Elon Musk Biography, Age, Career, Spouse, Son, Children, Net Worth, Social Media

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is a name that resonates across industries, from space exploration to electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and beyond.

As one of the most innovative minds of the 21st century, Musk has continuously redefined what is possible, challenging conventional norms and pushing the boundaries of technology.

Born with an entrepreneurial spirit, he has built an empire that spans companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. But who is the man behind these groundbreaking ventures?

In this comprehensive biography, we delve into Elon Musk’s life, from his early years and career milestones to his personal relationships, children, and staggering net worth. Stay tuned as we explore the multifaceted journey of this visionary who continues to shape the future.

Who is Elon Musk ?

Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is a prominent entrepreneur recognized for his leadership in SpaceX and Tesla, Inc.

He also owns X Corp., the parent company of the social media platform X (previously known as Twitter), and has contributed to founding ventures such as The Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, and OpenAI.

In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced Musk as co-chair for the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the upcoming Trump administration. Musk remains the world’s richest person, with Forbes estimating his fortune at $347.8 billion as of November 2024.

Elon Musk Biography

Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, is a globally recognized entrepreneur and innovator. He briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving to Canada at 18, gaining citizenship through his mother, who was Canadian-born.

Musk enrolled at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in both economics and physics.

In 1995, Musk relocated to California to begin a Ph.D. program at Stanford University but decided to leave after just two days to pursue entrepreneurship. Alongside his brother Kimbal, he co-founded Zip2, a software company focused on city guides. In 1999, Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million.

Later that year, Musk launched X.com, an online banking platform, which later merged with Confinity to become PayPal in 2000.

Following PayPal’s acquisition by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion, Musk invested $100 million from the proceeds to establish SpaceX, a company specializing in space exploration and launch services. Musk became a U.S. citizen that same year.

In 2004, Musk joined Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.) as an early investor, providing significant financial support and taking on the roles of chairman, product architect, and eventually CEO by 2008.

He co-founded SolarCity in 2006, a solar energy firm that Tesla later acquired in 2016 to form Tesla Energy. Musk also introduced the idea of the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation concept, in 2013.

Musk co-founded OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research nonprofit, in 2015. The following year, he launched Neuralink, focusing on brain-machine interfaces, and The Boring Company, which specializes in tunnel construction.

However, his career has not been without controversy. In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Musk of misleading investors about plans to privatize Tesla. Musk settled by stepping down as Tesla’s chairman and paying a $20 million fine.

In 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, subsequently merging it with X Corp. and rebranding the platform as X in 2023. Additionally, he founded xAI, a company dedicated to artificial intelligence, in March 2023.

Musk has garnered both admiration and criticism throughout his career. While praised for his visionary ideas, he has also faced backlash for controversial actions and statements.

These include spreading misinformation about COVID-19, endorsing right-wing conspiracy theories, and making remarks criticized as antisemitic, for which he later apologized.

His ownership of Twitter has been contentious due to widespread layoffs, increased hate speech and misinformation on the platform, and changes to its verification system.

In 2024, Musk became more politically active, emerging as a key financial supporter of Donald Trump during the presidential election. By October 2024, Musk was Trump’s second-largest individual donor.

Following Trump’s election victory, Musk was named co-leader of the newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. This initiative aims to streamline government operations by reducing excessive regulations and eliminating wasteful spending.

Early life and education

Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, which serves as the country’s administrative capital. He is of mixed heritage, with British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.

His mother, Maye Haldeman Musk, originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, is a model and dietitian who grew up in South Africa. His father, Errol Musk, is a South African electromechanical engineer who also worked as a pilot, sailor, consultant, emerald trader, and property developer.

Errol co-owned a rental lodge located at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. Elon has two younger siblings: his brother, Kimbal, and his sister, Tosca, along with four half-siblings from his father’s side.

During Elon’s childhood, the family enjoyed considerable wealth. Although both Elon and his father previously stated that Errol had partial ownership of a Zambian emerald mine, Errol clarified in 2023 that his involvement was limited to receiving a share of the emeralds from three small mines.

Politically, Errol was a member of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party and served on the Pretoria City Council, a stance that influenced his children’s opposition to apartheid.

Elon’s maternal grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, was an adventurous Canadian-American who made record-breaking expeditions to Africa and Australia in a single-engine Bellanca airplane. Haldeman passed away when Elon was still very young.

Reflecting on his early years, Elon has described attending a wilderness school that he compared to a “paramilitary Lord of the Flies,” where students were encouraged to fight over resources, and bullying was commonplace.

After his parents divorced in 1980, Elon Musk initially chose to live with his father, a decision he later regretted. Over time, he became estranged from his father due to strained relations.

During his school years, Elon attended Bryanston High School, where he endured a traumatic bullying incident. In one altercation, he was pushed down a flight of concrete stairs and severely beaten by a classmate and his friends, resulting in injuries that required hospitalization.

After being discharged, Elon described facing harsh criticism from his father, who allegedly berated him, calling him “worthless.” However, Errol Musk denied this account, claiming that the boy involved had recently lost his father to suicide and that Elon had provoked the incident by calling the boy “stupid.” Following this episode, Elon was transferred to a private school for his safety.

Elon displayed an early passion for reading, which he credits as foundational to his later success. Books such as The Lord of the Rings, the Foundation series, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy deeply influenced him.

By the age of 10, Elon had developed a keen interest in computers and video games. Teaching himself programming from a VIC-20 user manual, he quickly demonstrated his technical aptitude. At 12, he created a BASIC-based video game called Blastar, which he sold to PC and Office Technology magazine for around $500.

Elon Musk Education

Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School, and ultimately Pretoria Boys High School, where he graduated. He was a solid student, though not particularly outstanding, scoring 61 in Afrikaans and a B in his senior math exams.

To avoid mandatory military service in South Africa particularly due to his opposition to the apartheid regime and to simplify his future immigration to the United States, Musk applied for a Canadian passport through his mother, who was born in Canada. While his application was processed, he briefly attended the University of Pretoria for five months.

In June 1989, Musk moved to Canada, where he connected with a second cousin in Saskatchewan and took up various odd jobs, including working on a farm and in a lumber mill.

