7 Steps of First Principles Thinking: Solve Like Elon Musk

✅ Today's Saturday • 📖 12 mins read

You can spend hours trying to solve a problem, reviewing familiar solutions and finding that none seem to work. You may need a different approach, yet your mind keeps returning to what has worked before.

First-principles thinking offers another way to approach the problem. Instead of accepting established methods, you break the problem down into its basic facts and constraints, then build a solution from there.

Elon Musk has discussed using this approach in engineering and business. You can apply the same general method to everyday decisions, work problems, and personal goals.

What Is First-Principles Thinking?

First-principles thinking starts with a sharp focus on your goal, then strips away familiar methods to ask: what actually helps you reach it with the least resources? You question established approaches, test assumptions, and discard what doesn’t hold up. This means breaking a problem into its most basic elements and reasoning from there, rather than relying on convention.

The idea has philosophical roots reaching back to Aristotle. In practical problem-solving, a first principle is a foundational fact or constraint from which you can reason about a particular problem. What counts as foundational depends entirely on the specific problem you’re solving.

This approach differs from reasoning by analogy. When reasoning by analogy, you use a similar situation as a guide. With first-principles thinking, you examine the underlying facts to determine whether an existing approach makes sense.

The goal is understanding the problem well enough to make a reasoned choice, rather than following convention without examining it.

The key question for a first-principles thinker is: Is my current approach the best way to achieve the outcome that I need?

“Don’t just optimize the familiar. Question whether it’s the right path in the first place.”

Say you want to make meetings more productive. You might think of shortening meetings, improving the agenda, or changing the schedule. A first-principles thinker starts with the question, “Is this meeting necessary?”

How Elon Musk Applied First-Principles Thinking at SpaceX

Elon Musk became obsessed with a question: Why are rockets so expensive? He applied first-principles thinking, stripping away industry convention to ask what actually drove the cost.

In a 2012 interview with WIRED, Musk estimated that the raw materials in a rocket were worth around 2% of the typical price of a finished rocket. This comparison led him to question why rockets cost so much and whether established manufacturing methods could be improved.

SpaceX subsequently developed its own engineering and manufacturing capabilities. The broader lesson is to break a high price into its components and investigate where costs arise. Raw materials are only one part of the total cost, which also includes engineering, labor, testing, facilities, and other expenses.

The lesson is direct: when a price seems high, break it into its underlying parts. Where does the cost actually come from? Engineering, labor, testing, facilities, supply-chain markup? Or waste?

The raw-material cost alone does not explain the full cost of a rocket. But understanding each component reveals where improvement is possible.

SpaceX subsequently developed its own manufacturing and engineering capabilities to eliminate the waste Musk had identified.

This applies beyond rockets. You can question an accepted practice, examine the assumptions behind a process, and investigate why a problem seems difficult to solve. The question remains the same: Is this constraint truly necessary, or have we simply accepted it without examination?

7 Steps of First-Principles Thinking

Follow these seven steps to question assumptions, identify the essential elements of a problem, and develop a solution you can test.

1. Question the Unquestionable

Action: Identify the beliefs and procedures you accept without examining their evidence.

When a method has been used for years, it can seem unnecessary to question it. First-principles thinking starts by asking why it exists and whether it still serves its purpose.

Ask yourself:

• What evidence supports this approach?
• What problem was it originally designed to solve?
• What would happen if I removed or changed one part of it?

For example, a company might continue using an expensive process because it has always done so. Examining the process may reveal that some steps are essential while others remain out of habit.

Questioning a convention does not automatically make it wrong. It gives you a reason to investigate whether it remains useful.

2. Break Free From Your Mental Anchors

Action: Write down your first answer, then look for alternatives that rely on different assumptions.

A mental anchor is an initial piece of information or an established belief that influences later judgments. Once you have accepted an explanation, you may interpret new information in ways that support it. Anchors can bias our judgments, making alternatives harder to consider.

Thomas Sowell said, “You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats, procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.” We have similar bureaucrats in our minds. These are “mental anchors” that form when we solve a problem the same way a few times.

To challenge an anchor, write down your initial solution. Then ask what else might explain the problem. Try to develop at least two alternatives before deciding which one deserves further attention.

For example, Henry Ford is often associated with the idea of moving beyond the search for a “faster horse” and rethinking how people travel. The lesson is to question whether the existing solution is the only way to meet a need.

3. Practice Strategic Ignorance

Action: Temporarily set aside familiar methods and explain the problem in plain language.

Experience is valuable, but established knowledge can also limit the solutions you consider. Strategic ignorance means temporarily setting aside conventional answers so you can examine the problem from a fresh perspective.

Try explaining your problem to someone outside your field. You could also imagine explaining it to a child. Which details are essential? Which parts depend on technical language or professional conventions?

The Wright brothers offer a useful example: they approached flight mechanics through bicycle mechanics. It is a miracle what they set in motion: their first flight was in 1903, and humans landed on the Moon just 70 years later.

Try looking at your problem through a beginner’s eyes, as if you knew nothing about it.

Suppose you want to get fit. You might assume you need a gym membership, expensive equipment, or a complicated workout plan. But a beginner might ask a simpler question: What does my body actually need to become fitter?

You might discover that regular walking, a few basic strength exercises, adequate sleep, and consistency are enough to make a meaningful start.

The point is to question the usual method before accepting it as necessary. Temporarily setting aside what you already know can reveal simpler options that experience or habit may have caused you to overlook.

4. Map the Core Elements

Action: Break the problem into its main components and separate essential requirements from familiar extras.

