Image copyright Getty Images

Elon Musk says that Kanye West is the person who inspires him.

The investor and businessman was speaking as part of a question and answer session at South by South West (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.

He was asked: "Everyone in this room is inspired by you, who are you inspired by?"

"Well, Kanye West obviously," he said, adding the dancer Fred Astaire to the list, saying "you should see my dance moves".

"I do love Fred Astaire, he's amazing. If you haven't watched his movies, they're amazing."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Elon is a Kanye fan

It's not the first time that the CEO of Space X and Tesla has praised Kanye West.

In 2015 he wrote about Kanye for Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people.

"Kanye's belief in himself and his incredible tenacity - he performed his first single with his jaw wired shut - got him to where he is today. And he fought for his place in the cultural pantheon with a purpose.

"Now that he's a pop-culture juggernaut, he has the platform to achieve just that. He's not afraid of being judged or ridiculed in the process. Kanye's been playing the long game all along, and we're only just beginning to see why."

As well as being a performer and producer, Kanye launched his own clothing line in 2006.

He released his first Adidas Yeezy Boosts in 2015 and they sold out within 10 minutes.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Fred Astaire is a legendary Hollywood dancer

Elon Musk founded Paypal, the electric car company Tesla, SpaceX and has made the Falcon Heavy - the most powerful rocket on earth.

He says the rocket is a stepping stone to Mars and told the audience at SXSW that he's hoping to run test flights of his Mars spaceship next year.

"I think we'll be able to do short flights, up and down flights, some time in the first half of next year."

Although he did laugh about the time frame, saying: "Sometimes my timelines are a little... y'know."

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