In 1990, he enrolled at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania two years later. Musk studied there until 1995.

Although he has stated that he graduated in 1995, the University of Pennsylvania officially awarded him a Bachelor of Arts in physics and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School in 1997.

To support himself through school, Musk reportedly hosted large, ticketed house parties and wrote a business proposal for an electronic book-scanning service, which would later resemble Google Books.

In 1994, Musk gained experience through two internships in Silicon Valley. One was at Pinnacle Research Institute, an energy storage startup exploring electrolytic ultracapacitors, while the other was at Rocket Science Games, a Palo Alto-based company.

In 1995, Musk was accepted into a graduate program in materials science at Stanford University but ultimately chose not to enroll. Instead, he decided to pursue opportunities in the rapidly growing Internet industry, applying for a position at Netscape, although he reportedly never received a response.

The Washington Post reported that Musk did not have legal authorization to stay and work in the U.S. after choosing not to attend Stanford.

Musk, however, asserted that he was permitted to work during that time, as his student visa had transitioned to an H1-B visa. Some former colleagues and business partners have indicated that Musk was still on a student visa at the time.

Elon Musk Business career

In 1995, Elon Musk, along with his brother Kimbal and Greg Kouri, co-founded a company called Global Link Information Network, which was later rebranded as Zip2.

The company developed an online city guide that offered maps, directions, and business listings, primarily targeting newspaper publishers.

They operated out of a small office in Palo Alto, with Musk dedicating his nights to coding the website. During this time, Musk described his and Kimbal’s immigration status as being in a “gray area,” though Kimbal later stated that they were working without legal authorization.

A 2024 exposé by The Washington Post revealed that Musk had worked illegally while developing Zip2, based on an email from Musk presented as evidence during a 2005 defamation lawsuit, along with funding details from the venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures.

Over time, Zip2 secured contracts with prominent publications like The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. The Musk brothers convinced the Zip2 board to reject a merger offer from CitySearch, but Musk’s efforts to take the CEO position were unsuccessful. In February 1999, Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash, and Musk received $22 million for his 7% stake in the company.

X.com and PayPal

In March 1999, Elon Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and email payment company, using $12 million from the sale of Zip2 to Compaq.

X.com became one of the first online banks to offer federally insured accounts, quickly attracting over 200,000 customers during its early months of operation.

Despite concerns from his friends about the name potentially being mistaken for a website with adult content, Musk dismissed their worries.

He explained that he wanted the name to be simple, easy to remember, and easy to type, adding that he liked the email addresses it allowed, such as “e@x.com”.

Although Musk was the founder, investors questioned his experience and replaced him with Bill Harris, the CEO of Intuit, by the end of 1999. In 2000, X.com merged with Confinity, an online bank whose PayPal money-transfer service was gaining more popularity than X.com’s offerings.

Musk briefly returned as CEO of the newly merged company, but tensions arose over his preference for Microsoft software over Unix, which caused friction with employees.

This, combined with unresolved technical issues and a lack of a clear business direction, led the board to remove Musk from the CEO position in September 2000, replacing him with Confinity’s co-founder Peter Thiel. Under Thiel’s leadership, the company pivoted to focus on the PayPal service and was rebranded as PayPal in 2001.

In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock. Musk, the largest shareholder with 11.7% of the company, received $176 million from the sale. In 2017, Musk bought the domain name X.com from PayPal, citing its sentimental value. By 2022, Musk expressed ambitions to transform X.com into “X, the everything app.”

Elon Musk SpaceX

In early 2001, Elon Musk became involved with the Mars Society, a nonprofit organization, and began discussing plans to fund the development of a plant growth chamber on Mars.

Later that year, in October, he traveled to Moscow with Jim Cantrell, Adeo Ressi, and future NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin to explore the possibility of purchasing refurbished intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could be used to launch greenhouse payloads into space.

Musk and his team met with representatives from Russian companies NPO Lavochkin and Kosmotras. However, Musk, who was seen as inexperienced, was unable to secure a deal for Russian launch services, and the group returned to the United States without an agreement.

In February 2002, Musk and his team returned to Russia, hoping to purchase three ICBMs. After another round of talks with Kosmotras, they were offered a rocket for $8 million, but Musk rejected the offer.

Instead, he decided to establish his own company with the goal of building more affordable rockets. In May 2002, Musk founded SpaceX with an initial investment of $100 million of his own funds, becoming the CEO and chief engineer of the company.

SpaceX launched its first rocket, the Falcon 1, in 2006. Though the rocket failed to reach Earth’s orbit, the company still secured a contract with NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, which was headed by Michael D. Griffin at the time.

After two more failed launches that nearly drove Musk and his companies into bankruptcy, SpaceX succeeded in placing the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008.

Later that year, NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract for 12 flights of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), to replace the Space Shuttle program after its retirement in 2011. In 2012, the Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the ISS, marking the first time a commercial spacecraft achieved such a feat.

As part of its mission to develop reusable rockets, SpaceX achieved a significant milestone in 2015 by successfully landing the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a land-based platform.

Following this success, SpaceX continued to perfect its recovery system, achieving additional landings on autonomous spaceport drone ships, which are ocean-based platforms designed for rocket recovery. In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, with its maiden flight carrying Elon Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.

Since 2019, SpaceX has been working on Starship, a fully reusable, super-heavy-lift launch vehicle designed to eventually replace both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

In 2020, the company made history with its first crewed flight, Demo-2, marking the first time a private company had successfully launched astronauts into orbit and docked a crewed spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2024, NASA awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to manage the deorbiting of the ISS once it reaches the end of its operational life.

Elon Musk Starlink

In 2015, SpaceX embarked on the development of the Starlink satellite constellation, designed to offer global satellite Internet access. The first two prototype satellites were launched in February 2018.

A major milestone occurred in May 2019, when the company deployed its first batch of 60 operational satellites, marking the initial large-scale step toward completing the constellation.

By 2020, SpaceX estimated the total cost of the decade-long project, including the design, construction, and deployment of the network, to be around $10 billion.