A complex problem can seem impossible when you treat it as one large challenge. Breaking it down makes the underlying questions easier to examine.

Write the problem in the center of a page. Add branches for its main components, requirements, resources, and constraints. Then label each item:

• Essential: Necessary to achieve the intended outcome.
• Assumed: Commonly accepted, but not yet shown to be necessary.
• Optional: Potentially useful, but not required.

For example, create a physical map:

• Draw a circle for your challenge.
• Add branches for each component.
• Label each item as “essential,” “assumed,” or “optional.”
• Examine each assumed item and test whether it is necessary. Remove or change items that prove unnecessary. Keep the essentials for the next stage.

If you want to start a small business, you need a product or service that customers want, a way to reach them, and a viable financial model. A large office or a website may be unnecessary at the beginning.

Aim to identify what the problem genuinely requires before deciding how to solve it.

5. Challenge Your Dependencies

Action: Examine each supposed requirement and ask what would happen if you removed it.

A dependency is something your solution relies on. Some dependencies are genuine constraints; others are habits or assumptions that have never been tested.

For each requirement, ask:

• Is it essential to the outcome?
• What would happen if I removed it?
• Could another method serve the same purpose?
• What evidence would show that the change works?

Consider video rental businesses before streaming became widespread. Physical stores were central to the traditional model. Netflix developed a different approach to delivering films, first through DVDs by mail and later through streaming. A changed delivery method changed the entire business model.

Challenge assumptions carefully. Removing a requirement on paper does not prove that it is unnecessary. Test the consequences before making a major change.

6. Build From Verified Truths, Not Tradition

Action: Develop a solution from the facts and constraints that remain after questioning your assumptions.

Once you have identified the essential elements, use them to construct a solution. Avoid reintroducing unnecessary steps simply because they are familiar.

Suppose you want to improve a daily routine. Your actual requirements may be to complete important work, meet your responsibilities, and maintain enough time for rest. You can then design a schedule around those needs instead of copying someone else’s productivity system.

In business, first-principles reasoning can help people examine costs, materials, customer needs, and technical limits. In personal life, it can help you distinguish what you need to accomplish from the habits you have developed along the way.

Be careful about what you call a verified truth. A strongly held belief is not evidence by itself. Use reliable information, direct observation, and relevant measurements wherever possible.

7. Test Against First Principles

Action: Test your new solution on a small scale and compare its results with your original approach.

A solution may sound logical and still fail in practice. Testing helps you discover errors in your assumptions before investing too much time or money.

Before trying your solution, ask:

• Does it address the actual problem?
• Which assumptions remain untested?
• Can I measure whether it works?
• Is each step necessary for the intended outcome?

Choose a manageable task or process. Record how the current approach performs, try your alternative, and compare the results. If the new method performs better, consider expanding it. If it fails, examine what you learned and revise your reasoning.

For example, electric vehicles use energy more efficiently than conventional gasoline vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that a typical electric vehicle is 87–91% efficient, compared with about 30% for a conventional gasoline vehicle. This efficiency advantage is one reason automakers such as Tesla have pursued electric vehicles.

First-principles thinking is not a guarantee of innovation. It is a way to question the basis of a decision, develop alternatives, and test them against evidence.

FAQs

1. What is first-principles thinking?

First-principles thinking is a way of solving problems by breaking them down into basic facts and constraints, then developing a solution from those elements. It encourages you to examine assumptions instead of relying entirely on established methods.

2. Who developed first-principles thinking?

The idea has roots in ancient philosophy, particularly Aristotle’s work on foundational principles. There is no single modern inventor of the practical problem-solving method commonly associated with first-principles thinking. Entrepreneurs and engineers, including Elon Musk, have discussed applying it to real-world problems.

3. How is first-principles thinking different from critical thinking?

Critical thinking involves evaluating claims, evidence, and reasoning. First-principles thinking is a particular approach to problem-solving that breaks a problem down into its basic elements and uses them to construct a solution. The two approaches can work together.

4. How do I practice first-principles thinking?

Choose a problem and define the outcome you want. List what you know, identify assumptions, separate essential constraints from conventions, and develop a solution based on the remaining facts. Test the solution and use the results to refine it.

5. When should I use first-principles thinking?

Use it when a familiar solution is failing, a problem is unusually complex, costs seem unnecessarily high, or people keep repeating a practice without a clear reason. For routine problems, established methods may be faster and more efficient.

6. Does first-principles thinking guarantee a better solution?

No. It can reveal overlooked assumptions and generate alternatives, but your reasoning may still be incomplete or based on inaccurate information. Testing the proposed solution against evidence is essential.

Final Words

First-principles thinking helps you question assumptions, identify essential facts, and develop solutions you can test. It is especially useful when familiar methods are failing or when a problem has become expensive, ineffective, confusing, or unnecessarily complicated.

Start with one problem. Define the outcome you want, separate evidence from assumptions, and ask which requirements are genuinely necessary. Then test your proposed solution and revise it based on the results.

Did you know that Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius discussed first principles in his Meditations nearly 2,000 years ago?

You’ve wandered all over and finally realized that you never found what you were after: how to live. Not in syllogisms, not in money, or fame, or self-indulgence. Nowhere.
—Then where is it to be found?
In doing what human nature requires.
—How?
Through first principles. Which should govern your intentions and your actions.

— Marcus Aurelius, Book 8, Meditations

Peace and success!

√ Also Read: Identity-Based Habits To Hasten Your Success Routine

√ Please spread the word if you found this helpful.

» You deserve happiness! Choosing therapy could be your best decision.

...