Elon Musk : Biography
(1971–)
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 of 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 parents’ 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
Musk’s mother, Maye
Musk, is a
Canadian model and the oldest woman to star in a Covergirl campaign. When Musk
was growing up, she worked five jobs at one point to support her family.
Musk’s father, Errol Musk, is a wealthy South African
engineer.
Musk spent his early childhood with his brother Kimbal and
sister Tosca in South Africa. His parents divorced when he was 10.
Education
At age 17, in 1989, Musk moved to Canada to attend Queen’s
University and avoid mandatory service in the South African military. Musk
obtained his Canadian citizenship that year, in part because he felt it would
be easier to obtain American citizenship via that path.
In 1992, Musk left Canada to
study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with
an undergraduate degree in economics and stayed for a second bachelor’s degree
in physics.
After leaving Penn, Musk headed
to Stanford University in California to pursue a PhD in energy physics.
However, his move was timed perfectly with the Internet boom, and he dropped
out of Stanford after just two days to become a part of it, launching his first
company, Zip2 Corporation in 1995. Musk became a U.S. citizen in 2002.
Companies
Zip2
Corporation
Musk launched his first company, Zip2 Corporation, in 1995
with his brother, Kimbal Musk. An online city guide, Zip2 was soon providing
content for the new websites of both The New York Times and
the Chicago Tribune. In 1999, a division of Compaq Computer
Corporation bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock
options.
PayPal
In 1999, Elon and Kimbal Musk used the money from their sale
of Zip2 to found X.com, an online financial services/payments company. An X.com
acquisition the following year led to the creation of PayPal as it is known
today.
In October 2002, Musk earned his first billion when PayPal was
acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock. Before the sale, Musk owned 11
percent of PayPal stock.
SpaceX
Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies
Corporation, or SpaceX, in 2002 with the intention of building spacecraft for
commercial space travel. By 2008, SpaceX was well established, and NASA awarded
the company the contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space
Station—with plans for astronaut transport in the future—in a move to replace
NASA’s own space shuttle missions.
Falcon
9 Rockets
On May 22, 2012, Musk and SpaceX made history when the company
launched its Falcon 9 rocket into space with an unmanned capsule. The vehicle
was sent to the International Space Station with 1,000 pounds of supplies for
the astronauts stationed there, marking the first time a private company had
sent a spacecraft to the International Space Station. Of the launch, Musk was
quoted as saying, "I feel very lucky. ... For us, it's like winning the
Super Bowl."
In December 2013, a Falcon 9 successfully carried a satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, a distance at which the satellite would lock into an orbital path that matched the Earth's rotation. In February 2015, SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 fitted with the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, aiming to observe the extreme emissions from the sun that affect power grids and communications systems on Earth.
In March 2017, SpaceX saw the successful test flight and
landing of a Falcon 9 rocket made from reusable parts, a development that
opened the door for more affordable space travel.
A setback came in November 2017, when an explosion occurred
during a test of the company's new Block 5 Merlin engine. SpaceX reported that
no one was hurt, and that the issue would not hamper its planned rollout of a
future generation of Falcon 9 rockets.
The company enjoyed another milestone moment in February 2018
with the successful test launch of the powerful Falcon Heavy rocket. Armed with
additional Falcon 9 boosters, the Falcon Heavy was designed to carry immense
payloads into orbit and potentially serve as a vessel for deep space missions.
For the test launch, the Falcon Heavy was given a payload of Musk's cherry-red
Tesla Roadster, equipped with cameras to "provide some epic views"
for the vehicle's planned orbit around the sun.
In July 2018, Space X enjoyed the successful landing of a new
Block 5 Falcon rocket, which touched down on a drone ship less than 9 minutes
after liftoff.
BFR
Mission to Mars
In September 2017, Musk presented an updated design plan for
his BFR (an acronym for either "Big F---ing Rocket" or "Big
Falcon Rocket"), a 31-engine behemoth topped by a spaceship capable of
carrying at least 100 people. He revealed that SpaceX was aiming to launch the
first cargo missions to Mars with the vehicle in 2022, as part of his
overarching goal of colonizing the Red Planet.
In March 2018, the entrepreneur told an audience at the annual
South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, that he hoped to have the BFR
ready for short flights early the following year, while delivering a knowing
nod at his previous problems with meeting deadlines.
