Elon Musk: Ordinary Entrepreneur to the Richest Person of the World
Who is Elon Musk
The billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk recently became the richest person in the world. He is the co-founder of the cutting-edge companies Tesla, SpaceX and PayPal. Elon Musk also bought Twitter at the end of April 2022. The influential business magnet always remains talk of the town for one thing or other and his work ethics and intellect show the light to humanity.
Early Life: Family and Education
Elon Musk was born on 28th June 1971 in Pretoria which is in South Africa. His father Errol Musk is a successful engineer and his mother Maye Musk is a model and a nutritionist. He is the oldest of three siblings. Kimbal Musk, his brother, is an environmentalist and a venture capitalist while his sister Tosca Musk is an award-winning director and producer. He got admitted in Waterkloof House Preparatory School a year in advance and then graduated from Pretoria Boys High School.
His parents separated when he was 10 years old. Even being one of the intellectually sound students, he had very few friends from the Afrikaner culture. While growing up he had to bear with a lot of adversity which he believes shaped him as an individual. Elon Musk recalls his Waterkloof House and Pretoria Boys High School days and said that he was bullied and beaten up by fellow students. For several years there was no respite and that made growing up difficult for him. If not in school, he used to spend most of his time reading or tinkering with projects.
Musk was fond of Asimov’s books which lit a spark in him for his futurism eventually. His interest in the future and inclination for engineering which was supported by his engineer father helped him nurture his bent. Elon decided to move to Canada to attend Queen’s University when he just finished 5 months in the university in South Africa.
However, he did not finish schooling there and migrated to the University of Pennsylvania to finish his schooling. When he was in college, despite having a combination of scholarships, he had to work two different jobs at the same time and had to take loans. All this struggle eventually paid him off a degree in Physics and another in Economics. Then he went on to get into Stanford’s Ph.D. program but dropped out to start his entrepreneurial journey.
Entrepreneur Journey
Elon Musk dropped out from a Ph.D. in applied physics at Stanford University in California to pursue his entrepreneurial aspirations.
X.com
With the help of his younger brother Kimbal, Musk started Zip2 in 1995. It was a web software company that would help newspapers develop online city guides. Zip2 was acquired by Compaq Computer Corp for $341 million for its Alta Vista web search engine. With that money, Musk created X.com, a fintech company. Then X.com merged with a money transfer company named Confinity. Later on, they named the company PayPal.
Elon Musk was expelled as PayPal’s CEO before eBay bought it for $1.5 billion. Musk still earned profit in the form of11.7% PayPal stake from the deal. In an interview Musk revealed that his profit from PayPal after tax was about $180 million of that he invested in SpaceX, $ 70 million into Tesla and $ 10 million into SolarCity. And after that he had to borrow money for rent. Musk purchased the X.com domain name back from PayPal for sentimental reasons.
Tesla
Musk initially invested $6.5 million in Tesla Motors in 2004. The company was started by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning on July 1, 2003. As a largest shareholder, Musk became the chairman of the board of directors. Soon, Musk became CEO and product architect after the oust of Eberhard in 2007 following a series of disagreements.
Today, Tesla is considered the most valuable car and its best-known brand in the world. Apart from manufacturing electric cars, Tesla is also involved in the solar energy space and has acquired SolarCity. At present, the company manufactures 2 rechargeable batteries. One for home back up and off the grid use and another for commercial or electric utility grid use.
SpaceX
Elon Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corporation in 2002 to reduce space transportation cost and to colonise Mars. This rocket developer, commonly known as SpaceX has taken up various high-profile contracts with the NASA and U.S Air Force to design space launch rockets. In a collaborative effort with NASA, SpaceX is planning to send an astronaut to Mars by 2025. SpaceX is also indulging in developing a satellite internet constellation called Starlink to provide commercial internet service.
After acquisition of Twitter in the last week of April, Elon Musk is expected to serve as temporary CEO after the deal closes. An active user of Twitter, Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter in April 2022. As a result, Twitter responded by offering Musk a seat on the board which he accepted, to decline it 5 days later. The acquisition of the platform was on his mind for some time and he also took his follower’s opinion on various topics like free speech and functioning of Twitter.
Initially, Musk proposed to buy Twitter at $ 54.20 per share, an 18% premium to its market price but a 22% discount to Twitter‘s share price a year earlier. Discouraging Musk from accumulating a larger stake, the board adopted the poison pill provision. Finally, the company accepted Musk’s offer after he disclosed $ 46.5 billion in committed financing for the deal in a securities filing.
Final Words
Elon Musk is a super intelligent entrepreneur who knows where humanity is heading and venturing into those fields. His family and childhood experiences have shaped and shined his natural abilities of grasping, managing and solving problems. His interest in philosophy, science fiction and fantasy novels can be seen in his perspective of idealism. He has a vision for humans and ability to turn it into reality.
FAQ
Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk is a billionaire entrepreneur who recently became the richest person of the world.
Does Elon Musk have a Ph.D.?
No. He dropped out two days after joining the Ph.D. Program.
Is Elon Musk married?
He has divorced 3 times and has 7 children. Currently in a relationship with Grimes
Which Country does Elon Musk originally come from?
He comes from South Africa and has Canadian citizenship as well.
What was Elon Musk’s first company?
Zip2 was Musk’s first company which he started with his brother in 1995.
What is Elon Musk’s net worth?
$269.70 Billion or INR 21 lac crore
Where did Elon Musk graduate from?
He acquired two degrees one in physics and another in Economics at the same time from the University of Pennsylvania