However, the project has faced criticism, notably from the International Astronomical Union, which raised concerns about Starlink’s potential interference with sky observations and the risk it poses to other spacecraft due to possible collisions.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, Elon Musk provided Starlink terminals to Ukraine to support communication and internet access.

By October 2022, Musk revealed that SpaceX had donated about 20,000 satellite terminals to Ukraine, along with free data transfer services, which amounted to a cost of $80 million.

Musk later asked the U.S. Department of Defense to take over the funding for the terminals and ongoing subscriptions for Ukraine.

Despite this, Musk confirmed that SpaceX would continue to offer Starlink service to Ukraine at no cost, at an estimated annual expense of $400 million. Additionally, Musk refused to block Russian state media from the platform, claiming to be a “free speech absolutist.”

In September 2023, Ukrainian officials requested that Starlink satellites be activated over Crimea to assist in attacks on Russian naval vessels stationed at Sevastopol. Musk declined the request, citing concerns that such actions could provoke a nuclear response from Russia.

Elon Musk Tesla

Tesla, Inc., initially known as Tesla Motors, was founded in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Both played crucial roles in the company’s early development before Elon Musk became involved.

In February 2004, Musk led the Series A investment round, contributing $6.35 million, which made him the largest shareholder. He also joined Tesla’s board of directors as chairman.

While Musk became heavily involved in overseeing the design of the Roadster, he was not deeply engaged in the company’s daily operations at that time.

In 2007, following internal conflicts and the onset of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, Eberhard was pushed out of the company. Musk took over as CEO and product architect in 2008.

A legal settlement in 2009 with Eberhard led to Musk being officially recognized as one of the co-founders of Tesla, alongside Tarpenning and two other individuals.

By 2019, Musk had become the longest-serving CEO in the global automotive industry. In 2021, Musk adopted the title of “Technoking” while continuing to serve as CEO.

Tesla began delivering its first electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008. With approximately 2,500 units sold, it became the first production vehicle to feature lithium-ion battery cells.

In 2012, Tesla expanded its offerings with the launch of the four-door Model S sedan. Three years later, in 2015, the company introduced the Model X, a crossover SUV. In 2017, Tesla released the Model 3, a more affordable sedan aimed at mass-market consumers.

By 2020, the Model 3 became the best-selling plug-in electric car globally, and by June 2021, it achieved the milestone of selling 1 million units worldwide, making it the first electric car to do so.

In 2020, Tesla also introduced the Model Y, a crossover SUV, which quickly gained popularity. By December 2023, it had become not only the best-selling electric vehicle but also the best-selling vehicle of any type globally.

Tesla’s Cybertruck, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019 and began deliveries in November 2023. Under Elon Musk’s leadership, Tesla has also built multiple Gigafactories, which are large-scale facilities dedicated to manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles.

Since Tesla’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2010, its stock value has seen significant growth. By the summer of 2020, Tesla had become the most valuable automaker in the world, and later that year, it was included in the S&P 500 index.

In October 2021, Tesla’s market capitalization reached $1 trillion, making it the sixth company in U.S. history to achieve this milestone. In November 2021, Musk proposed selling some of his Tesla shares via Twitter.

After over 3.5 million Twitter users supported the idea, Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of Tesla stock in just one week and ultimately sold a total of $16.4 billion by the end of the year, meeting his 10% sale goal.

In February 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal were under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for potential insider trading related to these sales.

In 2022, Musk also introduced Optimus, a humanoid robot being developed by Tesla. In June 2023, Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York City, expressing his interest in investing in India “as soon as humanly possible.”

SEC and shareholder lawsuits regarding tweets

In 2018, Elon Musk faced legal action from the SEC after posting a tweet claiming that funding was secured to take Tesla private. The SEC alleged that the tweet was false, misleading, and harmful to investors, seeking to bar Musk from serving as the CEO of publicly traded companies.

Musk settled with the SEC two days later, without admitting or denying the allegations. The settlement resulted in fines of $20 million each for Musk and Tesla, and Musk was required to step down as Tesla’s chairman for three years, although he could continue as CEO.

Shareholders later filed a lawsuit over the tweet, but in February 2023, a jury ruled in favor of Musk and Tesla, finding them not liable. Musk has expressed in interviews that he does not regret the tweet that led to the SEC investigation.

In 2019, Musk tweeted that Tesla would produce half a million vehicles that year, prompting the SEC to request that a court hold him in contempt for breaching the 2018 settlement terms.

Following this, a revised agreement was made, outlining specific topics Musk would need pre-approval to tweet about. In 2020, a judge dismissed a lawsuit that claimed Musk’s tweet about Tesla’s stock price (“too high imo”) had violated the agreement.

However, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the SEC believed Musk had breached the agreement twice by posting about Tesla’s solar roof production and stock price.

Solarcity and Tesla Energy

Elon Musk played a crucial role in the founding of SolarCity, providing both the initial concept and financial backing. The company was established in 2006 by his cousins, Lyndon and Peter Rive.

By 2013, SolarCity had become the second-largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. In 2014, Musk advocated for the construction of an innovative manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York, aimed to be three times the size of the largest existing solar plant in the country.

Groundbreaking for the factory began in 2014, and it was completed by 2017, operating as a joint venture with Panasonic until early 2020.

In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2 billion, combining it with its battery division to form Tesla Energy. This announcement led to a significant drop of over 10% in Tesla’s stock value, as SolarCity was grappling with financial instability at the time.

The acquisition sparked a legal battle, with multiple shareholder groups filing lawsuits against Musk and Tesla’s directors, claiming that the deal primarily benefited Musk at the cost of Tesla and its investors.

In January 2020, Tesla’s directors reached a settlement, leaving Musk as the sole defendant in the case. Ultimately, a court ruling in 2022 favored Musk, clearing him of the charges.

Neuralink

In 2016, Elon Musk co-founded Neuralink, a startup in the neurotechnology sector, with a $100 million investment. The company’s mission is to merge the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by designing brain-implantable devices.

These innovations aim to enhance memory and enable direct communication between the brain and software. Neuralink also seeks to develop technologies to address neurological issues such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, and spinal cord injuries.

