In an interview with Lex Fridman, an A.I. researcher at MIT, Musk goes on to discuss the pursuit of innovation, and in doing so he reveals the core of his decision-making process and his innovation equation. According to Musk, "What matters is the pace of innovation, access to resources, and raw materials." In other words, entrepreneurs can quickly and easily gauge whether they have what it takes to turn their wild idea into reality using this simple equation. It breaks down into three basic questions:

How long will it take you to build?
Do you have access to the right resources?
Can you obtain the required raw materials?

For any entrepreneur, this is a critical step in the pursuit of a startup. Not only can it save you a great deal of time, money, and energy, but it also answers one of the notorious questions that investors ask founders: Why should you be the one to start this business and does your team have what it takes to do so successfully? It's part of the "Founder's Dilemma" -- something for which Musk has discovered a solution.

https://www.inc.com/kelly-main/elon-musk-reveals-his-innovation-equation-its-an-easy-way-to-gauge-if-a-business-idea-is-viable.html