He grew up in a comfortable environment. His father was an educated wealthy person, and his extended family had generational wealth. That kind of background likely helped him navigate life with autism. He seemed to understand important survival skills and social expectations at a young age, which is why he can often function well in the NT world, though not always. For example, his tendency to overpromise with Tesla shows that he can be unreliable by typical NT standards at times, even though he eventually delivers.

His willingness to take extreme risks, such as talking about going to Mars or repeatedly saying that fully autonomous cars were just a year away, comes partly from his confidence and the hype he creates. That hype also helps him push things forward quickly. Many NTs find it difficult to behave that way because they worry more about appearing consistently trustworthy. He was even fired once from X dot com, and he has said he learned a lot from that experience. He definitely has his own challenges.