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Elon Musk Answers Your Questions! - 2018 SXSW Conference and Festivals

Source: Diego Donamaria / Getty

Elon Musk is a genius and there is no debating that.

He built his own electric supercar, the Tesla Roadster with his own money. He just successfully launched that same roadster into space with the help of one of the most advanced rockets ever built by his company SpaceX. It’s no shock millions of people look up to Musk but when the question was asked to him about who inspires him? His answer was, “Well,  Kanye West obviously.” 

Real recognize real.

On Sunday, March 11 during a semi-surprise appearance at a SXSW Q&A session, Musk spoke about his ambitious goal to put people on Mars. He revealed that they are building the rockets now and should be ready to make that trip to the red planet possible by the first half of 2019. Right after that bold proclamation, he let the room know that West was his biggest inspiration.

It should be no surprise that one genius is inspired by another. This isn’t the first time Musk shared his admiration for the Chi-Town rapper. Back in 2015, Musk gushed about West in a blurb about the rapper and his inclusion on TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list.

“Kanye West would be the first person to tell you he belongs on this list. The dude doesn’t believe in false modesty, and he shouldn’t. Kanye’s belief in himself and his incredible tenacity—he performed his first single with his jaw wired shut—got him to where he is today. And he fought for his place in the cultural pantheon with a purpose. In his debut album, over a decade ago, Kanye issued what amounted to a social critique and a call to arms (with a beat): “We rappers is role models: we rap, we don’t think.” But Kanye does think. Constantly. About everything. And he wants everybody else to do the same…” Musk said at the time.

Who knows, maybe these two will eventually link up and do something creative together. Or Musk could back West’s clothing ambitions and give the Yeezy fashion line a boost.