Elon Musk

Elon Reeve Musk (born 28 June 1971, Pretoria, South Africa) is a businessman and investor widely regarded as one of the most influential and controversial figures in early-twenty-first-century technology and industry. He is the chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, Inc., the owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), and a co-founder of several other prominent ventures. His net worth has at various points made him the wealthiest individual on earth, according to financial tracking indices, though rankings fluctuate with market conditions.

Early life and education

Musk was born on 28 June 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, to Maye Musk, a Canadian-South African model and dietitian, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer and property developer. He displayed an early aptitude for computing and taught himself programming, reportedly selling a self-coded video game called Blastar at around age twelve.

After completing secondary school, Musk relocated to Canada in 1989, partly to avoid mandatory service in the South African military. He attended Queen's University in Ontario before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned two bachelor's degrees — one in economics from the Wharton School and one in physics. He was admitted to a PhD programme in energy physics at Stanford University in 1995 but left after two days to pursue entrepreneurial ventures during the dot-com boom.

Business career

Early ventures: Zip2 and X.com / PayPal

Musk co-founded Zip2, a web software company providing business directories and maps to newspapers, with his brother Kimbal Musk in 1995. Compaq acquired Zip2 in 1999 for approximately US$307 million, providing Musk with around $22 million from the sale.

He then founded X.com in 1999, an online payment company. X.com merged with Confinity — which had developed the PayPal payments system — and the combined company eventually rebranded as PayPal. When eBay acquired PayPal in 2002 for approximately $1.5 billion in stock, Musk, the largest shareholder, received around $165 million before tax.

SpaceX

In 2002, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, with the stated long-term goal of enabling human colonisation of Mars and reducing the cost of spaceflight through reusable rocket technology. SpaceX is headquartered in Hawthorne, California.

Key milestones include the Falcon 1 becoming the first privately developed liquid-fuelled rocket to reach orbit (2008), the development of the Falcon 9 with its reusable first-stage boosters, the Dragon spacecraft's cargo and crewed missions to the International Space Station, and the ongoing development of the Starship launch vehicle, intended to be the most powerful rocket ever flown. SpaceX also operates the Starlink satellite internet constellation, which had deployed thousands of satellites as of the mid-2020s.

Tesla, Inc.

Musk joined Tesla, Inc. in 2004 as chairman of the board and lead investor in its Series A funding round. He became CEO in 2008. Although Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning are recognised as the original founders, Musk later secured the right to call himself a co-founder following a legal settlement.

Under his leadership, Tesla grew from a niche electric sports car maker into the world's best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer for several consecutive years in the early 2020s. The company produces the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck, among other vehicles, and operates a global network of Supercharger stations. Tesla also manufactures energy storage products such as the Powerwall and Megapack.

The Boring Company and Neuralink

In 2016, Musk founded The Boring Company, a tunnel construction firm aimed at alleviating urban traffic congestion through underground transportation loops. That same year, he co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company developing implantable brain–computer interface devices. Neuralink conducted its first human clinical trial implantation in early 2024, according to company announcements.

Acquisition of Twitter / X

After months of public offers, legal disputes, and attempted withdrawal, Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter, Inc. in October 2022 for approximately $44 billion. He subsequently rebranded the platform as X, introduced significant changes to its subscription and verification model, reduced its workforce substantially, and relaxed certain content-moderation policies. The decisions attracted broad public debate about free speech, platform governance, and advertiser relations.

xAI

In 2023, Musk founded xAI, an artificial intelligence company, and released the Grok large language model in competition with other generative AI systems. Musk had previously been a co-founder of OpenAI (established 2015) but departed from its board in 2018, later becoming a public critic of the organisation.

Political activities and public profile

Musk's political views have evolved publicly over time and are the subject of considerable debate. During the 2024 United States presidential election cycle, he became a prominent financial supporter of Donald Trump's campaign and a vocal advocate on the X platform. Following Trump's electoral victory, Musk was appointed to lead an advisory body informally referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), though the precise legal status and authority of the body drew scrutiny and legal challenges as of early 2025.

His public statements on topics ranging from artificial intelligence risk to population decline and geopolitical conflicts have generated significant media coverage and controversy. He has been named to Time magazine's Person of the Year (2021) and appeared regularly in global influence rankings.

Personal life

Musk has been married three times — twice to the English actress Talulah Riley and once to author Justine Wilson — and has been in several other publicly noted relationships. He is the father of a large number of children, reported to be more than ten as of 2024, including children with musician Grimes (Claire Boucher) and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002 and also holds Canadian and South African citizenship.

Criticism and controversies

Musk is a frequent subject of criticism from regulators, journalists, and civil society groups. Recurring concerns include labour practices at Tesla facilities (investigated by the National Labor Relations Board on multiple occasions), the concentration of influence held by a single individual across critical infrastructure including defence contracts, satellite communications, and social media, and questions about conflicts of interest arising from his advisory role in the Trump administration. His management style has been described by former employees and journalists alternately as visionary and erratic. Several of his public statements — including those made on X — have attracted regulatory scrutiny and defamation claims.

Frequently asked questions

Is Elon Musk the world's richest person?

Musk has held the title of the world's wealthiest individual according to major financial indices at multiple points, most notably from 2021 onward, though his ranking fluctuates with the valuations of Tesla and SpaceX. As of early 2025 he remained among the top one or two wealthiest people on earth, but specific rankings change frequently.

Is SpaceX a publicly traded company?

As of early 2025, SpaceX remains privately held and is not listed on any public stock exchange, though it has conducted funding rounds that implied a valuation in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Musk has not announced firm plans for a public offering.

Is Elon Musk a citizen of the United States?

Yes. Musk became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 2002. He also holds Canadian and South African citizenship, making him a citizen of three countries.

Is Neuralink's brain chip approved for human use?

Neuralink received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin human clinical trials in 2023, and the first human implantation was reported in early 2024. Full regulatory approval for broader commercial use had not been granted as of early 2025.

Is Elon Musk a co-founder of Tesla?

Legally, yes. Although Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded Tesla Motors in 2003, Musk joined in 2004 as the lead Series A investor and board chairman. Following a legal settlement with the original founders, all five earliest principals — including Musk — are recognised as co-founders.