Who knows? Maybe you
sit one day in front of Tesla’s CEO and hear this question, so discover the
question, its answer, and how to ace Elon Musk’s job interviews to work side by
side with the wealthiest entrepreneur in the world!
- Why Elon Musk Asks this Question During the Job Interview?
- How Elon Musk
Identifies the Liar? - Musk’s Strategy from
An Analytical Point of View - Top Tips to Answer
Elon Musk’s Job Interview Question
Last Reviewed: April 2026 | Sources: DrJobPro Hiring Data Q1 2026.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and recently the owner of Twitter, was once asked how he selects his team members. He explicitly declared that he has one basic question that helps him spot the liars: “Tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them.”
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Whether you will meet Elon Musk personally
or you’ll attend an interview for this local company near to your home, knowing
why he asks this question and how to answer it professionally will help you
make the strides when it comes to convincing the recruiters during the job
interviews, read on!
Why Elon Musk Asks this Question During the Job Interview?
According to the Daily Star, Musk appears
unconcerned with an imminent employee’s school or degree of schooling.
“There’s no need for a college degree or a high school diploma,” Musk
expressed in a 2014 interview with Auto Bild. Instead, when it comes to utilizing
modern workers, the father of seven looks for “verification of
extraordinary skill.” “If there’s a track record of exceptional
achievement, it is likely to continue into the longer term,” he added.
Of course, lying on a CV or almost one’s
accomplishments is simple, but Musk encompasses an implied address to capture
liars. Musk said amid the World Government Summit in 2017 that he inquires the
same question to each candidate he interviews: “Tell me about some of the
most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them.”
How Elon Musk
Identifies the Liar?
The issue is that anyone may claim to be
the greatest at what they do, but it can be difficult — and often impossible —
to verify whether they’re telling the truth.
Because “the folks who truly solved
the problem know exactly how they did it,” Musk explained. “They are
aware of and can articulate little things.”
Musk’s approach is based on the assumption
that someone making a fraudulent claim will be unable to back it up
convincingly. Thus he wants to hear them talk about how they worked through a
difficult issue step by step.
Musk’s Strategy from
An Analytical Point of View
Research published in the Journal of
Applied Research in Memory and Cognition in December 2020 found numerous
methods of identifying liars based on a job interviewing strategy that bolsters
Musk’s approach.
One such technique is “Asymmetric
Information Management” (AIM). It aims to provide an interviewee with a straightforward
way to set up their blamelessness or blame to the agent by giving exact
information. “Small, subtle elements are the soul of forensic
investigations,” Cody Doorman, one of the study’s creators and a Senior
Instructing Individual at the College of Portsmouth, said in a paper for The
Conversation.
She especially said that interviewers
ought to offer respondents clear instructions that “on the off chance that
they make lengthier, more comprehensive comments concerning the occurrence of
intrigued, the examiner would be way better able to observe whether they are
talking the truth or lying.” “Liars, on the other hand, need to cover
up their blame,” Porter added.
“This suggests they are more inclined
to withhold data intentionally in reaction to the AIM technique. “They
accept that advertising in more detail will make it less demanding for the
agent to distinguish their misdirection. Subsequently, they give less
information.”
The study also found that utilizing the
Aim approach can boost the chance of identifying liars by almost 70%.
“They accept that offering more detail will simplify the investigator to
recognize their misdirection; hence they give less information.”
Top Tips to Answer
Elon Musk’s Job Interview Question
Show Off Your
Problem-Solving Skills
In today’s fast-paced job market where
technology changes the standard daily, it’s crucial to have unique
problem-solving skills whatever your industry.
To give a perfect overview of your
problem-solving and analytical skills, you can list the significant challenges
you have faced during your current and past jobs and how you have handled them
and achieved good results.
This will help you focus on your
achievements rather than your responsibilities and will help you show off your
leadership skills.
Underline Your
Achievements
After listing your accomplishments, update
your CV to ensure mentioning them in it. Don’t just write down lists of endless
responsibilities; show how you add value to the company.
That can be done by using “numbers” to prove your ability. For example, instead of saying that “I am a content manager” who leads a team of 6 content writers, you can show your leadership skills and how they affect the company by saying that “With my content team, we have succeeded in moving the company’ website up from the 5th result to the 1st result to dominate the industry’s most revenues through our digital presence.”
Be Fully Prepared
Job interviews are confusing enough; It’s
easy to forget what you want to ask and get confused when talking about your
accomplishments and telling your story. This shows you the importance of
“training”!
It will help if you write your answer in
persuasive and direct sentences, then practice with your friends, family, or
even in front of the mirror.
Try to find someone who serves as a mentor
so you can practice aloud and get notes from him, don’t just rehearse in your
mind and forget about getting feedback from people around you.
Go A Step Further in
The Interview
When being asked, make sure to “delve
deeply” into your answers about how you dealt with obstacles.
“The employees who truly solved the
problem know precisely how they did it and the minor nuances,” Musk stated
in the same interview. Those who are only pretending to go into one level of
detail and then become stuck.”
Describe the problem you handled, how you
tried to solve it, the assets you used, the hurdles you faced on your way to
the solution, how you overcame those barriers, and the results you delivered
for your company.
Utilize Your
Storytelling Skills
Finally, be ready to ask general questions
about your life as Musk asserts that he may ask the candidate about his
personal life, difficult situations he has faced, and how he has solved them.
Describe a previous problem you had and
how you dealt with it as you progressed in your life and profession.
As CEO of Tesla and
SpaceX and co-founder and co-founder of Neuralink and The Boring Company, the
49-year-old certainly gets what he’s doing in business.
To Conclude,
Of course, no one needs to hire someone
who talks a lot but does nothing. So, if you need to land a job with Elon Musk
or any of the world leaders, don’t cut your answers short and don’t lie.
Hone your skills to suit the organization you dream of working in, and start discovering and applying for leadership positions now!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Elon Musk Asks this Question During the Job Interview?
According to the Daily Star, Musk appears
unconcerned with an imminent employee’s school or degree of schooling.
“There’s no need for a college degree or a high school diploma,” Musk
expressed in a 2014 interview with Auto Bild. Instead, when it come
How Elon Musk
Identifies the Liar?
The issue is that anyone may claim to be
the greatest at what they do, but it can be difficult — and often impossible —
to verify whether they’re telling the truth.
Musk’s Strategy from
An Analytical Point of View
Research published in the Journal of
Applied Research in Memory and Cognition in December 2020 found numerous
methods of identifying liars based on a job interviewing strategy that bolsters
Musk’s approach.
Top Tips to Answer
Elon Musk’s Job Interview Question
In today’s fast-paced job market where
technology changes the standard daily, it’s crucial to have unique
problem-solving skills whatever your industry.
