What is it?

Elon Musk is one of the most influential and controversial business figures of the 21st century. He is the CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX, the CEO and product architect of Tesla, and the owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). As of 2026, he is the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $835 billion by Forbes.

Musk was born in South Africa in 1971 and moved to Canada at age 17, later becoming a U.S. citizen. He co-founded the online payment company PayPal, which was sold to eBay in 2002. He then founded SpaceX in 2002 and joined Tesla in 2004, leading the company to become a dominant force in electric vehicles.

Beyond his core companies, Musk has founded or co-founded several other ventures, including the neurotechnology company Neuralink, the tunneling company the Boring Company, and the artificial intelligence company xAI. He also co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018.

Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion was highly controversial. He rebranded the platform as X and implemented significant changes, including mass layoffs, a shift toward subscription revenue, and a loosening of content moderation policies. This led to an increase in hate speech and misinformation on the platform.

Musk is also a polarizing political figure. He has supported far-right political parties and figures globally, and was the largest donor in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, backing Donald Trump. He served as Senior Advisor to the President and de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from January to May 2025, before leaving after a public feud with Trump.

Key Facts

Born Elon Reeve Musk on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa.
Holds South African, Canadian, and U.S. citizenship.
Earned bachelor's degrees in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.
Co-founded Zip2 in 1995, sold for $307 million in 1999.
Co-founded X.com in 1999, which became PayPal and was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.
Founded SpaceX in 2002; it became the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station in 2012.
Joined Tesla in 2004 and became CEO in 2008; Tesla became the world's most valuable automaker by market cap.
Acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and rebranded it as X in 2023.
Co-founded Neuralink in 2016, the Boring Company in 2017, and xAI in 2023.
Became the wealthiest person in the world in 2025; net worth estimated at $835 billion in June 2026.
Served as Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump from January to May 2025.
Has been criticized for spreading misinformation, promoting conspiracy theories, and making antisemitic and transphobic comments.

Full Explanation

Early Ventures and PayPal

Musk's first major business success came with Zip2, a software company he co-founded with his brother Kimbal in 1995. Zip2 provided business directories and maps for newspapers. Compaq acquired Zip2 in 1999 for $307 million, netting Musk $22 million.

Later that year, Musk co-founded X.com, an online payment company. In 2000, X.com merged with Confinity, which had a money transfer service called PayPal. Musk focused on scaling the company, but was ousted as CEO in 2000. However, he remained the largest shareholder. When eBay bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion, Musk received $165 million.

SpaceX and Tesla

With his PayPal fortune, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, in 2002. His goal was to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars. SpaceX developed the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Falcon Heavy rockets, as well as the Dragon spacecraft. In 2008, SpaceX became the first private company to launch a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit. The company later pioneered reusable rocket technology, landing and reusing first-stage boosters.

Musk joined Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) in 2004 as an early investor and chairman. He became CEO in 2008 after leading the company through the financial crisis. Under Musk, Tesla launched the Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, and Semi. Tesla became the world's most valuable automaker by market capitalization and a leader in electric vehicle technology and battery production.

Other Ventures and Acquisitions

In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit AI research company, but left in 2018 due to disagreements over direction. He later founded xAI in 2023, which became a subsidiary of SpaceX in 2026. Neuralink, founded in 2016, aims to develop brain-computer interfaces. The Boring Company, founded in 2017, focuses on tunnel construction for high-speed transportation.

In 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, taking the company private. He rebranded it as X in 2023, transforming it into a platform for payments, messaging, and content. The acquisition led to massive layoffs, a shift to a subscription model (X Premium), and a reduction in content moderation, resulting in increased hate speech and misinformation.

History

Elon Musk was born into a wealthy family in Pretoria, South Africa. His father, Errol Musk, was an engineer and property developer, and his mother, Maye Musk, is a model and dietitian. Musk's childhood was marked by bullying and a difficult relationship with his father. He taught himself programming at age 10 and sold his first video game, Blastar, at age 12.

Musk moved to Canada in 1989 to avoid South Africa's mandatory military service. He attended Queen's University in Ontario and later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned degrees in physics and economics. After briefly pursuing a PhD at Stanford, he dropped out to start Zip2.

After the sale of PayPal, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. The company faced early failures but achieved its first successful launch in 2008. That same year, Musk took over as CEO of Tesla, which was struggling financially. Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, which became a critical and commercial success.

In the 2010s, Musk's influence grew as Tesla and SpaceX achieved major milestones. Tesla released the Model 3 in 2017, making electric cars more accessible. SpaceX began launching and landing reusable rockets, dramatically reducing launch costs. Musk also became a vocal figure on social media, often making controversial statements.

In the 2020s, Musk's political involvement intensified. He became a major donor to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and served in the Trump administration in 2025. His tenure was short-lived, ending in a public feud. Meanwhile, his net worth soared, making him the richest person in the world.

Why it matters

Elon Musk has reshaped multiple industries. SpaceX has revolutionized space travel by making rockets reusable, reducing costs, and enabling commercial spaceflight. Tesla has accelerated the transition to electric vehicles, pushing the entire automotive industry toward electrification. These innovations have significant implications for climate change and space exploration.

Musk's acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) has changed the landscape of social media. His emphasis on free speech, combined with reduced content moderation, has sparked debates about online safety, misinformation, and the role of platform owners. X has become a test case for a less regulated social media environment.

Musk's political influence, particularly his support for far-right figures and his role in the Trump administration, has made him a polarizing figure. His actions have drawn criticism from human rights groups, scientists, and policymakers. However, his supporters argue that he challenges conventional thinking and drives innovation.

Ultimately, Musk's legacy is still being written. He remains a central figure in technology, business, and politics, with the potential to shape the future of transportation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and online communication. His story is a modern example of how entrepreneurial vision, combined with immense wealth and influence, can have far-reaching consequences.