything he created. He can barely program a computer. His initiatives, hyperloop, solar roofs, starship, battery tech, vegas loop, are 3rd grade level laughable. Any 2nd year engineering student can debunk these. Similar with Bezos, though, at least he does not invest in ideas that violate the laws of thermodynamics. No, no, no. Anyone believing either of these 2 have an IQ higher than average, is deluded, and uninformed. Common Sense Skeptic on youtube has all the debunking needed for this.
I would love to see you being worth $100 billion plus whilst innovating the next resuable rocket technology or creating a robust international infrastructure between your online shop and millions of customers
Good for you Rooman! He is a genius….full stop!
You’re a boorish idiot troll who knows full well that you’re spreading falsehoods
The head engineer, lead engineer of an amazing company. Several amazing companies is himself an amazing guy. I don’t know what a genius is. Can’t even spell the word. I hear ur respect, louder than that I hear him being sold short. Hawking’s, Ford, westinghouse, Tesla, and many more, many great amazing people have graced our planet. Musk is one of the most amazing, greatest people ever. Most geniuses can’t do what he’s doing. Engineer by trade.
Finally, someone who remembers that Elon considers himself an engineer first and foremost. Plus, you are forgetting his earlier days when he created a game at age 10. Later created Zip2, and then PayPal.
Elon taught himself about rocket science. He hired others who thought like him. But, many of you are selling him short by calling him a “project manager”
I’m a big fan of Elon Muskv. He is a creative innovator and visionary. I’m not certain what his I.Q. is but it’s way up there.
I’ve been tested twice with an outcome of 140 and I by no means am a genius.
Hehe, the guy is an absolute genius without a queation. He is doing unbelivable stuff in front of our very eyes. We should be gratefull for what he does and happy that we can see it live during our lifetimes.