By 2019, Musk revealed progress on a device similar to a sewing machine, capable of implanting fine threads into the brain. Later that year, a paper outlining Neuralink’s research was published, where Musk was controversially credited as the sole author.

During a live demonstration in 2020, Musk introduced one of Neuralink’s early prototypes, describing it as “a Fitbit for your skull.” He suggested it could potentially revolutionize treatments for paralysis, hearing loss, vision impairment, and other disabilities.

Many neuroscientists and publications have criticized Neuralink’s claims, with MIT Technology Review labeling them as “highly speculative” and akin to “neuroscience theater.” During one demonstration, Musk showcased a pig implanted with a Neuralink device that monitored neural activity linked to its sense of smell. By 2022, Neuralink announced its intent to begin clinical trials before the year’s end.

Neuralink has also carried out animal testing on macaque monkeys at the Primate Research Center of the University of California, Davis. In 2021, the company shared a video of a macaque playing the video game Pong using a Neuralink implant.

However, the company’s animal testing practices have been controversial, with some monkeys dying during trials, leading to accusations of animal cruelty.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine claimed that these tests violated the Animal Welfare Act. Additionally, Neuralink employees reported that Musk’s demands for faster progress caused flawed experiments and unnecessary animal deaths.

In response to these concerns, a federal investigation into potential violations of animal welfare laws was launched in 2022. Despite these controversies, Neuralink received FDA approval in September 2023 to begin human trials, planning to conduct a six-year study.

The Boring Company

In 2017, Elon Musk launched The Boring Company, aiming to build underground tunnels and develop specialized high-capacity vehicles capable of traveling at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h).

The goal was to reduce surface traffic congestion in major cities. That same year, the company engaged with regulatory agencies and began constructing a “test trench” on SpaceX’s property—a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep prototype that bypassed the need for permits.

In 2018, the company unveiled a Los Angeles test tunnel, spanning less than two miles (3.2 km). The tunnel featured Tesla Model X vehicles, though journalists described the ride as rough and noted that speeds were well below the target.

Two proposed tunnel projects announced in 2018—in Chicago and West Los Angeles—were later canceled. Despite these setbacks, The Boring Company successfully completed a tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center in early 2021. Plans for expanding the Las Vegas tunnel system have since received approval from local authorities.

Twitter / X

Elon Musk showed interest in acquiring Twitter as early as 2017, often questioning the platform’s dedication to free speech. His ex-wife, Talulah Riley, even encouraged him to buy Twitter to counter what she described as “woke-ism.”

In January 2022, Musk began purchasing shares of Twitter, eventually amassing a 9.2% stake by April, which made him the largest shareholder. The public disclosure of his stake caused Twitter’s stock to experience its biggest single-day price increase since its 2013 IPO.

On April 4, Musk agreed to join Twitter’s board of directors under a deal that limited him to a maximum ownership of 14.9%. However, on April 13, he made an unsolicited offer to purchase the entire company for $43 billion, proposing $54.20 per share in a takeover bid.

In response, Twitter’s board adopted a “poison pill” strategy to deter any investor from acquiring more than 15% of the company without their approval.

Despite this, Musk ultimately succeeded in securing a deal by the end of April, purchasing Twitter for around $44 billion. The acquisition was financed through $12.5 billion in loans backed by his Tesla stock and $21 billion in equity funding.

Tesla’s market value dropped by more than $100 billion the day after Musk’s Twitter acquisition deal was announced, reflecting investor concerns.

Shortly after, Musk tweeted criticism of Twitter executive Vijaya Gadde’s policies to his 86 million followers. This sparked a wave of sexist and racist harassment against her from some of his supporters.

A month after announcing the takeover, Musk declared that the deal was “on hold,” citing a report suggesting that 5% of Twitter’s daily active users were spam accounts.

Despite initially reiterating his commitment to the purchase, Musk notified Twitter in July that he was terminating the agreement. In response, Twitter’s board insisted on enforcing the terms of the deal.

On July 12, 2022, Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk in Delaware’s Chancery Court, accusing him of breaching the legally binding agreement.

However, in October 2022, Musk reversed course, once again agreeing to buy Twitter at the original offer price of $54.20 per share. The acquisition was finalized on October 27, 2022.

After acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk immediately dismissed several top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, and assumed the role of CEO himself.

He introduced a $7.99 monthly subscription for users seeking a “blue check” verification badge and implemented mass layoffs that affected a substantial portion of Twitter’s workforce.

Musk also reduced content moderation efforts, reinstating previously banned accounts such as The Babylon Bee. However, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that Twitter subsequently verified several extremist accounts, and incidents of hate speech on the platform increased following Musk’s leadership.

In December 2022, Musk released internal Twitter documents related to the platform’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy during the 2020 presidential election.

Commentary on these documents, referred to as the Twitter Files, was shared on the platform by journalists Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss, and Michael Shellenberger, among others.

Musk and some Republican figures claimed the documents revealed FBI involvement in suppressing a New York Post story about the laptop, which they framed as government censorship.

However, Taibbi later stated that he found no evidence supporting this claim, and Twitter’s attorneys denied the allegations in court filings.

The United States House Committee on the Judiciary held hearings on the Twitter Files on March 9, 2023, during which Taibbi and Shellenberger provided testimony.

In late 2022, Elon Musk announced his intention to step down as Twitter’s CEO after conducting a poll in which the majority of users voted for his resignation.

Five months later, he followed through, appointing former NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino as CEO. Musk transitioned to the roles of executive chairman and chief technology officer.

On November 20, 2023, X (formerly Twitter) filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Texas against Media Matters, alleging that the organization “manipulated” the platform by using accounts that followed major brands and “endlessly scrolling and refreshing” feeds to display ads next to extremist content.

By August 2024, The Wall Street Journal described the $13 billion Musk borrowed for the Twitter acquisition as “the worst deal in merger finance” since the 2008–2009 financial crisis.

The publication noted that banks initially expected Musk’s acquisition to bring significant rewards but observed that “things have not gone according to plan.” Similarly, The Washington Post reported in September 2024 that the company had lost $24 billion in equity value, marking a dramatic decline rarely seen outside economic crashes or major corporate scandals.

Two years after the acquisition, Fidelity Investments estimated the value of its stake in X, suggesting the company had lost 79% of its initial value.

Elon Musk Leadership style

Elon Musk is frequently described as a micromanager and refers to himself as a “nano-manager.” The New York Times has labeled his management style as absolutist.

Notably, Musk does not rely on formal business plans and has often pursued ambitious, high-risk projects against the advice of his team.

Examples include removing front-facing radar from Tesla’s Autopilot system. His preference for vertical integration has led his companies to bring most production processes in-house.

While this approach has saved costs for SpaceX rockets, it has also (as of 2018) created usability issues with Tesla’s internal corporate software.

Musk’s communication with employees, often through mass emails, reflects a “carrot and stick” approach. He rewards constructive criticism but is also known for impulsively threatening, swearing at, or firing employees.

He expects employees to work long hours, sometimes up to 80 hours per week, and requires new hires to sign strict non-disclosure agreements. Mass firings are not uncommon under Musk’s leadership, such as those during Tesla’s Model 3 “production hell” in 2018.

In 2022, Musk announced plans to cut 10% of Tesla’s workforce, citing economic concerns. Around the same time, he banned remote work at Tesla and SpaceX, warning employees that failure to spend at least 40 hours per week in the office could result in termination. By early 2024, Musk had laid off more than 10% of Tesla’s workforce.

Musk’s leadership has garnered both praise and criticism. Supporters attribute the success of Tesla and his other ventures to his management style, while critics describe him as callous, with some arguing that his decisions reflect a “lack of human understanding.” The 2021 book Power Play shares accounts of Musk publicly berating employees.

In 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk’s insistence on branding Tesla vehicles as “self-driving” led to significant pushback from his engineers, who expressed concern that it put customers’ lives at risk. This tension resulted in some employees resigning that year.

Elon Musk Foundation

Elon Musk serves as president of the Musk Foundation, which he established in 2001. The foundation’s mission includes providing solar energy systems to disaster-stricken areas, supporting research and advocacy in fields such as human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy, and “safe artificial intelligence,” and promoting science and engineering education.

By 2020, the foundation had made 350 donations, with approximately half directed toward scientific research and educational nonprofits. Notable recipients include the Wikimedia Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania (Musk’s alma mater), and Big Green, a nonprofit founded by Musk’s brother, Kimbal.

From 2002 to 2018, the foundation donated $25 million to various organizations, with nearly half going to Musk’s own OpenAI, which was a nonprofit at the time. Additionally, the foundation committed $100 million in donations to fund the creation of a new higher education institution in Texas.

In 2012, Musk joined the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes either during his lifetime or through his will. He has also funded several prizes through the X Prize Foundation, including a $100 million award aimed at advancing carbon capture technology.

In February 2021, Vox described the Musk Foundation as “almost entertaining in its simplicity” but noted that it was “strikingly opaque,” pointing out that its website contained only 33 words of plain text.

In 2020, Forbes gave Musk a philanthropy score of 1, reflecting that he had donated less than 1% of his net worth. However, in November 2021, Musk made a significant donation of $5.7 billion in Tesla shares to charity, according to regulatory filings.

Despite the large donation, Bloomberg News reported that all of it went to his own foundation, increasing its assets to $9.4 billion by the end of 2021. That same year, the foundation distributed $160 million to various nonprofits.

However, The New York Times reported that in 2022, the Musk Foundation gave away $230 million less than the legally required minimum to maintain tax-deductible status. Furthermore, more than half of the foundation’s donations in 2021 and 2022 were directed to causes linked to Musk, his family, or his businesses.

Hyperloop

In August 2013, Musk revealed plans for a vacuum tube-based train system and assigned a team of engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to lay the groundwork and develop initial designs.

Later that year, he introduced the concept, which he named the Hyperloop. The alpha design for the system was released in a whitepaper on the Tesla and SpaceX blogs, detailing the technology and proposing a potential route connecting the Greater Los Angeles Area with the San Francisco Bay Area, with an estimated cost of $6 billion.

The Hyperloop, if technologically viable at the proposed costs, could make long-distance travel more affordable than any other transportation mode.

Biographer Ashlee Vance noted that Musk intended for the Hyperloop to challenge the existing high-speed train proposals in California, encouraging both the public and lawmakers to consider more “creative” alternatives.

In 2015, Musk launched a design competition for students and others to create Hyperloop pods that would operate on a SpaceX-sponsored, mile-long test track, as part of a competition held between 2015 and 2017.

The track was used in January 2017, and during the same period, Musk announced the beginning of a tunnel project, which was planned to connect to Hawthorne Municipal Airport.

In July 2017, he stated that he had received “verbal government approval” to construct a Hyperloop route from New York City to Washington, D.C., with stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

However, the proposed D.C.-to-Baltimore leg was removed from The Boring Company’s website in 2021. The tunnel project to Hawthorne was discontinued in 2022, with plans to convert it into parking spaces for SpaceX employees.

The Hyperloop concept has faced criticism from mobility experts, who have raised concerns about safety, the complexity of planning, low passenger capacity, and the exceedingly high costs involved.

Harvard professor of urban planning and public policy, Jose Gomez-Ibanez, remarked, “It gives me pause to think that otherwise intelligent people are buying into this kind of utopian vision.”

OpenAI and xAI

In December 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a non-profit research organization focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is both safe and beneficial to humanity.

The company aimed to democratize access to artificial superintelligence, positioning itself against government and corporate control. Musk committed $1 billion in funding to OpenAI.

In 2023, he tweeted that his total donations amounted to $100 million, though TechCrunch later reported that public records could confirm only $15 million in contributions from Musk. He later clarified that his donations were closer to $50 million.

In 2018, Musk stepped down from OpenAI’s board to avoid potential conflicts of interest with his role as Tesla’s CEO, especially as Tesla became more involved in AI through its Autopilot system.

Since then, OpenAI has made major strides in machine learning, creating neural networks like ChatGPT (which generates human-like text) and DALL-E (which creates digital images from text descriptions).

