Li Shanyou: Why does the "crazy" Elon Musk always create miracles?

He is the most remarkable innovator of this era and a controversial dreamer throughout his journey: from SpaceX's reusable rockets, to Tesla's electric vehicles, and then to the Starlink project and the Mars Plan - Elon Musk has not had an easy path, but he has broadened humanity's imagination of technology, business, and the future.

More importantly, from Musk's life, I can see several important philosophical propositions: What is the real driving force that makes a person keep breaking through? In an era that values real - world interests, can idealism still prevail? And what practical ways of thinking and action principles can we learn from Musk's experiences?

Last Saturday, Professor Li Shanyou, the founder of Hundun University, deeply dissected Elon Musk's "hero's journey" and his thinking based on the First Principles, revealing how he used his mission, concepts, and engineering thinking to ignite himself and an era.

Elon Musk - The Driving Force of an Ideological Entrepreneur

The Hero's Journey: Musk's Extraordinary Life

Hello everyone. Today, I'd like to talk to you about Elon Musk. If I were to add a subtitle, it would be "Igniting the Inner Flame".

In my opinion, Musk's experience is a typical hero's journey. For most people, achieving one thing in a lifetime is already remarkable, but Musk has accomplished many things in his life and is still exploring and moving forward. It's truly amazing.

What methods did Musk use to achieve such great success? For example, his way of thinking and his approach to doing things. Can these serve as references for our own careers?

Next, let's explore what kind of business can be created with the "superpower" of the First Principles.

Musk sold his first three startups after founding them. At the age of 13, he developed a game software and sold it to a magazine company, earning $500. In 1995, he gave up his Ph.D. studies at Stanford and went to Silicon Valley. Frustrated in his job - hunting, he decided to start a business. He founded the map - navigation website Zip2, but was later ousted from the company. However, the sale of the company earned him $22 million. He invested this money in a new project and founded X.com in 1999, which later evolved into PayPal. He was ousted from this company as well, netting $160 million.

After that, Musk no longer started businesses for the sake of money. In 2002, he invested $100 million to found SpaceX. In 2004, he invested $70 million to join Tesla and later became its CEO. In 2006, he founded SolarCity. In 2022, he acquired Twitter. In 2023, he founded xAI to explore the truth of the universe, hoping that artificial intelligence would be friendly to humanity. In 2024, he briefly served as the "minister" of the U.S. Government Efficiency Department and later left due to conflicts. Currently, he is preparing to establish a third political party. In addition, he has also founded companies such as The Boring Company, Neuralink, and OpenAI.

Musk's life can be roughly divided into three stages: the first stage is focused on the self, the second stage is the pursuit of a great mission, and the third stage is the evolution of the soul. On the front page of his biography, a quote from Steve Jobs is cited: "Only those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world will actually do it."

Please take a good look at the relationship between the words "changing the world" and ourselves. For most people, "changing the world" is an abstract concept, but Musk's actions are truly changing the world. What is his driving force? Obviously, it's not for money or fame. So, what exactly is this power that goes beyond money and the business itself? Or rather, what is the real driving force behind the choice of starting a business?

Mission - Driven: The Real Power Behind a Business

Life can be divided into two stages: In the 1.0 stage, the motivation for starting a business is money, which is driven by the "small self". In the 2.0 stage, the motivation goes beyond money, entering the stage of the "big self", which can be called a "great mission" (calling).

Although "mission, vision, and values" are often mentioned, they often confuse people and are even misused. Many people just use them as promotional tools. Many people seem to blindly follow the trend. When they see others having certain concepts, they follow suit. But Musk is different.

Musk has been thinking about his mission since he was a child. His entire life's work is a tool to fulfill his mission, that is, "mission first, business second". This is completely different from the path of most people who "first have a business and then clarify their mission", and it's also his uniqueness.

People have an external material world and an internal spiritual world. If the spiritual world is narrow, people will be bound by money and become tools of their business. If the spiritual world is broad, business and money will become tools to achieve great goals. The internal spiritual world should dominate, and consciousness should precede the material world. Therefore, Musk made a list of his missions in college: the Internet before its rise in 1994 - 1995, sustainable energy, and space exploration. Later, he added safe artificial intelligence.

When we look back at his life's business trajectory, we'll find that all his businesses are closely related to his mission list. He is always able to combine his grand dreams (the "big Y - axis") with practical business strategies (the "X - axis"). This combination shows us that when he has a huge dream, his business becomes even more successful.

We usually mention three stages: the first - order, the second - order, and the third - order. The first - order represents the power of action; the second - order represents the power of cognition; the third - order represents the power of ideas, which is a transcendent power.

Last year, a sentence from a book translated by one of the mentors at Hundun University really touched me: As businessmen, how do we find our position in the world? I am both an entrepreneur and a spiritual being. The place where God calls me is where the joy deep in my heart meets the world's needs for me. This need is manifested as a certain demand in business, and the joy deep in my heart is a power that goes beyond myself. I believe this is an extremely powerful force.

If we were to represent these three forces graphically, we could use two axes: the X - axis represents business, and the key lies in the "real demand". The second - order is the power of cognition, which brings "real value", that is, my essence. The Y - axis represents a power that goes beyond me and acts through me. Adding the "third" represents the real mission, which is the divine calling, the calling. The mission is something I come up with myself, while the calling is given by God and can have an impact on my system.

