Earth's been around 4.5 billion years, and this is the first time in 4.5 billion years that it's been possible to extend life beyond Earth. And that window of opportunity may be open for a long time, and I hope it is, but it also may be open for a short time ... I think it is wise for us to act quickly while the window is open just in case it closes.

Try to be useful ... It's very hard to be useful, very hard. Are you contributing more than you consume? Try to have a positive net contribution to society. I think that's the thing to aim for.

We're already cyborgs to some degree—we've got our phones, laptops, and electronic devices. Today, if you don't bring your phone along, it's like you have missing limb syndrome—it feels like something's really missing.

We're terrified of this disease [COVID-19] that was projected to kill 100-200k Americans this year. Cigarettes kill 500k people every year, and you don't hear a peep out of any politician.

I encourage people to read a lot of books ... Try to ingest as much information as you can. And try to also just develop a good general knowledge so you at least have a rough lay of the land of the knowledge landscape. Try to learn a little bit about a lot of things.

To be successful, simply aspire to be less wrong.

There's probably not aliens. And I think that's kind of scary, actually, because then what it would suggest is that consciousness, civilization as we know it, is extremely rare and a very precious thing where our consciousness is like a small candle in a vast darkness, and we must not let that small candle go out.

The window of opportunity to make life multiplanetary and have a base on the moon or Mars is open for the first time in the 4.5 billion-year history of Earth ... We should assume it'll be open for a short time, and while the window of opportunity is open, we should make life multiplanetary.

If you want to improve the quality of your sleep and be healthier, don't eat right before you go to sleep—it's one of the worst things you could do.

In the United States especially, there's an over-allocation of talent in finance and law. Basically, too many smart people go into finance and law.

I think the mortality rate [of COVID-19] is much less than what the World Health Organization said it was. It's much less—probably at least an order of magnitude less.

When reporting COVID-19 cases, the media should distinguish between people diagnosed with the disease and those who just had symptoms.

One New York hospital said obesity was the number one determining factor for severe COVID-19 symptoms.

It appears that consciousness is rare, and it takes a long time for it to arise. And so, to the the best of our knowledge, we are alone. And so, we have to accept the possibility that we may be it—at least in this sector of the galaxy or in the Milky Way, perhaps.

I think we may be able to implant a 'Neuralink' in someone in less than a year.

In order to pass a very important great filter, I think we need to be a multi-planet species.

I don't think there are aliens—at least in our sector of the galaxy.

If somebody wants to stay home [amid COVID-19], they should stay home; if someone doesn't want stay home, they should not be compelled to stay home. That's my opinion.

How does wealth arise? If you organize people in a better way to produce products and services that are better than what existed before, and you have some ownership, that essentially gives you the right to allocate more capital.

Most of the hospitals in the United States right now [in early May 2020] are half empty—in some cases, they're at 30% capacity.

Tesla has 7,000 people in China, and 0 died because of COVID-19.