On July 12, 2023, Musk launched a new AI venture called xAI, aimed at developing a generative AI system to rival existing technologies such as ChatGPT. The company recruited engineers from Google and OpenAI, with funding from SpaceX and Tesla investors.

Luang cave rescue and defamation case

In July 2018, Musk directed his employees to create a mini-submarine to aid in the rescue of children trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.

Richard Stanton, the leader of the international rescue diving team, had suggested the construction of the vehicle as a backup in case the flooding worsened.

However, Stanton later stated that the mini-submarine was not feasible for the mission and noted that Musk’s involvement “distracted from the rescue effort.” Engineers from SpaceX and The Boring Company quickly built the mini-submarine using a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen transfer tube in just eight hours and delivered it to Thailand. Thai officials ultimately decided not to use the submarine, deeming it impractical for the operation.

In March 2019, Musk was one of 187 individuals who were awarded honors by the King of Thailand for their contributions to the rescue effort.

Following the rescue, British caver Vernon Unsworth, who had played a key advisory role in the operation, criticized the mini-submarine during a CNN interview.

He called it a publicity stunt with no real chance of success, saying Musk “had no conception of what the cave passage was like” and that Musk “can stick his submarine where it hurts.”

Musk claimed on Twitter that the mini-submarine would have been effective and referred to Unsworth as a “pedo guy.” He later deleted the tweets, apologized, and also removed his responses to critical comments from software engineer Cher Scarlett, which had led to harassment from his followers.

In an email to BuzzFeed News, Musk reiterated the claim, calling Unsworth a “child rapist” and accusing him of marrying a child.

In September 2018, Unsworth filed a defamation lawsuit seeking $190 million in damages. Musk defended himself, explaining that “pedo guy” was a common insult in South Africa during his upbringing, meaning something akin to “creepy old man,” and was not intended as a literal accusation.

During the trial, Musk apologized again for the tweet. In December 2019, the jury found that Musk was not liable for defamation.

2018 cannabis incident

In September 2018, Elon Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he was seen taking a puff from a joint. The incident led to repercussions for Musk and his employees at SpaceX.

Due to compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, which applies to federal contractors, Musk stated in 2022 that he and other staff members underwent random drug testing for approximately a year after the podcast appearance.

During a 2019 interview with 60 Minutes, Musk clarified, “I don’t smoke marijuana. As anyone who watched that podcast could tell, I didn’t even know how to properly do it.”

Elon Musk Music

In March 2019, Elon Musk ventured into music under his label, Emo G Records, releasing a rap single titled “RIP Harambe” on SoundCloud.

The song was inspired by the tragic death of Harambe, a gorilla whose story sparked widespread internet memes and discussions.

The track quickly gained attention for its quirky subject matter and Musk’s unexpected foray into music.

A year later, Musk debuted an EDM song titled “Don’t Doubt Ur Vibe”, which included lyrics and vocals performed by Musk himself.

While The Guardian’s Alexi Petridis critiqued it as being indistinguishable from many average electronic tracks created in home studios, TechCrunch offered a more favorable take, noting that the song was a fairly decent representation of its genre. Musk’s musical experiments highlighted his unpredictable and multifaceted personality.

Elon Musk Private jet

Elon Musk frequently travels on a private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a company associated with SpaceX. In August 2020, he also acquired a second jet.

Musk’s extensive use of these jets, which collectively covered over 150,000 miles in 2018, has sparked criticism due to the significant amount of fossil fuels consumed.

His flights are closely monitored by the public through an account called ElonJet. Tensions arose when Musk claimed that his son, X AE A-XII, was harassed by a stalker after the account revealed details about his jet’s landing location.

In response, Musk banned the ElonJet account on Twitter, along with the accounts of several journalists who reported on the incident, including Donie O’Sullivan, Keith Olbermann, and reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Intercept.

Musk argued that their actions amounted to doxxing. However, police found no evidence linking the account to the alleged stalker. Subsequently, Musk conducted a Twitter poll to determine whether the journalists’ accounts should be reinstated, and the poll resulted in their return to the platform.

Company towns

After 2020, Elon Musk and his companies purchased thousands of acres of land near Austin, Texas, totaling a value of $2.5 billion.

This land acquisition was part of the development of a planned company town called Snailbrook in Bastrop County, Texas, with construction beginning in 2021, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The planning process involved Musk’s then-girlfriend Grimes and rapper Kanye West. The name “Snailbrook” is a reference to The Boring Company’s goal of creating a tunnel-boring machine that operates faster than the pace of a snail. By 2023, the town had a reported population of just 12 people, with future plans to build a school and a university.

Elon Musk Wealth

Elon Musk made his debut on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with an estimated net worth of $2 billion.

Personal actions, views, and social media usage

Elon Musk attributes much of his personal philosophy and business ventures, such as SpaceX, Grok, and his libertarian views, to the influence of science fiction writers, especially Robert A. Heinlein.

Since joining Twitter (now X) in 2009, Musk has remained an active user, amassing over 163 million followers by November 2023. His posts range from memes and promotional content for his businesses to commentary on political and cultural matters.

However, his statements have sparked controversy, including mocking gender pronouns and comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler.

The New York Times has described Musk’s involvement in international relations as “chaotic,” with critics suggesting that his personal opinions are often intertwined with his business endeavors.

As CEO of Twitter, Musk became a source of misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories. For example, he suggested that details about mass murderer Mauricio Garcia’s alleged interest in Nazism might have been fabricated as part of a psychological operation. Additionally, accusations of transphobia have surfaced in response to actions taken by Twitter under Musk’s leadership.

Elon Musk Finance

Elon Musk has expressed that the U.S. government should refrain from providing subsidies to companies but should instead implement a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In his view, the free market would provide the most effective solutions, and there should be consequences for the production of environmentally harmful vehicles.

Despite his stance on subsidies, Tesla has received billions in government support. By February 2024, Tesla had earned $9 billion through government programs offering zero-emissions credits.

