Born in South Africa, Elon Musk is an investor, CEO, businessman, and entrepreneur. Due to his proactive approach, determination, and ambitious goals, Elon is considered an essential and controversial personality in the business world. Elon Musk owns several startups and companies, including SpaceX, Tesla Motors, Neuralink, OpenAI, X Corp., and The Boring Company. He is currently the founder, chairman, CEO, and chief technology officer (CTO) of SpaceX, Ex-chairman, CEO, and product designer of Tesla, Chairman of X(Twitter), and an angel investor. In addition, he is the President of the Musk Foundation, founder of the Boring Company, co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI, and owner, chairman, and CTO of X Corp.
Biography of Elon Musk
His full name is Elon Reeve Musk. On June 28, 1971, Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa. In his childhood, he developed an interest in computers and technological inventions. Therefore, he learned programming at a young age. In his late 20s, he sold Zip2, his first startup company, to Compaq Computers, eventually making Elon a multimillionaire. During the administration of US President Donald Trump, Musk earned the status of innovative entrepreneur due to his dedication to the IT industry.
Social Media Accounts
Though he is a socially active and popular figure, Musk has no proper social media presence except on Twitter.
Zodiac Sign
Elon Musk is a Cancerian. His Moon sign is Virgo, and the Sun sign is Cancer. As a Cancer, Elon can skillfully keep a balance between his goals and his emotions. Elon has a positive, wise, and determined personality. He is, in fact, a creative person with a dedication to solving global challenges. Hamza Ali Abbasi, Vin Diesel, Aditi Tripathi, and Margot Robbie also belong to the family of the Cancer Zodiac.
Wiki Facts
Musk is a successful entrepreneur in today’s business world. We have listed his Wiki facts, age, food choices, zodiac, and more interesting facts. Let’s find out below.
| Full Name | Elon Reeve Musk |
| Titles | Founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc. Owner and CTO of Twitter President of the Musk Foundation Founder of The Boring Company, X Corp., and xAI Co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, Zip2, and X.com (part of PayPal) |
| Date of Birth | June 28, 1971 |
| Age | 53 years as of 2024 |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Birthplace | Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa |
| Hometown | Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa |
| Current Residence | Boca Chica, Texas, USA |
| Nationality | South Africa Canada United States of America |
| Religion | Atheist |
| School | Waterkloof House Preparatory School Bryanston High School Pretoria Boys High School |
| College/University | Queen’s University University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS) Stanford University, California |
| Qualification | Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania PhD in Energy Physics from Stanford University, California (Dropped Out) |
| Ethnicity | South African Canadian British |
| Profession | Entrepreneur Investor |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Partners/Affairs | Justine Wilson (Canadian Author) Cameron Diaz (2013) Talulah Riley Amber Heard (2015–2017) Grimes (2018–2021) Shivon Zilis (Top Executive at Neuralink – 2021) Natasha Bassett (Australian Model and Actress – 2022 to present) |
| Height | In inches- 5’11” In centimeters- 180 cm In meters- 1.80 m |
| Eye Color | Moss Green |
| Hair Color | Light Ash Blonde |
| Hobbies | Reading Playing video games Traveling |
| Net Worth | Average of US$232 billion |
| Actor | Robert Downey Jr. |
| Film(s) | Star Wars The Martian Thank You for Smoking |
| TV Show | The Big Bang Theory |
| Book(s) | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Foundation Series |
| Cars Collection | 1978 BMW 320i Ford Model T McLaren F1 Jaguar Series 1 1967 E-type Audi Q7 Hamann BMW M5 |
Net Worth
He is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$232 billion as of September 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In contrast, Forbes records show his net worth of $253 billion as an owner of both Tesla and SpaceX. In January 2021, Elon surpassed the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, as the wealthiest man in the world.
Early Life
From an early age, he used to show his interest in business and technological subjects. Thus, he made a video game called Blaster at twelve and sold it to an IT publication agency. In 1998, Musk left South Africa after acquiring a Canadian passport because he refused to join mandatory military service in favor of a dictatorship. He believed that more excellent economic options were available in the United States.
Education
Musk began his academic career at Kingston, Ontario’s Queen’s University. In 1992, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he achieved bachelor’s degrees in economics and physics in 1997. He got admission to Stanford University in California to pursue a Ph.D. in physics. However, he left after only two days because he felt that the Internet had the potential to impact society in a broader way than just working in physics.
