The Personality Profile of Entrepreneur and Business Leader Elon Musk

Authors

• Amelia Brower
• Aubrey Immelman, College of Saint Benedict | Saint John's UniversityFollow

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

7-2026

Disciplines

Leadership | Other Psychiatry and Psychology | Other Psychology | Personality and Social Contexts | Technology and Innovation

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of entrepreneur and business leader Elon Musk, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data relating to Musk were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles (MIPS) manuals. Musk’s primary personality patterns were found to be Ambitious/self-serving and Dominant/controlling, supplemented by secondary Dauntless/adventurous, Outgoing/congenial, and Contentious/ resolute patterns and a subsidiary Conscientious/respectful tendency.

Ambitious individuals are self-confident; they believe in themselves and their talents. Dominant individuals enjoy the power to direct others, demand compliance, and evoke respect; they view themselves as self-reliant and are disinclined to express compassion. Dauntless individuals live by their own internal code of values; they are not strongly influenced by the norms of society, may flout tradition and conventional standards, dislike following routine, and may act impulsively. Outgoing individuals enjoy being the center of attention and are susceptible to boredom when faced with repetitive or mundane tasks; they are prone to acting on impulse. Contentious personalities are independent-minded, headstrong, cynical, and outspoken; they thrive in positions that are not rule-bound and require resourcefulness or inventiveness. Conscientious individuals have a strong work ethic and pay careful attention to detail; they hold strong positions with absolute certainty and are persistent in difficult circumstances.

Based on his overall personality configuration, Musk’s personality profile may be concisely characterized as resourcefully confident, dauntlessly assertive — assertive and confident because of his primary Dominant and Ambitious patterns and resourceful and dauntless because of the interaction of his secondary Dauntless pattern with his primary Dominant and Ambitious patterns. 

Comments

The research was conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics (USPP), a collaborative faculty–student research program in the psychology of politics at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville and St. Joseph, Minnesota, directed by Aubrey Immelman, PhD, associate professor of psychology, who specializes in the psychological assessment of presidential candidates and world leaders.

More information and updates: http://personality-politics.org/

The research was partially funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholars at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University.

Related report

The Influence of Childhood Experiential History on Elon Musk’s Personality » Forthcoming 

Copyright Statement

Copyright © 2026 by Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics / Aubrey Immelman

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Brower, A., & Immelman, A. (2026, July 16–19). The personality profile of entrepreneur and business leader Elon Musk [Paper presentation]. International Society of Political Psychology 49th Annual Scientific Meeting, Newcastle, England, United Kingdom. https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/154/