Biography Of Elon Reeve Musk

Elon Musk is a South-African-Canadian-American entrepreneur who lives in the United States. He is the founder of SpaceX, Tesla, and Zip2, among others.

He was also one of the people responsible for the success of PayPal. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Designer (CDO) of SpaceX, CEO and product architect of Tesla (electric vehicles), and chair of SolarCity.

Elon Musk Childhood

Musk was born to a Canadian mother[ Maye Musk] and a South African father [Errol Musk], and raised in Pretoria, South Africa.

He was born June 28, 1971 [aged 50] with his brother Kimbal. his mom is a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada, but raised in South Africa.

His father is Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer who was once a half-owner of a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika.

Musk has a younger brother, Kimbal (born 1972), and a younger sister, Tosca (born 1974). His maternal grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, was an American-born Canadian and Musk has British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.

The family was very wealthy in Elon’s youth; Errol Musk once said, “We had so much money at times we couldn’t even close our safe“.

After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk mostly lived with his father in Pretoria and elsewhere, a choice he made two years after the divorce and later regretted. Musk had described his father as “a terrible human”.

He has a half-sister and a half-brother on his father’s side. Elon attended an Anglican Sunday school in his youth.

Around age 10, Musk developed an interest in computing and video games and acquired a Commodore VIC-20.

He learned computer programming using a manual, at age 12, sold the code of a BASIC-based video game he created called Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine.

He was an introvert, Musk was bullied throughout his childhood and was once hospitalized after a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs.

He attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School before graduating from Pretoria Boys High School.

Biography Of Elon Musk

Education And Early Life

Having known it is easier to enter the United States from Canada, Musk had earlier applied for a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother.

While waiting for the documentation, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months; this allowed him to avoid mandatory service in the South African military.

Musk arrived in Canada in June 1989, and lived with a second cousin in Saskatchewan for a year, doing odd jobs at a farm and lumber mill.

In 1990, he entered Queen’s University in Ontario. Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics

In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley during the summer: at energy storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which researched electrolytic ultracapacitors for energy storage, and at the Palo Alto-based startup Rocket Science Games.

1995, he was accepted to a Doctor of HYPERLINK “https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy” Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in materials science at Stanford University in California.

Musk attempted to get a job at Netscape but never received a response. He dropped out of Stanford after two days, deciding instead to join the Internet boom and launch an Internet startup.

See Also: Tim Cook Biography

Business Career

In 1995, Musk, Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded web software company Zip2 with funds from angel investors.

The company developed and marketed an Internet city guide for the newspaper publishing industry, with maps, directions, and yellow pages.

Musk said that before the company became successful, he could not afford an apartment and instead rented an office and slept on the couch and showered at the YMCA, and shared one computer with his brother.

According to Musk, “The website was up to during the day and I was coding it at night, seven days a week, all the time.” The Musk brothers obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune and persuaded the board of directors to abandon plans for a merger with CitySearch.

In 1999, Musk co-founded, online financial services and payment company.

The startup was one of the first federally insured online banks, and, in its initial months of operation, over 200,000 individuals and had him replaced with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year.

Within the merged company, Musk returned as CEO  Musk’s preference for Microsoft software over Linux created a rift in the company and caused Thiel to resign.

Due to resulting technological issues and lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him with Thiel in September 2000 Under Thiel, the company focused on the PayPal service and was renamed PayPal in 2001.

Business Ideas | Elon Musk Biography

Space x

In 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society. He was inspired by plans to place a growth chamber for plants on Mars and discussed funding the project himself.

Elon Musk instead decided to start a company that could build affordable rockets. With $100 million of his early fortune, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., traded as SpaceX, in May 2002.

As of 2021, he remains the company’s CEO and also holds the title of Chief Engineer.

SpaceX attempted its first launch2006, and although the rocket failed to reach Earth orbit, it was awarded a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program contract from NASA later that year.

After two more failed attempts, which reportedly caused Musk so much stress that he was “waking from nightmares, screaming and in physical pain, SpaceX succeeded in launching into orbit in 2008, making it the first private liquid-fuel rocket to do so.

Working towards its goal of reusable rockets, in 2015, SpaceX successfully landed  Landings that were later achieved on an autonomous spaceport drone ship.

In 2018, SpaceX launched; the inaugural mission carried Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.

In 2017, SpaceX unveiled its next-generation launch vehicle In 2018,  SpaceX began the development of the Starlink constellation of low Earth orbit satellites in 2015 to provide satellite Internet access, with the first two prototype satellites launched in February 2018.

The second set of test satellites and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation occurred in May 2019, when the first 60 operational satellites were launched.

The company has attracted criticism from astronomers who say Starlink’s satellites are blocking the view of the skies, and from experts arguing that they risk colliding and causing dangers in space.

Musk rejected the criticism, stating that the impact of satellites is “nothing” and that “space is just extremely enormous, and satellites are very tiny.”

Tesla Career

Tesla, Inc.—originally Tesla Motors—was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who financed the company until the first part was done.

These men played active roles in the company’s early development prior to Musk’s involvement. Musk led the Series A round of investment in February 2004;

He invested $6.5 million, became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla’s board of directors as chairman Musk took an active role within the company but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business  Following activities as CEO and product architect in 2008.

As of 2019, Elon Musk was the longest-tenured CEO of any automotive manufacturer globally. In 2021, while retaining his position as CEO.changed his title to Technoking

Tesla first built an electric sports car, in 2008. With sales of about 2,500 vehicles, it was the first serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells.

Tesla began delivery of its four-door sedan in 2012; A mass-market sedan, the Model 3, was released in 2017 As of March 2020, it is the world’s best-selling electric car, with more than 500,000 units delivered.

A fifth vehicle, the Model Y crossover, was launched in 2020, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019.