The following month, it was announced that SpaceX would
construct a facility at the Port of Los Angeles to build and house the BFR. The
port property presented an ideal location for SpaceX, as its mammoth rocket
will only be movable by barge or ship when completed.
Starlink
Internet Satellites
In late March 2018, SpaceX received permission from the U.S.
government to launch a fleet of satellites into low orbit for the purpose of
providing Internet service. The satellite network, named Starlink, would
ideally make broadband service more accessible in rural areas, while also
boosting competition in heavily populated markets that are typically dominated
by one or two providers.
SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 satellites in May 2019,
and followed with another payload of 60 satellites that November. While this
represented significant progress for the Starlink venture, the appearance of
these bright orbiters in the night sky, with the potential of thousands more to
come, worried astronomers who felt that a proliferation of satellites would
increase the difficulty of studying distant objects in space.
Tesla
Motors
Musk is the co-founder, CEO and product architect at Tesla
Motors, a company formed in 2003 that is dedicated
to producing affordable, mass-market electric cars as well as battery products
and solar roofs. Musk oversees all product development, engineering and design
of the company's products.
Roadster
Five years after its formation, in March 2008, Tesla unveiled
the Roadster, a sports car capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7
seconds, as well as traveling nearly 250 miles between charges of its lithium
ion battery.
With a stake in the company taken by Daimler and a strategic
partnership with Toyota, Tesla Motors launched its initial public offering in
June 2010, raising $226 million.
Model
S
In August 2008, Tesla announced plans for its Model S, the
company's first electric sedan that was reportedly meant to take on the BMW 5 series. In
2012, the Model S finally entered production at a starting price of $58,570.
Capable of covering 265 miles between charges, it was honored as the 2013 Car
of the Year by Motor Trend magazine.
In April 2017, Tesla announced that it surpassed General
Motors to become the most valuable U.S. car maker. The news was an obvious boon
to Tesla, which was looking to ramp up production and release its Model 3 sedan
later that year.
In September 2019, using what Musk described as a "Plaid
powertrain," a Model S set a speed record for four-door sedan at
Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey County, California.
Model
3
The Model 3 was officially launched in early 2019 following extensive production delays. The car was initially priced at $35,000, a much more accessible price point than the $69,500 and up for its Model S and X electric sedans.
After initially aiming to produce 5,000 new Model 3 cars per
week by December 2017, Musk pushed that goal back to March 2018, and then to
June with the start of the new year. The announced delay didn't surprise
industry experts, who were well aware of the company's production problems,
though some questioned how long investors would remain patient with the
process. It also didn't prevent Musk from garnering a radical new compensation
package as CEO, in which he would be paid after reaching milestones of growing
valuation based on $50 billion increments.
By April 2018, with Tesla
expected to fall short of first-quarter production forecasts, news surfaced that
Musk had pushed aside the head of engineering to personally oversee efforts in
that division. In a Twitter exchange with a reporter, Musk said it was
important to "divide and conquer" to meet production goals and was
"back to sleeping at factory."
After signaling that the
company would reorganize its management structure, Musk in June announced that
Tesla was laying off 9 percent of its workforce, though its production
department would remain intact. In an email to employees, Musk explained his
decision to eliminate some "duplication of roles" to cut costs,
admitting it was time to take serious steps toward turning a profit.
The restructuring appeared to pay dividends, as it was
announced that Tesla had met its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 cars per week
by the end of June 2018, while churning out another 2,000 Model S sedans and
Model X SUVs. "We did it!" Musk wrote in a celebratory email to the
company. "What an incredible job by an amazing team."
The following February, Musk announced that the company was
finally rolling out its standard Model 3. Musk also said that Tesla was
shifting to all-online sales, and offering customers the chance to return their
cars within seven days or 1,000 miles for a full refund.
Semi
Truck
In November 2017, Musk made another splash with the unveiling
of the new Tesla Semi and Roadster at the company's design studio. The
semi-truck, which was expected to enter into production in 2019 before being
delayed, boasts 500 miles of range as well as a battery and motors built to
last 1 million miles.
Model
Y and Roadster
In March 2019, Musk
unveiled Tesla’s long-awaited Model Y. The compact crossover,
which began arriving for customers in March 2020, has a driving range of
300 miles and a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.5 seconds.
