Early Life and Education
Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. He is the eldest of three children born to Errol Musk, an engineer, and Maye Musk, a dietitian and model. From a young age, Musk displayed an extraordinary aptitude for technology and entrepreneurship. At age 12, he created and sold a video game called Blastar.
Elon moved to Canada in 1989 to avoid mandatory military service in apartheid South Africa. He attended Queen’s University in Ontario for two years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. There, he earned degrees in physics and economics.
In 1995, Musk enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Stanford University but dropped out after just two days to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.
Career
Elon Musk’s career has spanned multiple groundbreaking ventures:
Zip2 Corporation (1996)
Musk co-founded Zip2, a city guide software company, which was sold to Compaq for $307 million in 1999.
PayPal (1999)
Musk co-founded X.com, an online payment company, which later became PayPal. eBay acquired PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion, making Musk a multi-millionaire.
SpaceX (2002)
Musk founded SpaceX to revolutionize space travel. The company achieved significant milestones, including reusable rockets and partnerships with NASA. SpaceX’s Starship project aims to enable interplanetary colonization, starting with Mars.
Tesla, Inc. (2004)
Musk joined Tesla as an investor and later became CEO. Tesla has transformed the electric vehicle (EV) industry, producing models like the Model S, Model 3, and Cybertruck. Tesla is also a leader in energy storage and solar technology.
Other Ventures
SolarCity (2006): A solar energy services company.
Neuralink (2016): Developing brain-computer interface technology.
The Boring Company (2016): Building underground tunnels to combat urban congestion.
OpenAI: A co-founder of the AI research organization.
Twitter/X: Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and rebranded it as X in 2023.
Age
Elon Musk is currently 53 years old (as of November 2024).
Height
Elon Musk stands approximately 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) tall.
Personal Life
Musk has been married and divorced multiple times. He has 11 children from various relationships, including twins and triplets with his first wife, Justine Musk, and two children with singer Grimes (Claire Boucher).
Net Worth
As of 2024, Elon Musk is one of the world’s richest individuals, with a net worth exceeding $250 billion, primarily from Tesla and SpaceX.
Legacy
Despite controversies, Musk is celebrated as one of the most influential innovators of the 21st century. His vision for renewable energy, space exploration, and AI continues to shape global industries and inspire millions worldwide.