What is meant by practicing in business is to find the core concept. Among the three forces, the power of cognition is greater than the power of business, and the power of ideas is greater than the power of cognition. In China, there are few ideological entrepreneurs, but I believe there will be more in the future. This is the ideal advocated by the Hundun School and an important symbol of the new business civilization.

Next, I'll focus on SpaceX. Because SpaceX is almost unique. It has huge dreams, and these dreams are unimaginable and extremely challenging. I'll explain it to you using the "Three - Step Innovation Method" and combine it with the framework of "One - Thinking · Three - Steps · Four - Questions" to elaborate on the four key questions of business strategy in the "Three - Step Innovation Method" through a complete case.

Musk's First Principles and SpaceX's Business Modeling

Value Modeling: From "Disposable" to "Reusable"

Let's start with modeling, which is divided into two parts: value modeling and competitive modeling. First, let's look at value modeling, which is value upgrading. The key is to find unique value and a different way of thinking, and establish a new value Y - axis above the X - axis.

Let's start with the word "rocket". Ludwig Wittgenstein believed that language contains human subconsciousness. When we think of fireworks or rockets, we associate them with being disposable. But inspired by science - fiction novels, Musk proposed the new technological hypothesis of reusable rockets. If we base our analysis on this hypothesis, what will rockets become? Let's find out.

Going back to the model, the implicit assumption was that rockets were disposable. But after identifying this assumption, a new hypothesis was proposed - reusability. Once rockets become reusable, they become a means of transportation, just like airplanes, trains, and cars. This is SpaceX's value modeling. Its innovation began by adding a new dimension (the Y - axis) on top of the existing foundation to establish its own value model.

All innovation stems from this: adding a new dimension to the existing foundation. Musk got his inspiration from other industries. Introducing something common in other industries into the rocket industry makes it extraordinary.

Musk drew inspiration from other industries and introduced common technologies into the rocket industry, creating extraordinary results. He combined reusable rockets (with only a 1% chance of success) with space transportation (a concept even science - fiction novels had given up on). This seemingly impossible combination shows great ambition.

If he had sought financing at that time, would you have invested? Now, it seems that everyone would be willing to invest. But if we go back to 2002, an internet entrepreneur with $100 million entering the space - exploration industry without any relevant experience, trying to disrupt the entire rocket industry, would you believe in him? Whether you believe it or not, I wouldn't. But he eventually achieved it. So, how did he do it?

Next, we'll talk about the second part, which is how to find the single - point breakthrough.

Single - Point Breakthrough: The Three Elements of Ten - Fold Speed Change

In the first step of modeling, we completed the value modeling at the second - order logic level. In the second step, finding the single - point breakthrough requires us to return to the first - order logic.

I would suggest that you look for the single - point breakthrough from three directions. First, is there a single element on the demand side that is changing at a ten - fold speed? Second, is there a single element on the supply side that is changing at a ten - fold speed? Third, is there a single element at the connection end that is changing at a ten - fold speed? Then, can these three single elements with ten - fold speed changes be integrated into a system?

When looking for the single - point breakthrough, the order is crucial. First, clearly identify the real customers and their needs, and recognize the changes in demand. Second, determine the core product that can meet these needs, which is determined by the customers' needs. Finally, ensure that the organization has the real ability to produce the core product, and avoid over - emphasizing performance. This part is not the focus of the theoretical explanation; it's just a simple demonstration of the model.

Let's talk about SpaceX again. The ultimate goal of SpaceX is Mars. Here, we need to clarify two key concepts: the end - goal and the path. The end - goal refers to the final objective, but achieving the end - goal is not an overnight thing. It requires a step - by - step approach, which involves the design of the path.

When SpaceX was founded, it didn't even have the basic ability to launch rockets. The first step in its path was to master rocket - launch technology, that is, to successfully launch a rocket and accurately deliver the payload. During this process, there was also a small end - goal: the transformation from disposable rockets to reusable rockets, which is a problem of basic scientific research and technological application.

To achieve rocket reusability, SpaceX needed financial support, but it didn't receive direct national funding. So, it had to take the commercial path and make money by launching rockets. The best customer for SpaceX was NASA, especially the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States. NASA stopped the Space Shuttle program due to its high cost and technical complexity and outsourced its space - transportation business, which provided an opportunity for SpaceX.

By taking on NASA's business, SpaceX not only made money but also moved towards its end - goal. The direction was highly consistent. This is different from some people whose commercial income goes against their ideals. Therefore, in the early days of its startup, SpaceX chose NASA as its customer and carried out government - oriented business (To G business), which is its unique development path.

Cost Revolution: Idiot Index and Ten - Fold Cost Reduction

The core requirements of NASA when outsourcing space missions are: first, safety; second, technical details; and finally, cost. In the early days, the U.S. military used cost - plus contracts. The outsourcing company would list the cost details, and the military would pay the cost plus an additional 15% profit. This model seems to be able to control costs, but the outsourcing companies had no incentive to reduce costs. Instead, they would increase costs to get more profit.

But when Musk entered the space industry, he became a disruptor. He proposed a fixed - price contract, where the total price was fixed, and the technical details were determined by his company. NASA only needed to specify the requirements. If the cost exceeded the budget, the company would bear the loss. If the cost was lower than the total price, the difference would be the profit. This model was beneficial to the government and was finally accepted by the military under the pressure of the Senate.

The second step is the product. Musk and SpaceX believe that reusable rockets