How do you cope with repetition?
Elon Musk believes "Patience is a virtue, and it's a tough lesson." This question aims to determine how sustainable an employee you'd be in this environment. How you answer will indicate how determined you are to succeed and whether you try and try again. They want to know if you thrive on solitary, introverted work and less so on the social aspect of the job or if you prefer to work with more social interaction. This is an attempt to discover whether you'll burn out from the monotony of the job or if you thrive in a regimented, rule-bound environment.
"Many people have trouble performing that kind of work without burning out. I'm indifferent to that part of the job. I take pride in my work, no matter what I'm doing, and I have several systems and processes for every aspect of my work. When you are good at what you do, you enjoy the work."
The goal is to communicate that you understand what they expect of you and validate that monotonous work is more arduous than it seems. Ask for further clarification of what the position entails beyond what they advertise in the job description. Further elaborate on how your experience correlates with the expectations of the job, drawing correlations between your work experience and the expectations of the position you're contending for.
"I love the work that I do. And when you love doing what you are doing, it's easy to cope with."
