Early Days
Born in South Africa in 1971, Elon Musk showed great intelligence and drive even as a child. Already he had started businesses, creating computer games and selling them to his friends. Musk had a difficult childhood, with recently divorced parents, but he persevered and even rocketed his way to the United States for college. Studying economics and physics at the University of Pennsylvania, Musk haunted the computer labs, furthering his programming skills.
It was during this time that Musk had his first experience in the dot-com bubble, founding and selling his first company, Zip2. For those not familiar with Zip2, it was an online platform from where local businesses and newspapers could connect. Musk sold Zip2 to Compaq for a whopping $319 million.
The money from Zip2 allowed Musk to follow his dreams and move to Silicon Valley to found X.com, an online banking system. Later, this would be bought by eBay and become what we know today as PayPal.
SpaceX and Tesla
Next, Musk went on to build his own space exploration agency – SpaceX. Since 2006, SpaceX has taken part in numerous missions and led many in their endeavour to take humanity to space. Though many companies have tried, Musk’s belief that humanity can inhabit multiple planets has seen him raise billions of dollars in venture capital.
In parallel to SpaceX, Musk also had a dream of revolutionizing the automobile industry. His company, Tesla, is today one of the most iconic brands in the world and continues to innovate.
Tesla has redefined electric vehicles, transformed the car industry and continues to break new ground. Elon Musk began Tesla with the idea that we could take the damaging vehicles of today and make them cleaner, faster and better for the world to live in.
Today, Tesla’s market capitalization is higher than General Motors, Ford, Honda and Volkswagen combined. The company is valued at $357 billion on the stock market with Elon Musk himself possessing around 12.5% of the company’s entire share.
SolarCity
Musk’s portfolio was not complete without SolarCity, which he co-founded and which was later merged with Tesla. SolarCity is the market leader in solar panel technology and installation; having the largest market share of 30% in residential solar panel installations in the United States.
In 2018, SolarCity was acquired by Tesla in an all-stock deal and Tesla plans to use the technology to expand its energy business. SolarCity is one of the most successful entries for Elon Musk in the renewable energy industry.
Other Ventures
Though it is Musk’s more well-known ventures such as SpaceX, Tesla and SolarCity that have made him a household name, he has gone on to make vast investments in various tech companies such as EEGs and Hyperloop, to name a few.
In addition, he has also founded other business such as The Boring Company and OpenAI, which focuses on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Education
Aside from his business success, Musk is also a successful advocate for STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) with him strongly advocating the importance of education. He has donated over $15 million to educational institutions, pushing the envelope in terms of scientific advancement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can see that Elon Musk is a fountain of business endeavours and ideas. Though some have failed, they have all been instrumental in him making his money and remaining a key figure in the business and investing world. Musk has managed to parlay his knowledge, skills and money into a number of lucrative ventures and his plans for colonizing Mars and other projects surely make him one of the most important figures of today and for the future.
