In high school, Elon Musk planned to pursue a career in physics. But then, in 1993, Congress voted to pull funding from the Superconducting Super Collider, which had been under construction in Texas for about 10 years. That event made a deep impression on Musk and set him on the career path he’s still traveling today.
“When I was in high school, I thought I’d most likely be doing physics at a particle accelerator,” Musk said in a recent Third Row Tesla podcast. “I got distinctions in two areas, physics and computer science. Those were my two best subjects, and I thought, OK, I want to figure out what’s the nature of the universe and so go try to work with people banging particles together and see what happens.”
Accordingly, Musk, who had started life in South Africa and then emigrated to Canada, attended the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in physics and economics. But then came the cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider, a victim of budget overruns and spending on the International Space Station, since many in government believed that the country could not afford both. That event had a big effect on Musk’s career plans.
