Elon Reeve Musk FRS (EE-LoN), born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate, industrial designer, and engineer. He is the founder, CEO, CTO, and chief designer of SpaceX; early investor, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink; and co-founder and initial co-chairman of OpenAI. A centibillionaire, Musk is one of the richest people in the world.
Musk was born to a Canadian mother and a South African father and raised in Pretoria, South Africa. He briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving to Canada aged 17 to attend Queen's University. He transferred to the University of Pennsylvania two years later, receiving dual bachelor's degrees in economics and physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University but decided instead to pursue a business career, co-founding web software company Zip2 with his brother Kimbal. Compaq acquired the start-up for $307 million in 1999. Musk co-founded online bank X.com that same year, which merged with Confinity in 2000 to form the company PayPal and was subsequently bought by eBay for $1.5 billion in October 2002.
In May 2002, Musk founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer, and space transport services company, of which he is CEO, CTO, and lead designer. In 2004, he joined electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.) as chairman and product architect, becoming its CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a solar energy services company now a Tesla subsidiary. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit research company that promotes friendly artificial intelligence. In July 2016, he co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company focused on developing brain–computer interfaces, and founded The Boring Company, a tunnel construction company, in December 2016.
Musk has proposed the Hyperloop, a high-speed vactrain transportation system. In July 2018, he was awarded a contract to develop a conceptual design for a space-based solar power plant, which would be able to provide energy to parts of Earth not reached by sunlight. He has also proposed using satellites to provide internet service, and in 2018, SpaceX announced that it would launch a test satellite, Tintin A and B, to demonstrate the technology.
Musk has stated that the goals of SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity revolve around his vision to change the world and humanity. His goals include reducing global warming through sustainable energy production and consumption and reducing the risk of human extinction by establishing a human colony on Mars.
Musk has faced criticism for his actions and statements. He has previously been accused of making unfounded and unsupported claims and offensive and unorthodox social media statements. In September 2018, he was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fraud, and in 2019, he settled with the SEC, agreeing to pay a $20 million fine and to step down as Tesla's chairman for three years.
Musk is known for his eccentric and often controversial public persona and has been described as a "modern-day Tony Stark." He has three children from a previous marriage and is currently in a relationship with Canadian musician Grimes.
