Elon Musk

Who Is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is an American entrepreneur and businessman of South African origin who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002, and Tesla Motors in 2003. Musk became a multimillionaire in his late twenties after selling his start-up Zip2 to a division of Compaq Computers.

In May 2012, Musk made headlines when SpaceX launched a rocket carrying the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. He expanded his portfolio with the acquisition of SolarCity in 2016 and cemented his position as an industry leader by serving as an advisor in the early days of President Donald Trump's administration.

Musk is expected to overtake Jeff Bezos as the world's wealthiest person in January 2021.

Early Life

Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 28, 1971. Musk was so engrossed in his daydreams about inventions as a child that his parents and doctors ordered a hearing test. Musk developed an interest in computers around the time of his Parents' divorce, when he was 10 years old. He taught himself to program and sold his first piece of software, a game called Blastar when he was 12 years old.

Musk was short, introverted, and bookish in elementary school. He was bullied until he was 15 when he went through a growth spurt and learned karate and wrestling to defend himself.

South African entrepreneur Elon Musk is known for founding Tesla Motors and SpaceX, which launched a landmark commercial spacecraft in 2012.

Who Is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur and businessman who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002, and Tesla Motors in 2003. Musk became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. 

Musk made headlines in May 2012, when SpaceX launched a rocket that would send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. He bolstered his portfolio with the purchase of SolarCity in 2016 and cemented his standing as a leader in the industry by taking on an advisory role in the early days of President Donald Trump's administration.

In January 2021, Musk reportedly surpassed Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest man in the world.

Early Life

Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. As a child, Musk was so lost in his daydreams about inventions that his parents and doctors ordered a test to check his hearing. At about the time of his parent's divorce, when he was 10, Musk developed an interest in computers. He taught himself how to program, and when he was 12 he sold his first software: a game he created called Blastar.

In grade school, Musk was short, introverted, and bookish. He was bullied until he was 15 and went through a growth spurt and learned how to defend himself with karate and wrestling.

Family

Maye Musk, Musk's mother, is a Canadian model and the oldest woman to appear in a Covergirl campaign. Musk used to work five jobs to support her family when she was younger.

Errol Musk, Musk's father, is a wealthy South African engineer.

Musk spent his early childhood in South Africa with his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca. His parents divorced when he was ten years old.

Education

Musk moved to Canada in 1989, at the age of 17, to attend Queen's University and avoid military service in South Africa. Musk obtained Canadian citizenship that same year, partly because he believed it would be easier to obtain American citizenship through that route. Musk moved to the United States in 1992 to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics before continuing on to earn a second bachelor's degree in physics.

Musk left Penn to pursue a Ph.D. in energy physics at Stanford University in California. His decision, however, coincided with the Internet boom, and he dropped out of Stanford after only two days to become a part of it, launching his first company, Zip2 Corporation.
Companies

Corporation Zip2


In 1995, Musk co-founded Zip2 Corporation with his brother, Kimbal Musk. Zip2, an online city guide, was soon providing content for The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune's new websites. Zip2 was purchased by a division of Compaq Computer Corporation in 1999 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options.

PayPal


Elon and Kimbal Musk founded X.com, an online financial services/payments company, with the proceeds from the sale of Zip2. The following year, an X.com acquisition resulted in the formation of PayPal as it is known today

Musk earned his first billion dollars in October 2002, when PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock. Musk owned 11 companies before the sale.

SpaceX


Musk's third company, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, was founded in 2002 to develop spacecraft for commercial space travel. By 2008, SpaceX had established itself, and NASA awarded the company the contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space Station—with future plans for astronaut transport—to replace NASA's own space shuttle missions.

Musk and SpaceX made history on May 22, 2012, when the company launched its Falcon 9 rocket into space with an unmanned capsule. The vehicle was launched into space with 1,000 pounds of supplies for the astronauts stationed there, marking the first time a private company launched a spacecraft into orbit. Musk was quoted as saying about the launch, "I consider myself extremely fortunate... It's like winning the Super Bowl for us."

In December 2013, a Falcon 9 successfully delivered a satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, the distance at which the satellite would lock into an orbital path that corresponded to the rotation of the Earth. SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 with the Deep Space Climate Observatory in February 2015. (COVER)