Short Biography
Elon Reeve Musk is an internationally renowned and highly successful entrepreneur, inventor, investor and engineer. He was born in South Africa and had a natural affinity for computers, machines and code. After completing his studies, he moved to the United States and began working on PayPal and Zip2, which found great success. This, in turn, earned him enough money to start building the companies now synonymous with his name.
Early Ventures
Musk’s first major venture was SpaceX in 2002 – a company aiming to lower the cost of access to space technologies, which ultimately led to humanity’s journey to the Martian surface. He then quickly moved onto Tesla Motors in 2003, developing electric cars with the goal of becoming the world’s leading electric car manufacturer; a goal that is being achieved today. His grandest ambitions were then revealed with the creation of SolarCity in 2006, an organization aimed at providing solar energy solutions and later merging with Tesla as part of his vision for a sustainable energy future.
Accomplishments
In the 14 years since founding SpaceX, Musk and his team have achieved three incredible milestones that have made him one of the world’s most influential figures. The first is the successful launch of reusable rockets. These are part of Musk’s ambition of making space travel affordable and sustainable in the long-term. The second is his success in developing the Tesla Model S, the world’s first commercially available all-electric luxury sedan. Lastly, he is the first person to have ever sent a spacecraft beyond our solar system.
Global Recognition
Musk’s success in making space exploration and sustainable energy a reality has certainly gained him much global recognition and admiration. For example, he was ranked 25th on the 2018 list of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and accepts numerous awards from universities and organisations.
Unconventional Strategies
Musk tends to employ very unconventional strategies when it comes to business. For example, Tesla’s cars are priced at the luxury end of the market and the company often presumes that customers are willing to invest in long term vision. Musk also heavily utilises celebrity endorsements, often controversial athletes and actors, in order to create widespread awareness of his products and companies. Finally, Musk has very ambitious goals and often sets deadlines unnecessarily far out into the future in order to create a shared sense of urgency.
Controversies
Despite his successful track record, Musk is widely seen as a controversial figure. He has taken the blame for some of his investments with not all of them delivering the returns he had set out to achieve. In addition, he has been accused of casually dismissing his critics and disregarding the scepticism often thrown his way. His unwillingness to compromise has divided public opinion on him – a majority of people either love him or hate him.
Philanthropic Efforts
Musk is also known for his philanthropic work. He has donated millions of dollars to various charities and organisations and is actively involved in efforts to reduce climate change and provide access to clean energy. For example, his involvement in the SolarCity initiative is one of the most popular examples of this.
Legacy
Elon Musk’s journey to becoming one of the world’s most influential figures is impressive. He has not only achieved great success with his ambitious visions but also set a precedent for others to follow with his innovative and far-reaching initiatives. He has also outlined that success is not easy, but rather, something that must be earned through hard work and passion.
Leadership Style
Musk has his own unique style of leadership. He is a strong believer in continuous improvement and strives to keep his teams away from making the same mistakes due to complacency. He also utilizes a top-down approach to decision-making, typically making cross-departmental decisions himself in order to move projects forward. Lastly, Musk displays an extreme level of confidence and bravado that inspires people to reach for the impossible.
Attention To Public Perception
Musk is highly attuned to public perception, launching advertising campaigns to build a positive reputation and reversing products in order to boost customer loyalty. He also prefers to remain in the spotlight, being the face of his companies and regularly appearing on media outlets. This approach has helped to humanize his brands and attract top talent that are driven by his future-facing goals and visions.
Visionary Thinking
It comes as no surprise that Musk is known for his futuristic thinking. He has strong ties to the movement of “techno-optimism” and is a proponent of the idea that through technology we can create a better future. He is also a strong believer in technologies such as artificial intelligence, which he claims will advance humanity to the point of surpassing the need for manual labour, thus making work and life more efficient.
