Elon Musk
Founder of SpaceX and leader of Tesla
Quick Facts
- Born
- 1971, Pretoria, South Africa
- Company
- Tesla
- Tesla founded
- 2002
- Industry
- Technology
- Known for
- Founding SpaceX, leading Tesla
- Born
- 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa
- First sale
- Sold a video game he coded at age 12
- Big goal
- Lowering the cost of space travel and reaching Mars
Early Life
Elon Musk was born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a quiet, bookish kid who read constantly, sometimes finishing two books in a single day. When he found computers, he was hooked.
He taught himself how to program when he was still young, with no teacher and no online tutorials to lean on. At age 12 he wrote a simple space-themed video game called Blastar and sold it to a computer magazine. A 12-year-old earning real money from his own code is a pretty good sign of what's coming.
Leaving Home: Canada and the US
As a teenager, Elon decided his future was somewhere else. He moved to Canada on his own, worked odd jobs, and later studied in the United States. He ended up in California, the home of Silicon Valley, where computer companies were starting up everywhere.
He had a choice: keep studying for an advanced science degree, or try to build a company during the early boom of the internet. He picked the company. That decision set the pattern for the rest of his life.
The Internet Years: Zip2 and PayPal
Elon's first company was called Zip2, which helped newspapers put maps and business listings online back when most people barely knew what the internet was. It worked, and it was sold for a lot of money.
Next he started a company called X.com, an online bank. It merged with another company and became PayPal, the service that lets people send money over the internet. When eBay bought PayPal, Elon walked away with enough money to chase much bigger ideas.
Rockets and Electric Cars
In 2002, Elon founded a rocket company called SpaceX. His reasoning was bold: space travel cost far too much, and he wanted to make it cheaper so humans could one day live on Mars. The early rockets failed, one after another, and the company nearly ran out of money. Then it worked. Today SpaceX builds rockets that can fly to space, come back, land upright, and get used again.
Tesla was started in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, two engineers who wanted to build electric cars people actually wanted to drive. Elon joined early as a major investor and chairman, then became CEO and the company's main product leader. Under a later agreement, he's counted as a co-founder. He also started Neuralink and The Boring Company, and in 2022 he bought Twitter and renamed it X.
What Elon Teaches Us
Elon Musk picks goals that sound almost impossible and then works toward them even when things blow up, sometimes literally. He failed a lot before any of it succeeded, and he kept going each time.
You don't have to agree with everything he says or does to learn something from how he works. Start with a wild idea, expect it to be hard, and don't quit the first time it breaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What companies did Elon Musk start?
Elon Musk started or co-founded Zip2, X.com (which became PayPal), SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. He also became CEO and product leader of the car company Tesla, and in 2022 he bought Twitter and renamed it X.
Did Elon Musk found Tesla?
Not by himself. Tesla was started in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk joined early as a major investor and chairman, then became CEO and led the company to success. Under a later legal agreement, he's recognized as one of Tesla's co-founders.
What is SpaceX?
SpaceX is a rocket company Elon Musk founded in 2002. Its goal is to make space travel much cheaper and eventually help people live on Mars. SpaceX is famous for building rockets that can land back on Earth and be flown again.
How old was Elon Musk when he sold his first game?
He was 12 years old. He taught himself to code and wrote a simple space game called Blastar, then sold it to a computer magazine.
Where is Elon Musk from?
Elon Musk was born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. As a young man he moved to Canada and later to the United States, where he built most of his companies.
Is Elon Musk the richest person in the world?
Elon Musk has been ranked as one of the richest people in the world, and at times the richest, thanks mostly to his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. The exact ranking changes often because it depends on company stock prices, which go up and down.
What is Neuralink?
Neuralink is a company Elon Musk started that works on tiny computer chips designed to connect to the brain. The idea is to help people with certain medical conditions and to study how brains and computers might work together.
Did Elon Musk buy Twitter?
Yes. In 2022 Elon Musk bought the social media company Twitter. He later renamed it X.
When did Elon Musk start SpaceX?
Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. He wanted to lower the cost of space travel and work toward sending humans to Mars.
How did Elon Musk make his money?
His first big money came from selling his early internet companies, Zip2 and PayPal. He then invested that money into SpaceX and Tesla, and as those companies grew very valuable, so did his ownership stakes in them.
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