Parents and Siblings
Musk’s mother’s name is Maye Musk. She has also served as a supermodel in Canada’s entertainment industry. She spent a struggling life supporting her family. At times, she even did five jobs, especially when Musk was in his growing years. Elon’s father’s name is Errol Musk, who belonged to South Africa and was an engineer. His Siblings are his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca, whom he spent his childhood with when staying in South Africa. His parents divorced when Musk was just 10 years old.
| Father | Errol Musk |
| Mother | Maye Musk |
| Brother | Kimbal Musk |
| Sister | Tosca Musk |
| Cousin | Lyndon Rive |
Family and Children
Elon Musk married twice. His first wife, Justine Wilson Musk, was a Canadian author. His second wife, Talulah Riley, was an actress. Elon had 11 children altogether from three different women. However, his firstborn died just ten months after his birth. He has two twins and a set of triplets with his ex-wife Justine Wilson and two boys and a girl with his ex-girlfriend Grimes. In November 2021, Musk and Shivon Zilis, a senior executive at Neuralink and Musk’s girlfriend, gave birth to twins. He currently has 10 children.
| First Wife | Justine Wilson Musk |
| Second Wife | Talulah Riley |
| Children | Nevada Alexander (Died when infant) Vivian Jenna Wilson Griffin Musk Kai Musk Saxon Musk Damian Musk X Æ A-12 (Pronounced X Ash A Twelve) Strider Azure Exa Dark Sideræl Techno Mechanicus Musk |
Companies
Elon owns multiple business startups. A short introduction about his companies is listed below.
Zip2 Corporation
In 1996, Elon Musk co-founded his first-ever software company called Zip2, which provided maps and business directories to online newspapers. Later, In 1999, the computer manufacturer company Compaq purchased Zip2 for 7 million.
X.com and PayPal
In the same year, in 1999, Musk founded X.com, which was built to provide online financial services to users. It was later named PayPal. In 2002, PayPal was bought by eBay for $1.5 billion.
SpaceX
Musk always believed that for life to survive, society has to become a multi-planet species. However, he wanted more than the great expense of rocket launchers. Therefore, In 2002, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to reduce space transportation costs and make space exploration more accessible. Among the notable accomplishments of SpaceX are the first privately funded spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station and the first privately funded rocket to reach space.
Falcon 9 Rockets
SpaceX has launched its rockets to reduce space expenses to carry heavy loads. Its first rocket, Falcon 1, was established in 2006, and the larger Falcon 9 was first launched in 2010. The cost of these rockets was estimated to be much less than its competing rockets. SpaceX launched its third rocket called the Falcon Heavy in 2018. This rocket was designed to carry up to 117,000 pounds, approximately 53,000 kg, to orbit.
Further, to continue experimenting with technology, SpaceX announced the Super Heavy–Starship system, the successor for the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. It is estimated that Super Heavy’s first phase would carry 100,000 kg (220,000 pounds) to low Earth orbit. The Starship is a cargo spacecraft designed to set up bases on the Moon and Mars to enable speedy transportation between Earth’s cities. The Super Heavy–Starship’s first test flight was in 2020.
Dragon Spacecraft
SpaceX also designed the Dragon spacecraft, transporting supplies and goods to the International Space Station (ISS). Up to seven people can travel on Dragon spacecraft. Apart from being the CEO of SpaceX, Musk was also in charge of designing the Dragon, Starship, and Falcon rockets.
BFR Mars Mission
An updated idea for Musk’s BFR plan. BFR stands for “Big F—ing Rocket” or “Big Falcon Rocket.” It is a 31-engine giant topped with a spaceship that can accommodate at least 100 people; it was presented in September 2017. As part of his larger plan to colonize the Red Planet, Elon disclosed that SpaceX intended to fly the first cargo flights to Mars using the vehicle in 2022.
Starlink Internet Satellites
The U.S. government approved SpaceX to launch several satellites into low orbit for Internet access by the end of March 2018. The Starlink satellite network would ideally increase competition in densely populated markets where one or two providers usually dominate while improving broadband service accessibility in remote areas.
In May 2019, SpaceX launched the first group of sixty satellites, and in November of the same year, it launched a second payload of sixty satellites. It was a major achievement for the Starlink project. However, astronomers worried that studying distant objects in space would become more difficult due to the growing number of satellites. They had reservations that space research would be affected by the increase in brighter orbiters in the sky.
Tesla Motors
Musk has always been fascinated by the future possibilities of electric vehicles. To fulfil his dream of producing electric cars, Musk founded and established Tesla Motors. Recently, Under Musk’s leadership, Tesla has become a major competitor in the sector of electric cars. Tesla’s main objective is to encourage the use of environmentally friendly electric cars. Initially, this startup company was founded by two entrepreneurs, Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard.
Roadster
Five years after its founding, in March 2008, Tesla launched the Roadster, a sports vehicle with a 3.7-second 0 to 60 mph acceleration time and a nearly 250-mile travel range between lithium-ion battery charges. With a range of 245 miles (394 km) on a single charge, the Roadster was Tesla’s first vehicle when it was introduced in 2006.
Model S
The first electric vehicle from Tesla, the Model S, was introduced in August 2008 to compete with the BMW 5 series. The Model S was finally produced in 2012, with a starting price of $58,570. With a 265-mile range between charges, It was selected as 2013’s Car of the Year by Motor Trend.
Model 3
Early in 2019, the Model 3 was formally introduced after significant production delays. With a starting price of $35,000, the car was considerably more affordable than the Model S and X electric vehicles, which are priced at $69,500.
Semi Truck
When the new Tesla Semi and Roadster launched at the company’s design laboratory in November 2017, Musk created yet another stir. The 500-mile range semi-truck, which was supposed to go into production in 2019 but was postponed, has a battery and motors designed to last a million miles.
Model Y
Musk introduced Tesla’s highly anticipated Model Y in March 2019. Arriving for customers in March 2020, the small vehicle can travel 300 miles using a single battery charge and accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds.
Solar City Company
Additionally, in August 2016, Musk established SolarCity, a solar energy services company that later joined with Tesla to build an integrated sustainable energy industry. Thus, as a persistent effort, Tesla and Solar energy companies made a 2.6 billion dollar deal to facilitate sustainable energy products for serving a more extensive customer base. Therefore, Tesla Motors Inc. announced an all-stock deal purchase of Solar City Corp.
Neuralink and The Boring Company
Besides his work in the space and automotive industries, Musk has shown interest in various business ventures and projects, including Neuralink, which focuses on developing brain-computer interface technology, and the Boring Company, which focuses on tunnel construction and infrastructure.
Musk founded the Drilling Company, named the Boring Company, in January 2017, intending to reduce street traffic through the drilling and construction of tunnels. He started with a test dig at the Los Angeles SpaceX facility. In May 2019, The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority granted the Boring Company a $48.7 million contract to construct an underground Loop system to transport visitors across the Las Vegas Convention Center.
X Formerly Twitter
After several months of negotiations, Elon Musk eventually bought Twitter in October 2022 and became CEO of the social media company. He changed the name from Twitter to X. Currently, he is the Chairman of X. Musk is very active and popular on Twitter and often organizes spaces on Twitter.
xAI
Musk launched his own Artificial Intelligence company, xAI, earlier this year, in July 2023. Elon’s xAI consists of several AI experts and intelligent brains. The objective and tagline of xAI was “understanding the true nature of the universe.” Musk has always admired AI technologies and is expressive about the astonishing revolutions AI can bring to this world. That was the reason behind launching his own AI company so he could experiment more and more with future technologies. Recently, xAI has launched an AI chatbot, “Grok.” Elon Musk’s AI project is designed to assist humans with a better user experience by adding a little sense of humor, unlike ChatGPT and Google Bard.
Awards and Honors
Indeed, Musk has set a great example for fellow entrepreneurs to explore future possibilities in the field of technology. For his services to technology and business, he has received multiple honors and awards. A list of his awards is given below.
| Year | Awards and Honors |
| 2007 | For his work on Tesla and SpaceX, he was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Inc Magazine |
| 2008 | The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low award for his enormous contribution to space transportation in 2007/2008 |
| 2008 | National Wildlife Federation 2008 National Conservation Achievement award for SolarCity and Tesla |
| 2009 | National Space Society’s Von Braun Trophy |
| 2010 | FAI Gold Space Medal (highest award in air and space) for designing the 1st privately developed rocket to reach orbit by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale |
| 2010 | The Kitty Hawk Foundation recognized him as a Living Legend of Aviation |
| 2011 | $250,000 Heinlein Prize for Advancements in Space Commercialization |
| 2012 | A Gold Medal (Royal Aeronautical Society’s highest award) |
| 2015 | IEEE Honorary Membership |
| 2018 | Appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) |
| 2021 | Time Person of the Year Award |
Interesting Facts
- Elon Musk is an actor and producer known for movies like Machete Kills (2013), Iron Man 2 (2010), and Why Him? (2016).
- He married Talulah Riley and Justine Musk.
- When Musk was younger, his parents and doctors ordered a hearing test because he became lost in his daydreaming.
- In grade school, Musk was short, introverted, and bookish.
- Since his childhood, he used to daydream about future technological inventions.
- In 2002, Musk received a U.S. citizenship.
- Musk has very high expectations for the future, including the settlement of Mars and the advancement of renewable energy technologies.
- As part of NASA’s Artemis space program, SpaceX has made a contract to build the landing space for the astronauts returning to the Moon by 2025.
Who is Elon Musk?
He is the wealthiest entrepreneur, investor, CEO, and chairman of well-known companies like Tesla Motors, Twitter, SpaceX, X Corp, and The Solar City.Â
How did Elon Musk get famous?
He co-founded PayPal, which is an online payment transfer company. In 2002, he launched another company called SpaceX. It makes cost-effective rockets and spacecraft to facilitate space transportation. He also bought Twitter, which is a popular social media platform.
How many children does Elon Musk have?
He is the father of 11 children who were born to three different women.
Who is the owner of Tesla Motors?
Elon Musk is the owner and founder of Tesla Motors which is an electric car-producing company.