Tax credits in California, at the federal level, and from other governments have helped make Tesla’s electric vehicles competitively priced compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, facilitating their adoption by consumers.

A long-time critic of short-selling, Musk has repeatedly called for the practice to be banned. Wired magazine has speculated that his opposition is partly due to how short sellers have a financial incentive to spread negative information about his companies. In early 2021, Musk even supported the GameStop short squeeze.

In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion worth of Tesla stock, amounting to 22 million shares, despite having previously pledged not to sell any more shares that year.

Technology

Elon Musk has been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrencies, favoring them over traditional government-issued fiat currencies.

Due to the significant impact of Musk’s tweets on cryptocurrency markets, some, including economist Nouriel Roubini, have accused him of market manipulation.

Musk’s public support of Bitcoin and Dogecoin has been credited with driving up their prices. This led to questions when Tesla announced in 2021 that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.

Tesla’s subsequent decision to accept Bitcoin as payment was met with criticism from environmentalists and investors due to the environmental toll of cryptocurrency mining.

In response, Musk tweeted that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin payments and would hold off on any Bitcoin transactions until the environmental concerns were addressed.

Although The Boring Company is involved in developing mass transit solutions, Musk has been a critic of public transportation, instead advocating for individualized transport, particularly private vehicles.

His remarks have been labeled “elitist” and have drawn widespread criticism from transportation and urban planning experts, who argue that public transit in densely populated areas is more cost-effective, energy-efficient, and space-saving than private car use.

Existential threats

Elon Musk is often associated with longtermism, a philosophy that prioritizes the well-being of future generations. He has consistently stated that artificial intelligence (AI) poses the greatest existential threat to humanity.

Musk has warned of a potential “Terminator-like” AI apocalypse and advocated for government regulation to ensure its safe development.

In 2015, he co-signed the Open Letter on Artificial Intelligence, alongside figures like Stephen Hawking, calling for a ban on autonomous weapons.

However, critics such as computer scientist Yann LeCun and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have dismissed Musk’s AI warnings as alarmist, with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation even awarding him its Annual Luddite Award in 2016.

Beyond AI, Musk has identified climate change as one of the greatest threats to humanity and has supported the implementation of a carbon tax.

He has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump’s climate change stance and resigned from two presidential business advisory councils following Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement in 2017.

Musk has long advocated for the colonization of Mars, arguing that humanity should strive to become a “multiplanetary species.” He has proposed using nuclear weapons to terraform Mars and envisioned a direct democracy on the planet, where more votes would be required to pass laws than to repeal them.

Musk has also expressed concerns about the decline in human population, claiming that Mars, with no human inhabitants, requires a large population to become a viable part of a multiplanetary civilization.

In 2021, during a discussion at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council, Musk suggested that the declining birth rate posed a major risk to human civilization.

According to unnamed sources at SpaceX, Musk has even volunteered his sperm to assist in the Mars colonization effort, though he later denied this claim.

Politics

By early 2024, Elon Musk had become both a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump, and by October of that year, he was the second-largest individual donor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Musk’s political views are generally characterized as right-wing and conservative.

Although he was once seen as relatively apolitical and moderate, he has increasingly aligned with the right, particularly after acquiring Twitter in 2022. This shift sets him apart from most social media executives, who typically avoid openly supporting partisan politics.

Musk has been known to share far-right misinformation and conspiracy theories, though he still identifies as politically moderate and rejects being labeled as conservative.

Musk was previously a registered independent voter while living in California. Historically, he donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates, particularly in states where he had business interests. However, from the late 2010s onwards, his political donations have predominantly supported Republicans.

Musk voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and endorsed Andrew Yang in the 2020 Democratic primaries, backing his proposal for universal basic income. He also supported Kanye West’s 2020 presidential bid.

Although Musk has said he voted for Joe Biden in 2020, he became disillusioned with the Democratic Party by May 2022, criticizing them as the “party of division and hate.” He encouraged “independent-minded voters” to vote Republican in the 2022 elections and donated over $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee that ran ads attacking Democrats on issues like transgender care and illegal immigration.

Musk has also supported Republican Ron DeSantis for the 2024 election, contributing $10 million to his campaign and hosting DeSantis’s announcement on a Twitter Spaces event. In August 2023, Musk suggested that Vivek Ramaswamy should be the vice-presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.

After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Elon Musk wished him a swift recovery and endorsed his bid for president.

In July 2024, Musk shared a deepfake video on X (formerly Twitter) that appeared to show Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the 2024 presidential race, saying she was the “ultimate diversity hire” and unqualified to manage the United States.

Musk praised the video as “amazing” without disclosing that it was edited, despite X’s policy against synthetic, manipulated content that could deceive.

In August 2024, Musk and Trump held a livestream on X, during which Musk proposed creating a government efficiency commission and offered to serve on it.

Trump expressed enthusiasm for Musk’s involvement and later mentioned the need for Musk’s help in eliminating the Department of Education.

Following a second assassination attempt on Trump in September, Musk posted on X that it was odd no one had tried to harm President Biden or Harris, a comment that he later deleted after receiving widespread backlash.

The U.S. Secret Service subsequently announced an investigation into the post. In October 2024, Musk appeared with Trump at a campaign rally. Throughout this period, Musk used his X platform to support Trump, sharing false claims about immigration and voter fraud.

After Trump was elected, he named Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as advisors to a new Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk has also opposed a “billionaire tax” and engaged in heated debates on Twitter with left-wing Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren.

He raised concerns about the Black Lives Matter movement, partly criticizing the slogan “Hands up, don’t shoot” as being fabricated.

Musk also promoted a baseless theory about the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, which he later deleted. Additionally, he used his platform to spread misinformation and election conspiracy theories about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Helene.

Musk frequently claimed that Democrats were “importing” immigrants to vote for them. When Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger requested the removal of a fabricated video showing a Haitian immigrant allegedly voting multiple times, Musk complied, but by then, the video had already gone viral.

Conservative PAC activities

In July 2024, Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk made an undisclosed donation to America PAC, a super PAC supporting Donald Trump. Musk later confirmed that he had created America PAC himself.

