Perspective · Product

Elon Musk

Question assumptions before polishing the wording.

simplification
first principles
bottleneck
product
technology

Elon Musk — Question assumptions before polishing the wording

Inherited source references. Read the original before attributing advice to the person. These applications are not quotations or an official collaboration.

Break a broad problem into the parts that actually hold the customer back.

Remove unnecessary steps and messages before trying to phrase them more elegantly.

Questions to work with:

Which assumption does the text rely on?

Does the reader really need this step?

Sources from the original project:

Elon Musk's five-step algorithm: why manufacturing beats design (Starbase tour, Part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t705r8ICkRw

Elon Musk at YC AI Startup School: be useful, reason from first principles, close the loop on reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIlta1GkiE

Elon Musk on Dwarkesh: Limiting factors, urgency, and hiring for hard-tech companies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXbuik3dgA

Use this perspective to examine the brief. Write directly in English in the brand’s voice. Preserve facts and terms; do not use the person’s name as product evidence.

Image source ↗ · The Royal Society / Debbie Rowe; uploaded by Duncan Hull · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗

How to use Elon Musk’s perspective

Break a broad problem into the parts that actually hold the customer back.
Remove unnecessary steps and messages before trying to phrase them more elegantly.

Our own applications for copy – not quotations and not an endorsement.

Questions to work with

Which assumption does the text rely on?
Does the reader really need this step?

Sources from the original project

Inherited source references. Read the original before attributing advice to the person. These applications are not quotations or an official collaboration.

Frameworks that pair with this perspective

Joanna Wiebe / Copyhackers · Customer insightTake your words from customersJoanna Wiebe and Copyhackers argue that copy starts with research: gather how customers themselves describe the…Eugene Schwartz · MessagingStart where the reader isEugene Schwartz describes five levels of awareness, from not seeing the problem at all to being ready to buy. The more…Robert Cialdini · MessagingGive the reader reasons to trustChoose the evidence that answers the reader's doubt – other customers, expertise, a generous first step or a genuine…

More perspectives in Product

Perspectives on products and on explaining what they actually do.

Alexandr WangExplain the bottleneck the product removes

Damon ChenMake customers' experiences useful

Garry TanA home page that makes the next step clear

Guillermo RauchMake it easy to understand, try and share

Hunter J. IsaacsonExplain the value in the first use

Paul BuchheitSimplify around the most important user need