Elon Musk has a favourite job interview question which helps him detect liars

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has a "favourite" job interview question which helps him detect whether the candidate is telling the truth or is being dishonest.

A report in The New York Post said that Musk, during the 2017 World Government Summit, had revealed that has always asked any job applicant the following question:

“Tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them?”

According to Musk, the question helps him identify dishonest candidates by revealing inconsistencies in their responses.

"People who pretended to solve the problem can maybe go one level and then they get stuck," Musk said, illustrating how that helps him catch those who are probably lying.

If the applicants come back with a detailed response, then it means that they are likely telling the truth as opposed to someone who comes up with a vague or ambiguous reply.

The NY Post report said that Musk uses the “Asymmetric Information Management (AIM)” technique which helps detect verbal lies by encouraging truth tellers (but not liars).

According to a study in the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition in December 2020, small details can offer investigators with facts to check and witnesses to question.

The study's author, Cody Porter, said that liars would give little to no detail to “conceal their guilt,” which could be perceived as strategically withholding information when the AIM method is introduced.

Porter said that candidates with a track record of exceptional achievement are more likely to continue their performance in the future.

Musk applies this method to assess whether candidates' true capabilities align with their resumes by probing for inconsistencies and hidden details.

During the summit in 2017, Musk was also asked how he would select candidates for a future manned mission to Mars. He said that he relies on his gut feeling but also asks questions to arrive at a final decision.

“My interview questions are always the same ... I say tell me the story of your life and the decisions you made along the way and why you made them," he said.