Elon Musk: The Man Behind Tesla, SpaceX, and a New Era of Success

Elon Musk famously said that we must take many actions and make moves that will prolong civilisation, reduce the likelihood of another dark age, or shorten its duration if it occurs. This principle is one of the cornerstones of his philosophy.

But who exactly is Elon Musk? What was his childhood like? How did his career unfold, and what are his major achievements? How much is he worth, exactly?

The Birth, Upbringing, and Education of Elon Musk

Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa. He is the eldest child of Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor, and Maye Musk (née Haldeman), a model and dietitian from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Elon has a younger brother, Kimbal, born in 1972, and a younger sister, Tosca, born in 1974.

After his parents divorced in 1980, Elon moved to Pretoria to live with his father and his half-sibling.

Elon had a lifelong fascination with computers. He got his hands on an 8-bit PC at the age of ten. By the age of twelve, he had taught himself programming. He created a video game called "Blastar" using the BASIC programming language, which he sold for about $500 to a magazine called PC and Office Technology. He was also an avid reader, devouring works by the American-Russian writer Isaac Asimov.

Elon's childhood wasn't a walk in the park. He was bullied frequently and once ended up in the hospital after being thrown down the stairs and beaten unconscious by some classmates.

Elon attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School, an English-speaking preparatory school, and then Pretoria Boys High School, where he graduated. In 1989, he moved to Canada, thanks to his Canadian mother, who helped him obtain citizenship.

Elon attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, when he was seventeen years old. In 1992, he switched to the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics from the College of Arts and Sciences. Not stopping there, he spent another year earning a second bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business.

In 1995, Elon moved to California to pursue a Ph.D. in physics and materials science at Stanford University. However, just two days into the program, he dropped out, deciding instead to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams in renewable energy and the development of the internet. He became a U.S.A. citizen in 2002.

Musk's Career Journey

Elon's career started in 1995, when he and his brother Kimbal used money from a small investor group to launch Zip2. Zip2 was an internet and software company that aimed to market and manage a directory for local newspapers. Elon secured contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune and persuaded the board to back away from a proposed merger with CitySearch.

Elon aspired to be the CEO of Zip2, but the board disagreed. In 1999, four years after its founding, Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock. Elon received $22 million for his 7% share of the company.

After selling Zip2, Elon invested $10 million of his newfound wealth to co-found X.com in 1999, an online payment company. X.com later merged with Confinity and was renamed PayPal. Elon held a significant share in the newly formed company, owning about 11.7% of the stock.

PayPal gained a large user base in 2001 through aggressive marketing. However, internal conflicts arose, particularly over Elon's desire to move the company's platform from Unix to Microsoft Windows. This led the board to oust him as CEO in October 2000.

In October 2002, eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock, earning Elon $165 million from the sale.

Founding Tesla

Tesla was initially funded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in July 2003. However, in February 2004, Elon became the chairman and guided its development. During the global financial crisis in 2008, Elon became CEO and product architect and led the company through the tough times.

Tesla's first electric car, the Tesla Roadster, was launched in the same year, selling around 2,500 cars in over 30 countries. On June 22, 2012, Tesla began selling its Model S, and in February 2012, it revealed the Model X, an SUV/minivan, which hit the market in September 2015. Elon also secured  and Mercedes and Toyota as long-term investors, manufacturing and selling electric powertrain systems to both Daimler and Toyota.

Founding SolarCity

Elon Musk laid the stepping stone and provided the capital to start SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins, Lyndon and Peter Rive, in 2006. By 2016, SolarCity had become the second-largest provider of solar energy systems in the United States.

Elon Musk and Neuralink

In 2016, Elon Musk founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company focused on developing "brain-machine interfaces." This technology allows devices like computers to communicate and interact directly with the human brain.

From Neuralink’s platform, Musk disclosed his idea of the "brain chip," a small robot that implants ultra-fine electrode threads through the skull into the brain. He explained that the chip's purpose is to address a wide range of spinal and neurological conditions, including epilepsy, brain damage, paralysis, and depression.

However, this concept sparked considerable debate. Some scientists support the idea, believing it could treat diseases that traditional medicine cannot.  Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists argue that the chip is a tool for controlling human minds, turning them into robots commanded by whoever controls the chip. Reactions from the tech and neuroscience communities varied:

1. Professor Andrew Jackson of Newcastle University commented, "While Musk has shown strong engineering in designing the links, it's mid-level neuroscience." He tweeted, "I don't think there’s anything revolutionary in Musk's presentation." Musk responded, "Unfortunately, it's common for many in academia to highly value ideas but undervalue the effort to turn them into reality. For example, going to the moon is a trivial idea, but doing it is hard."
2. Professor Thomas Nowotny of the University of Sussex noted, "Recording from neurons in living animals is a neuroscience procedure that has been around for decades."

Elon Musk's Net Worth

When Forbes magazine asked Elon about his net worth, he replied with an email, "These numbers rise and fall, but what truly matters is making great products that people love."

As of late August this year, Forbes' Billionaires List showed Musk’s net worth surpassing $100 billion, making him one of only four individuals with a twelve-figure net worth. In September 2019 alone, Musk’s wealth increased by $6 to $8 billion daily, ranking him 7th of the world’s richest people. Later, he claimed the title of the richest person in the world, with a net worth exceeding $185 billion, surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In 2021, Musk and Bezos battled for the top spot among the world’s richest, with a $30 billion gap separating them from the third place held by Bernard Arnault.

Awards

1. 2006: Best Eco-Friendly Design Award for the Tesla Roadster.
2. 2007: Entrepreneur of the Year for his work with Tesla Motors and SpaceX.
3. 2008: Aviation Week’s Laureate for the most significant achievement worldwide in the field of space transportation.
4. 2007/2008: George Low Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his contributions to space transportation, and specifically for designing the Falcon 1 rocket, which was the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit.
5. 2008/2009: Von Braun Trophy from the National Space Society for the most significant achievement in space exploration.
6. 2008: The National Wildlife Federation’s National Conservation Achievement Award for Tesla Motors and SolarCity, shared with journalist Thomas Friedman, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and U.S.A. Senator Patrick Leahy.
7. 2010: Global CEO of the Year for his leadership and innovation at Tesla Motors, making him the youngest recipient of the award.

Last but not least, we’ll list the honorary doctorates awarded to Elon Musk:

1. Honorary Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Surrey.
2. Honorary doctorate from Krakow University.
3. Honorary Doctorate in Design from the Art Centre College of Design.
4. Honorary Doctorate in Engineering and Technology from Yale University.