Elon Musk Andreas Kapadoukas

Γ΄1

Elon Musk

General information • Elon Reeve Musk was

born on June 28th,1971

and is 46 years old.

• In December 2016, he

was ranked 21st on the

Forbes list of The World's

Most Powerful People.

• As of February 2018, he

has a net worth of $20.8

billion and is listed by

Forbes as the 53rd richest

person in the world.

Early life (1) • Musk was born in Pretoria,

Transvaal, South Africa,

the son of Maye Musk

and Errol Musk.

• He has a younger

brother, Kimbal, and a

younger sister, Tosca.

• After his parents divorced

in 1980, Musk lived mostly

with his father in the

suburbs of Pretoria.

Early life (2) • During his childhood he was

an avid reader.

• At age of10, he developed

an interest in computing

and at the age of 12 he

taught himself computer

programming.

• Musk was severely bullied

throughout his childhood,

and was once hospitalized

when a group of boys threw

him down a flight of stairs

and then beat him until he

lost consciousness.

Education (1) • Musk attended Waterkloof

House Preparatory School,

and Bryanston High School

before graduating from

Pretoria Boys High School.

• At the age of 17, Musk was

accepted into Queen's

University in Kingston, Ontario

and after 2 years he

transferred to the University of

Pennsylvania where in May

1997 he received a Bachelor

of Science degree in physics

and a Bachelor of Science

degree in economics.

Education (2) • In 1995, at the age of 24,

Musk moved to California

to begin a PhD in applied

physics and materials

science at Stanford

University

• He left the program after

two days to pursue his

entrepreneurial

aspirations in the areas of

the internet, renewable

energy and outer space.

Family (1) • Musk met his first wife,

Justine Wilson, while both

were students at Ontario's

Queen's University.

• They married in 2000 and

separated in 2008.

• Their first son, Nevada

Alexander Musk, died of

sudden infant death

syndrome (SIDS) at the

age of 10 weeks.

Family (2) • They later had five sons.

• After their divorce, they

share custody of all five

sons.

• In 2008, Musk began

dating English actress

Talulah Riley, and in 2010,

the couple married.

• In late 2016 they

divorced.

Philanthropy (1) • Musk is chairman of the

Musk Foundation, which focuses its philanthropic efforts on providing solar-power energy systems in disaster areas.

• In 2010, the Musk Foundation collaborated with SolarCity to donate a 25-kW solar power system to the South Bay Community Alliance's hurricane response center in Alabama.

Philanthropy (2) • In July 2011, the Musk

Foundation donated US$250,000 towards a solar power project in Sōma.

• In July 2014, Musk was asked to donate US$8 million toward the construction of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, but he agreed to donate 1 million.

• Musk donated US$10 million to the Future of Life Institute in January 2015

Career • In 1995, Musk and his

brother, Kimbal, started Zip2.

• In March 1999, Musk co-founded X.com.

• Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, in May 2002.

• He became co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.

• In December 2015, Musk announced the creation of OpenAI.

• In 2016, he became co-founder and CEO of Neuralink.

SpaceX (1) • In May 2002 Musk

founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, of which he is CEO and lead designer.

• In 2011 their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft replaced the US Space Shuttle.

• On February 6, 2018, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon Heavy.

SpaceX (2) • On December 22, 2015,

SpaceX successfully

landed the first stage of its

Falcon rocket back at the

launch pad. This was the

first time in history such a

feat had been achieved

by an orbital rocket.

• Musk stated that he wants

to establish a Mars

colony by 2040, with a

population of 80,000.

Tesla (1) • Tesla, Inc. was incorporated

in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

• In February 2004, Musk joined Tesla's board of directors as its chairman.

• He took an active role within the company, but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations.

• Following the financial crisis in 2008, Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect.

Tesla (2) • Musk has favored

building a sub-US$30,000 compact Tesla model.

• As of 2014, Musk's annual salary is one dollar, similar to that of Steve Jobs and other CEOs.

• In January 2018, Musk was granted a $2.6 billion award by the company, awarding him with 20.3 million shares thereby raising Tesla's market value to $650 billion.

Final thoughts • Considering all the good Elon Musk has done for his

fellow humans, he is truly an admirable person and

can therefore be considered a hero.

• He strives to help people by providing solar power in

disaster areas and donating money for charitable

causes.

• His inventions are extraordinary and he is an

amazing entrepreneur.

References • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk