Profiles in the Automotive Industry- Elon Reeve Musk

 

• Elon Reeve Musk is an engineer, best known as cofounder PayPal, founder SpaceX, early investor and CEO Tesla, founder Boring Company, and more.
• Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa.
• After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk lived mostly with his father in Pretoria.
• Musk graduated from Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa.
• At age 10, he developed an interest in computing using the Commodore VIC-20.
• He learned computer programming using a manua. By12, he sold a BASIC-based video game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500.
• An awkward and introverted child, Musk was bullied throughout his childhood and was once hospitalized after a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs.
• He attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School before graduating from Pretoria Boys High School.
• He moved to Canada in 1989, lived with a cousin in Saskatchewan, and worked odd jobs at a farm and lumber-mill.
• In 1990, Musk entered Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
• Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania; he graduated in 1997 with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and a BA in Physics.
• In 1994, Musk interned in Silicon Valley at an energy storage start-up called Pinnacle Research Institute and at start-up Rocket Science Games.
• In 1995, Musk, co-founded Zip2, with his brother Kimbal and Greg Kouri. Using funds from angel investors, Zip2 developed an internet city guide for publishers.
• Musk slept on the couch and showered at the YMCA. He coded at seven nights a week, so the company’s single computer could be used in the day for business.
• Zip2 obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.
• In 1999, Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307M in cash. Musk received $22M for his 7%.
• In March 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company, with $10 million from the sale of Zip2.
• One year later, the company merged with Confinity, which had a money-transfer service called PayPal. The merged company was renamed PayPal in 2001.
• In October 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk received $165 million for his 11.7%.
• In 2001, Musk conceived of Mars Oasis, a greenhouse on Mars to save mankind.
• In 2002, after two failed attempts to buy Russian ICBMs, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, with $100M his own funds.
• In 2006, SpaceX was selected as one of two companies to for a crew and cargo resupply demonstration contract to the ISS
• In 2008, SpaceX received $1.6 billion for a Commercial Resupply Services program.
• Starting in 2011, SpaceX was funded to develop the Dragon 2 crew capsule.
• SpaceX’s goal is to reduce the cost of human spaceflight by a factor of 10. SpaceX successfully landed the first stage near the launch pad and later on a drone ship.
• In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket in operation.
• In 2015, SpaceX began development of the Starlink constellation of LEO satellites to provide Internet access. The total cost of the decade-long project will be $10B.
• In May 2020, SpaceX launched its first manned flight, the Demo-2 to the ISS.
• Musk hopes to send humans to Mars within 20 years, with the first launch in 2022.
• In 2004, Musk led the Series A round of investment in Tesla. He joined Tesla’s Board as Chair. Musk became CEO and product architect in 2008.
• Tesla first built an electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in 2008, with sales of about 2,500 vehicles to 31 countries. Tesla began delivery of its Model S in June 2012.
• The Model X, announced in February 2012, was launch September 2015.
• In July 2016, Gigafactory 1 was opened near Reno, NV. Gigafactory 1 produces 35 GWh/year of batteries. In 2019, Musk opened Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory.
• In 2016, Tesla began developing Autopilot in-house after dropping Mobileye.
• In 2019, Musk unveiled the Tesla Cybertruck with commercial production in 2021.
• As of 2020, the Tesla Model 3 is the world’s best-selling electric car (500,000 units).
• In 2016, Musk owned about 28.9M Tesla shares, equal to 22% of the company.
• In 2006, Musk co-founded SolarCity, which his cousins. By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.
• In 2012, Musk announced that SolarCity and Tesla would collaborate to use electric vehicle batteries to smooth the impact of rooftop solar on the power grid.
• Tesla acquired SolarCity for over $2 billion in 2016 as its solar division
• In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology start-up company to integrate the human brain with AI. These enhancements could improve memory or allow more direct interfacing with computing devices.
• After being stuck in traffic, he founded The Boring Company to create traffic tunnels.
• A tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2020.
• In 2013, Musk unveiled Hyperloop, a concept for high-speed transportation system reduced-pressure tubes in which capsules ride on an air cushion.
• In December 2015, Musk announced OpenAI, a not-for-profit AI research company. OpenAI wants to keep large corporations from gaining too much power with AI.
• Musk is chairman of the Musk Foundation to provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas as well as other goals. Since 2002, he has made over 350 contributions.
• In 2020, Musk has become the world’s richest person, as his net worth crossed $185B, taking the top spot from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
• Musk does not really care about money. He is an engineer. He has sold all of his home so he can live a simply life and continue inventing.