Over the years, billionaire Elon Musk has explored religion and the meaning of life during interviews. Religion was also one of the topics explored in a 2023 biography about Musk written by Walter Isaacson.
What Happened: Musk has often explored The meaning of life in discussions, as related to space exploration and other subjects.
In the 2023 biography "Elon Musk" by Isaacson, the billionaire shared his thoughts on religion while discussing his upbringing.
Musk recalled attending Sunday School at the local church where his mother was a teacher. Musk immediately started questioning stories from the bible.
"What do you mean, the waters parted? That's not possible," Musk said.
Musk also said the story of Jesus feeding the crowd with bread and fish could not happen as things can't just materialize out of nothing.
The billionaire also struggled with the concept of communion.
"I took the blood and body of Christ, which is weird when you're a kid. I said ‘What the hell is this? Is this a weird metaphor for cannibalism?'"
Musk was then able to stay home and read on Sunday mornings instead of going to church.
The billionaire took what he knew from religion and thought there was no creator or a deity and instead, it was science that could explain things.
"I began trying to figure out what the meaning of life and the universe was. And I got real depressed about it, like maybe life may have no meaning."
Related Link: 52 Facts And Figures About Elon Musk
Why It's Important: The Tesla Inc TSLA CEO discussed the meaning of life and whether he believes in God on the Full Send Podcast in 2022.
Musk revealed he spent time at a Hebrew preschool — despite not being Jewish — and at an Anglican Sunday school.
"I would say I generally agree with the teaching of Christianity, but I'm not religious," Musk said on the podcast. "I've never been particularly religious."
Musk added that the principles of life including turning the other cheek and "loving thy neighbor as thyself are "Good principles."
Musk said, "Something created the universe, or the universe is here" when asked if he believed in God.
"You could say whatever caused the universe to be is God, depending on your view."
Musk also touched on philosophy on the podcast and discussed the meaning of life.
Musk told listeners they should expand their consciousness and search for the right questions to ask. Doing so could make the "opportunity to understand the meaning of life that much greater," he explained.
Musk tweeted in May 2022 that he might die under mysterious circumstances. In response to a question about whether he had found out if there was an "almighty creator," Musk shared his take on hell.
"Thank you for the blessing, but I'm OK with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there."
There are many things people want to know about Musk, the CEO and investor in several of the largest companies and the world's richest man. Past interviews and the recently released biography highlight the role religion played in Musk's upbringing and a transition to exploring science and technology, which likely shaped his entrepreneurial spirit.
Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.
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