Elon Musk talks down education, says colleges are for fun and not learning (2024)

UPDATED: Mar 4, 2024 12:55 IST

A couple of years back, having a degree from a prestigious college meant you would be succesful in life. People would run after A-grade colleges and consider half the battle one if they could get through in one. But now, more and more tech experts believe that having a degree doesn't necessarily mean that the person is skilled enough. In the last few months, various companies removed the requirement of a college degree for various job postings as well, a move that shows that there has been a gradual shift in the entire perspective. And tech mogul Elon Musk also agrees with this school of thought.

Musk, in an interview last year, had said that you don't really need to go to college to learn anything as everything is available for free. He, however, did agree that college is important for one thing - having fun.

"You don’t need college to learn stuff. Everything is available basically for free. You can learn anything you want for free. It is not a question of learning. I think colleges are basically for fun and to prove you can do your chores. But, they’re not for learning," he was seen saying in a video shared by Mint.

This wasn't the first, or the last time that Musk had talked down the importance of education.

In a post on X a couple of months back, the Tesla chief had shared a meme that depicted how people don't learn much in college.

Musk, however, isn't the only tech leader who has been talking down the importance of education.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, in November last year, had also said that a college degree isn't necessary for being hired at Apple. During an interview with popular artist Dua Lipa, Cook had said that Apple hires people from "all walks of life" and that includes those "who have college degrees, people who don’t, people who code, people who don’t."

Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, had also believed that college turned people into "bozos." His daughter, Lisa-Brennan Jobs, wrote in her book titled Small Fry that her father never really believed much in college education.

In addition to this, Google CEO Sundar Pichai also expressed his opinion on college degrees in 2023. He said that Indian students are often held back due to societal expectations, even though they have great potential. In India, Pichai added, there is a tendency to prioritise education over real-world experience and that prevents students from achieving great things.

He added that if he continued on the academic path, he might have obtained a Ph.D and made his parents proud. However, he chose the real-world experience, which resulted in him becoming Google's CEO.

"Had I stayed the course in graduate school, I would probably have a PhD today, which would have made my parents really proud. But I might have missed the opportunity to bring the benefits of technology to so many others. And I suddenly wouldn't be standing here speaking to you as Google CEO. The only thing that got me from there to here, other than luck, was a deep passion for technology and an open mind," he had said.