In a 2014 CNN interview, Musk said he enjoys reading biographies, particularly The Biography of Benjamin Franklin, whom he describes as “one of my heroes.”
He said about the book, “it highlighted an important point which is that a lot of times, the question is harder than the answer. And if you can properly phrase the question, then the answer is the easy part. “
In an interview with the New Yorker, Musk said, “The heroes of the books I read, The Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series, always felt a duty to save the world.”
On August 2, 2014, Musk tweeted his recommendation for Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom. He tweeted, “Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.”
In a 2013 interview with the Guardian, Musk discussed how the book series Foundation by Isaac Asimov influenced him to build and launch rockets (Musk founded Spacex in 2002).