The Roadster, also set to be released in 2020, will become the
fastest production car ever made, with a 0 to 60 time of 1.9 seconds.
SolarCity
In August 2016, in Musk’s continuing effort to promote and
advance sustainable energy and products for a wider consumer base, a $2.6
billion dollar deal was solidified to combine his electric car and solar energy
companies. His Tesla Motors Inc. announced an all-stock deal purchase of
SolarCity Corp., a company Musk had helped his cousins start in 2006. He is a
majority shareholder in each entity.
“Solar and storage are at their best when they're combined. As
one company, Tesla (storage) and SolarCity (solar) can create fully integrated
residential, commercial and grid-scale products that improve the way that
energy is generated, stored and consumed,” read a statement on Tesla’s website
about the deal.
The
Boring Company
In January 2017, Musk launched The Boring Company, a company
devoted to boring and building tunnels in order to reduce street traffic. He
began with a test dig on the SpaceX property in Los Angeles.
In late October of that year, Musk posted the first photo of
his company's progress to his Instagram page. He said the 500-foot tunnel,
which would generally run parallel to Interstate 405, would reach a length of
two miles in approximately four months.
In May 2019 the company, now known as TBC, landed a $48.7
million contract from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to
build an underground Loop system to shuttle people around the Las Vegas
Convention Center.
Twitter
In October 2022, Musk officially bought Twitter and became the social media company's CEO after months
of back and forth.
Musk’s Tweet and SEC
Investigation
On August 7, 2018, Musk dropped a bombshell via a tweet:
"Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." The
announcement opened the door for legal action against the company and its
founder, as the SEC began inquiring about whether Musk had indeed secured the
funding as claimed. Several investors filed lawsuits on the grounds that Musk
was looking to manipulate stock prices and ambush short sellers with his tweet.
Musk’s tweet initially sent Tesla stock spiking, before it closed the day up 11 percent. The CEO followed up with a letter on the company blog, calling the move to go private "the best path forward." He promised to retain his stake in the company, and added that he would create a special fund to help all current investors remain on board.
Six days later, Musk sought to clarify his position with a
statement in which he pointed to discussions with the managing director of the
Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund as the source of his "funding
secured" declaration. He later tweeted that he was working on a proposal
to take Tesla private with Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake as financial advisers.
The saga took a bizarre turn that day when rapper Azealia
Banks wrote on Instagram that, as a guest at Musk's home at the time, she
learned that he was under the influence of LSD when he fired off his
headline-grabbing tweet. Banks said she overheard Musk making phone calls to
drum up the funding he promised was already in place.
The news quickly turned serious again when it was reported
that Tesla's outside directors had retained two law firms to deal with the SEC
inquiry and the CEO's plans to take the company private.
On August 24, one day after meeting with the board, Musk
announced that he had reversed course and would not be taking the company
private. Among his reasons, he cited the preference of most directors to keep
Tesla public, as well as the difficulty of retaining some of the large shareholders
who were prohibited from investing in a private company. Others suggested that
Musk was also influenced by the poor optics of an electric car company being
funded by Saudi Arabia, a country heavily involved in the oil industry.
On September 29, 2018, it was announced that Musk would pay a
$20 million fine and step down as chairman of Tesla's board for three years as
part of an agreement with the SEC.
Inventions and
Innovations
Hyperloop
In August 2013, Musk released a concept for a new form of
transportation called the "Hyperloop," an invention that would foster
commuting between major cities while severely cutting travel time. Ideally
resistant to weather and powered by renewable energy, the Hyperloop would
propel riders in pods through a network of low-pressure tubes at speeds
reaching more than 700 mph. Musk noted that the Hyperloop could take from seven
to 10 years to be built and ready for use.
Although he introduced the Hyperloop with claims that it would
be safer than a plane or train, with an estimated cost of $6 billion —
approximately one-tenth of the cost for the rail system planned by the state of
California — Musk's concept has drawn skepticism. Nevertheless, the
entrepreneur has sought to encourage the development of this idea.
After he announced a competition for teams to submit their
designs for a Hyperloop pod prototype, the first Hyperloop Pod Competition was
held at the SpaceX facility in January 2017. A speed record of 284 mph was set
by a German student engineering team at competition No. 3 in 2018, with the
same team pushing the record to 287 mph the next year.
