Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), has once again stirred discussion on the relevance of traditional higher education, following a recent post on his micro-blogging platform. Sharing a video from a Philadelphia event supporting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Musk expressed his belief that "college is overrated," citing the significant debt many students accumulate without gaining practical skills.


'People Spend 4 Years, But Don't Often Get Useful Skills'


Musk, whose background includes degrees in physics and economics, emphasised that success doesn't require a college degree. Instead, he highlighted the importance of vocational trades, like plumbing and electrical work, which he argued offer more practical career paths than some academic degrees.


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"I think the value of a college education is somewhat overweighted. Too many people spend four years, accumulate a ton of debt and often don't have useful skills that they can apply afterwards," Musk stated. 






Musk's scepticism towards traditional education is not new. In 2019, he sparked conversation by tweeting that a college degree is unnecessary to work at his companies, such as Tesla. Speaking at the 2020 Satellite Conference, he reiterated this sentiment, saying, "You don't need college to learn stuff. Everything is available basically for free."


While acknowledging that college has social benefits, Musk argued it isn’t essential for learning. "I think colleges are basically for fun and to prove you can do your chores. But they're not for learning," he said, downplaying its role in education.


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This perspective is shared by other tech leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who have also voiced the importance of skills and hands-on experience over traditional academic credentials - but not as sensationally as Musk.