Elon Musk

Elon Reeve Musk, born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, is an American entrepreneur, engineer, and business magnate. He is the founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX; CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company and xAI; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and owner and executive chairman of X (formerly Twitter). Musk is one of the wealthiest people in the world, with a net worth estimated at $453 billion as of October 14, 2025, driven by rises in Tesla stock and SpaceX milestones.

### Early Life and Education

Musk was born to Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer and property developer, and Maye Musk, a Canadian-born model and dietitian. He has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a younger sister, Tosca, along with paternal half-siblings. Growing up in a wealthy family, Musk faced a challenging childhood marked by bullying at school, including a severe incident at age 12 where he was hospitalized after being beaten. He was raised Anglican and developed an early interest in computing, teaching himself programming and selling his first game, Blastar, at age 12 for $500.

To avoid mandatory military service in apartheid-era South Africa, Musk moved to Canada in 1989 using his mother's citizenship. He briefly attended the University of Pretoria before transferring to Queen's University in Ontario. In 1992, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Arts in physics and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School in 1997. Musk was accepted into Stanford's materials science PhD program in 1995 but deferred to start his career, later noting he worked in the U.S. on a student visa, with reports in 2024 suggesting potential illegal work status during that period.

### Career and Companies

Musk's entrepreneurial journey began in 1995 with Zip2, a web software company co-founded with his brother Kimbal, which provided online city guides to newspapers. It was sold to Compaq in 1999 for $307 million, netting Musk $22 million. He then founded X.com in 1999, an online bank that merged with Confinity to form PayPal, sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion, yielding Musk $180 million.

In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX to reduce space transportation costs and enable Mars colonization. Key milestones include the Falcon 1's first private orbital flight in 2008, the Dragon spacecraft docking with the ISS in 2012, reusable rocket landings starting in 2015, the Falcon Heavy launch in 2018, and the first crewed mission in 2020. Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet constellation, launched in 2019 and has over 7,600 satellites by 2025, providing service in Ukraine during the 2022 invasion but with restrictions amid geopolitical concerns. As of 2025, SpaceX preps for Starship Flight 10 and secured a $17 billion spectrum deal.

Musk invested in Tesla in 2004, becoming chairman and CEO in 2008. Under his leadership, Tesla launched the Roadster (2008), Model S (2012), Model X (2015), Model 3 (2017), Model Y (2020), and Cybertruck (2023). Tesla achieved a $1 trillion market cap in 2021 and became the world's most valuable automaker. In 2025, Tesla plans new Model Y launches, more affordable models in the first half, Cybertruck RWD, unsupervised FSD in Austin, Megapack factory in Shanghai, Powerwall 3 ramp, and Dojo 2 production. Tesla also unveiled Megablock and Megapack 3, launched FSD in Australia, and began deliveries in India.

Musk co-founded SolarCity in 2006 (acquired by Tesla in 2016 for $2.6 billion amid lawsuits settled in 2022), Neuralink in 2016 for brain-machine interfaces (first human trials in 2023; in 2025, an ALS patient regained arm mobility via implant), The Boring Company in 2017 for tunneling (Vegas Loop operational; accepts Dogecoin), and xAI in 2023 to rival OpenAI. He acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, rebranding it to X in 2023, implementing subscriptions and reducing moderation. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018. In 2025, xAI broke ground on a Memphis facility, and Grok 4 enables movie creation and leads in trading benchmarks; Grok 5 training begins next month.

### Philanthropy

Musk founded the Musk Foundation in 2001, focusing on renewable energy, space exploration, pediatrics, and AI safety. He signed the Giving Pledge in 2012 to donate most of his wealth. Donations include support for OpenAI and Starlink terminals to Ukraine in 2022. However, the foundation has been criticized for low payout ratios and self-serving contributions. In 2024-2025, Musk became a major political donor, contributing $75 million to a pro-Trump PAC and millions to Republican causes, including the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

### Personal Life

Musk holds citizenship in South Africa, Canada, and the U.S. (naturalized 2002). He has been married three times: to Justine Wilson (2000-2008), with whom he had six children (one died in infancy; daughter Vivian is transgender and estranged); to Talulah Riley (2010-2012, remarried 2013-2016); and has children with Grimes (three, including X Æ A-Xii) and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis (three via IVF and surrogacy, including one in 2025). Reports suggest at least 14 children, with a 2024 allegation of a child with Ashley St. Clair leading to custody disputes in 2025. Musk disclosed Asperger's syndrome in 2021 and uses ketamine for depression. He is an avid gamer, criticizing "woke" content in games like Assassin's Creed Shadows. Musk relocated to Texas in 2020 and owns private jets, banning tracking accounts on X after a 2022 stalking incident involving his son.

### Controversies

Musk has faced scrutiny over his U.S. work status in the 1990s, a 2018 SEC lawsuit for misleading tweets (settled with $20 million fine), SolarCity acquisition lawsuits (won in 2022), Neuralink animal testing probes (2022), and Starlink restrictions in Ukraine (2023). On X, reduced moderation led to increased hate speech, misinformation, and boosts of conspiracy theories like Pizzagate. Politically, Musk shifted rightward, endorsing Trump in 2024 after an assassination attempt, spreading voter fraud claims, and making a controversial hand gesture at Trump's 2025 inauguration interpreted as a Nazi salute, drawing condemnation. He has been accused of drug use, though he denies it.

### Recent Activities as of October 2025

In 2025, Musk co-led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Trump, advising on federal cuts. Tesla proposed a $1 trillion stock award for Musk tied to milestones like doubling company value to $8.5 trillion market cap, facing opposition from proxy advisor ISS urging shareholders to vote against it. SpaceX prepares for Starship launch, Neuralink advances with robotic arm control for patients, and xAI innovates with Grok tools. Tesla's net worth jumped $16 billion to $453 billion amid Q4 production ramps and sales growth. U.S. regulators launched an investigation into Tesla's self-driving crashes.