AI
and Neuralink
Musk has pursued an interest in artificial intelligence,
becoming co-chair of the nonprofit OpenAI. The research company launched in
late 2015 with the stated mission of advancing digital intelligence to benefit
humanity.
In 2017, it was also reported that Musk was backing a venture
called Neuralink, which intends to create devices to be implanted in the human
brain and help people merge with software. He expanded on the company's
progress during a July 2019 discussion, revealing that its devices will consist
of a microscopic chip that connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone.
High-Speed
Train
In late November 2017, after Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel asked for proposals to build and operate a high-speed
rail line that would transport passengers from O'Hare Airport to downtown
Chicago in 20 minutes or less, Musk tweeted that he was all-in on the
competition with The Boring Company. He said that the concept of the Chicago
loop would be different from his Hyperloop, its relatively short route not
requiring the need for drawing a vacuum to eliminate air friction.
In summer 2018 Musk announced he would cover the estimated $1
billion needed to dig the 17-mile tunnel from the airport to downtown Chicago.
However, in late 2019 he tweeted that TBC would focus on completing the
commercial tunnel in Las Vegas before turning to other projects, suggesting that
plans for Chicago would remain in limbo for the immediate future.
Flamethrower
Musk also reportedly found a market for The Boring Company's
flamethrowers. After announcing they were going on sale for $500 apiece in late
January 2018, he claimed to have sold 10,000 of them within a day.
Relationship with Donald
Trump
In December 2016, Musk was named to President Trump’s Strategy and Policy Forum; the following January, he joined Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative. Following Trump’s election, Musk found himself on common ground with the new president and his advisers as the president announced plans to pursue massive infrastructure developments.
While sometimes at odds with the president's controversial
measures, such as a proposed ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries,
Musk defended his involvement with the new administration. "My
goals," he tweeted in early 2017, "are to accelerate the world’s
transition to sustainable energy and to help make humanity a multi-planet
civilization, a consequence of which will be the creating of hundreds of
thousands of jobs and a more inspiring future for all."
On June 1, following Trump's announcement that he was
withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, Musk stepped down from his
advisory roles.
Personal Life
Wives
and Children
Musk has been married twice. He wed Justine Wilson in 2000,
and the couple had six children together. In 2002, their first son died at 10
weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Musk and Wilson had five
additional sons together: twins Griffin and Xavier (born in 2004) and triplets
Kai, Saxon and Damian (born in 2006).
After a contentious divorce from Wilson, Musk met actress
Talulah Riley. The couple married in 2010. They split in 2012 but married each
other again in 2013. Their relationship ultimately ended in divorce in 2016.
Girlfriends
Musk reportedly began dating actress Amber Heard in 2016 after
finalizing his divorce with Riley and Heard finalized her divorce from Johnny Depp. Their busy schedules
caused the couple to break up in August 2017; they got back together in January
2018 and split again one month later.
In May 2018, Musk began dating musician Grimes (born Claire
Boucher). That month, Grimes announced that she had changed her name to “c,”
the symbol for the speed of light, reportedly on the encouragement of Musk.
Fans criticized the feminist performer for dating a billionaire whose company
has been described as a “predator zone” among accusations of sexual harassment.
The couple discussed their love for one another in a March
2019 feature in the Wall Street Journal Magazine, with Grimes saying
“Look, I love him, he’s great...I mean, he’s a super-interesting goddamn
person.” Musk, for his part, told the Journal, “I love c’s
wild fae artistic creativity and hyper-intense work ethic.”
Grimes gave birth to their son on May 4, 2020, with Musk
announcing that they had named the boy "X Æ A-12." Later in the
month, after it was reported that the State of California wouldn't accept a
name with a number, the couple said they were changing their son's name to
"X Æ A-Xii."
Musk and Grimes welcomed their second child, a daughter named
Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, in December 2021. The child was delivered via a
surrogate.
Nonprofit Work
The boundless potential of space exploration and the
preservation of the future of the human race have become the cornerstones of
Musk's abiding interests, and toward these, he has founded the Musk Foundation,
which is dedicated to space exploration and the discovery of renewable and
clean energy sources.
In October 2019 Musk pledged to donate $1 million to the
#TeamTrees campaign, which aims to plant 20 million trees around the world by
2020. He even changed his Twitter name to Treelon for the occasion.
Source :
https://www.biography.com/business-figure/elon-musk
- 12:44 PM
- 0 Comments
