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Elon Musk Quote of the Day: “Failure is an option here. If things don’t fail, you’re not innovating enough” | Today’s news

February 17, 2026

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is known for leading some of the world’s most influential technology companies, including electric vehicle maker Tesla, space company SpaceX and social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Widely recognized as one of the most powerful figures in the global technology industry, Musk is known for his ambitious vision and bold bets on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, spaceflight and sustainable energy.

Quote of the day from Elon Musk

“Failure is an option here. If things don’t fail, you’re not innovating enough.”

What does the quote mean?

This quote from Elon Musk emphasizes that risk and experimentation are essential to innovation. Musk told Forbes that he’s noticed over the years that people aren’t really serious about their ideals or ambitions.

“That may sound like a harsh statement, but I’m guilty of it too. I had a lot of ideas that I thought could change the world, but they’re just that, ideas. There was no courage or action behind those ideas…maybe they weren’t important enough for me,” he said.

He further believes that if one tries to verify most ideas, then all of them would come true. “I doubt they would all be successful, but you never know until you try,” he added.

A clear example is Musk’s shift in focus from reaching Mars to developing technologies for the Moon. While SpaceX previously sought to reach Mars, it has extended the timeline to achieve this goal due to certain limitations. SpaceX is now moving forward with lunar missions, using each “failure” as a springboard to more ambitious goals.

“For those who don’t know, SpaceX has already focused on building a self-growing city on the moon, as we can potentially achieve this in less than 10 years, while Mars would take 20+ years,” Musk wrote on X some time ago.

Who is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is the world’s richest person with a total net worth of $677 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is also set to become the world’s first billionaire after Tesla shareholders approved his historic $1 trillion pay package.

While the full rollout is slated for 10 years, based on performance milestones, with the tech mogul’s wealth so tied to the automaker’s stock, his net worth will touch that number as highly likely.

Elon Musk, who runs Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, among others, became the first person in history to reach the $500 billion personal wealth milestone in October 2025.

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