SolarCity and Tesla Energy

Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive co-founded in 2006.

By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.

In 2014, Tesla acquired SolarCity for over $2 billion in 2016 and merged it with its battery energy storage products division to create Tesla Energy.

The announcement of the deal resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla’s stock price. At the time, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues.

Consequently, multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla’s directors, claiming that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholder

Neuralink

In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup company to integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by creating devices that are embedded in the human brain to facilitate its merging with machines.

The devices will also reconcile with the latest improvements in artificial intelligence to stay updated.

At a live demonstration in August 2020, Musk described one of their early devices as “a Fitbit in your skull” that could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other disabilities.

Many neuroscientists and publications criticized it”

Self-Landing Rockets

With SpaceX, Musk launched the first Falcon 1 rocket in 2006. The rocket did not make it to orbit, but despite this, the company was awarded a contract by NASA (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services).

SpaceX failed twice more, causing Musk so much stress that he reported physical pain and woke up screaming from nightmares.
In 2008, Musk succeeded in launching the Falcon 1 rocket and putting it into orbit. This made SpaceX the first commercial company to do so.

In the same year, SpaceX received a new contract from NASA, called the Commercial Resupply Services contract, for a total of 12 flights with the Falcon 9 rocket in combination with the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2012, the time had come. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docked at the ISS, a true first for commercial spaceflight. The organization’s goal was still to develop reusable rockets and capsules.

The first stage of the Falcon Heavy rocket was successfully landed. Subsequent launches even landed the rocket on a self-propelled ship, just off the coast.

The Boring Company

In 2016, Musk founded The Boring Company to construct tunnels.

In early 2017, Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2021. The Boring Company sold 2,000 novelty flamethrowers in 2018.

Musk’s managerial style and treatment of his employees have been heavily criticized. One person who worked closely with Musk said he exhibits “a high level of degenerate behavior” such as bullying.

Another described him as exhibiting “total and complete pathological sociopathy.

In 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a  vacuum tube train assigning a dozen engineers from Tesla and SpaceX to establish the conceptual foundations and create initial designs.

In December 2015, Musk announced the creation of OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company aiming to develop artificial general intelligence intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity.

A particular focus of the company is to “counteract large corporations and governments who may gain too much power by owning super-intelligence systems“.

In 2018, Musk left the OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as the company increasingly became involved in AI.

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Elon Musk crypto

Elon Musk is very optimistic when it comes to cryptocurrencies, especially about Dogecoin.

The founder of Tesla and SpaceX tweeted several times about this digital currency, which he himself calls the people’s coin. In a statement, he explains that many people around him have bought Dogecoin and that he therefore also supports this token.

He feels that this is the cryptocurrency of the general public. Elon Musk acknowledges that he has invested in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

Networth | Elon Musk Biography

Musk made $165 million  He was first listed on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.

At the start of 2020, Musk had a net worth of $27 billion.

By the year’s end, his net worth had increased by $150 billion, In November of that year, Musk passed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person in the world;

A week later he passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second-richest. In January 2021, Musk, with a net worth of $185 billion, surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world.

On September 27, 2021, Forbes announced that Musk had a net worth of over $200 billion, and was the richest person in the world,  In November 2021, Musk became the first person with a net worth of over $300 billion.

Around three-quarters of Musk’s wealth derives from Tesla. Elon Musk does not receive a salary from Tesla; he agreed in 2018 to a compensation plan with the board that ties his personal earnings to Tesla’s valuation and revenue.

The deal stipulated that Musk only receives compensation if Tesla reaches certain market values. It was the largest such deal ever done between a CEO and board.

A large part of Elon Musk’s net worth comes from the shares he owns in Tesla and SpaceX. On 8 December 2021, he was officially the richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of $278 billion.

Musk is ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and billionaires Bill Gates and Larry Page on the list of the world’s richest people.

Time magazine declared Elon Musk as a person of the year 2021.

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Personal Life

Musk met his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson while attending Queen’s University, and they married in 2000.

He contracted malaria in 2000 while on vacation in South Africa, and almost died. In 2002, their first child, son Nevada Alexander Musk, died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at the age of 10 weeks.

After his death, the couple decided to use IVF to continue their family. Twins Xavier and Griffin were born in April 2004, followed by triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian in 2006. The couple divorced in 2008.

Elon Musk’s wife and children

It is clear that Elon Musk is a busy man. Besides his businesses, he also has six children to look after.
In 2020, Musk had a son with his then-girlfriend Grimes.

Before that, he had five other children with his ex-wife Justine Wilson. His first child with Justine died of cot death. Nevada Alexander Musk was only 10 weeks old.

Little is known about most of his children. The name of his last child was the subject of much debate. He and partner Grimes named the child XÆ A-Xii.

In a podcast with Joe Rogan, Musk revealed the way the name is pronounced: X-Ash-A-Twelve. Between 2010 and 2015, Musk was married to Talulah Riley.

Elon Musk Pictures

Elon Musk Social Handles

• Twitter

Elon Musk Biography

Elon Musk quotes

• “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”
• “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”
• “There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing.”
• “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.”
• “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”
• “It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.”
• “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
• “Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But a brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.”
• “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people who do it as it is about the product they sell.”
• “We’re going to make it happen. As God is my bloody witness, I’m hell-bent on making it work.”
• “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.”
• “People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.”
• “I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.”

Publications and Books by Elon Musk

• 2018. Making life multi-planetary. New Space, 6(1), 2-11.
• 2017. Making humans a multi-planetary species. New Space, 5(2), 46-61.
• 2006. The secret Tesla Motors master plan (just between you and me). blog), August, 2.
• 2001. U.S. Patent No. 6,185,194. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• 1999. U.S. Patent No. 5,944,769. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.