By October 2024, a filing with the Federal Election Commission revealed that Musk had contributed nearly $75 million to the PAC over the previous three months, with approximately $72 million of that sum spent to support Trump’s campaign.

Later that month, Musk promoted a sweepstakes organized by America PAC, offering $1 million per day to randomly selected registered voters in battleground states who signed a petition pledging support for the First and Second Amendments.

The U.S. Justice Department quickly intervened, warning that the sweepstakes might be illegal due to concerns that compensating people to register to vote violated federal law.

While the petition did not explicitly require voter registration, some legal experts argued that the sweepstakes could incentivize people to register.

Musk’s defenders claimed the petition did not directly encourage voter registration, although Musk had previously expressed intentions to register voters in Pennsylvania and had referred to sweepstakes winners as America PAC “spokespeople.” After receiving the warning, Musk awarded $1 million each to two people.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner subsequently filed a lawsuit against Musk and America PAC on October 28, 2024.

Although Musk had initially stated that the prize would be awarded randomly, his lawyer argued that recipients “earned” the money by being selected as suitable spokespeople for America PAC.

After a hearing on November 4, the judge allowed the daily giveaway to continue, just one day before Election Day.

In 2022, Musk donated more than $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, a group founded by former Trump advisor Stephen Miller. This group financed $93 million in advertisements focused on cultural issues.

By October 2024, both The New York Times and OpenSecrets reported that some of Musk’s donations had been funneled through Building America’s Future, a key player in a dark money network backing Trump.

This network created “Progress 2028,” a campaign presented as a left-wing initiative to counter Project 2025, but it was aimed at undermining Kamala Harris’s support with divisive and misleading information.

Musk has also supported the Fair Election Fund, which is backed by Building America’s Future and offers rewards for evidence of election fraud. This group is closely associated with America PAC, which Musk exclusively founded and funds.

OpenSecrets reported in October 2024 that Musk, along with other donors, had channeled over $100 million into Building America’s Future, further cementing its role in supporting Trump’s agenda.

International politics

Musk has expressed admiration for China and is often described as having a strong relationship with the Chinese government, which has facilitated Tesla’s market access in the country.

After Gigafactory Shanghai produced its first vehicles, Musk publicly thanked the Chinese government and people, while also criticizing the United States and its citizens.

In 2022, he contributed an article to China Cyberspace, the official publication of China’s Cyberspace Administration, which oversees internet censorship in the country.

This move was seen by some as contradictory to Musk’s vocal support for free speech. Additionally, Musk made controversial remarks suggesting that Taiwan should become a “special administrative zone” of China, sparking backlash from Taiwanese lawmakers across political lines.

In October 2022, Musk proposed a “peace plan” on Twitter aimed at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The plan suggested that Russia retain control over Crimea, while Ukraine would adopt a neutral status and abandon its NATO membership aspirations.

There were reports suggesting Musk had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin before making this proposal, though Musk denied these claims.

Musk has repeatedly expressed concerns about the possibility of a prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine leading to nuclear escalation and potentially triggering a global conflict.

In a November 10, 2023, YouTube podcast interview, Musk expressed criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza during the Israel–Hamas war, stating that Hamas sought to provoke an aggressive response from Israel by committing atrocities.

He commented that if a child in Gaza is killed, it could incite members of Hamas to seek revenge. On November 17, 2023, Musk announced a new policy on X, stating that users who use phrases such as “decolonization” or “from the river to the sea,” which could imply the genocide of Jews in Israel, would face suspension.

A few weeks later, Musk visited Israel, where he toured the Kfar Aza kibbutz, a site of severe atrocities during the Hamas-led attack, calling the experience “jarring.”

In August 2024, Musk criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during riots in the country, suggesting that Starmer should be more concerned about attacks on all communities.

Musk linked the riots to mass migration and open borders, claiming that civil war was inevitable. His remarks were met with backlash from Starmer’s spokesperson.

Musk had previously reinstated Tommy Robinson, a far-right UK activist, after Robinson’s account was banned under previous Twitter management, and engaged with him on the platform.

Musk continued to criticize Starmer, referring to him as “two-tier Keir” and questioning why all communities in Britain were not protected. Musk also promoted a conspiracy theory about the UK government planning to build detainment camps for rioters in the Falkland Islands.

In October 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had maintained regular communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Kiriyenko, and other high-ranking officials since late 2022.

The discussions reportedly covered personal, business, and geopolitical matters. The Kremlin denied the claims, stating that Musk and Putin had spoken only once.

According to the report, Putin had asked Musk to refrain from activating his Starlink satellite system over Taiwan to avoid antagonizing Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Bloomberg and other outlets had previously reported in July 2023 that SpaceX’s communications with Taiwan had faltered over the ownership structure of Starlink’s subsidiary in the country. The interactions with Putin were said to be closely guarded due to Musk’s public support for Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy.

Some sources noted that the U.S. government had not raised alarms, despite the apparent conflict of interest, as the government relies on Musk’s technologies. U.S. lawmakers, including Democrats and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, called for an investigation into whether Musk’s actions were compromising national security.

In response, SpaceX clarified through their X account that Starlink services were not available in Taiwan because the country had not granted a license to operate.

The company stated that Taiwanese regulators insisted on a condition requiring a foreign entity to own 51% of Starlink, a stipulation SpaceX had not accepted in any other market.

Government advisory roles

On November 12, 2024, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk would serve as one of the inaugural leaders of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory body aimed at “slashing excess regulations and cutting wasteful expenditures.” Vivek Ramaswamy was also appointed to lead the department alongside Musk.

Accusations of antisemitism

Elon Musk faced accusations of promoting antisemitism following his comments related to George Soros and his interactions with certain conspiracy theories.

The Israeli government and several media outlets criticized Musk, although some Israeli officials defended him, asserting that his criticism of Soros did not equate to antisemitism.

On November 15, 2023, Musk responded to a user’s post that had condemned antisemitic content by agreeing with a second user’s controversial and inflammatory statement about Jewish communities and the influx of minorities.

Musk commented, “You have said the actual truth,” which sparked further backlash. He later clarified that he was not targeting all Jewish communities but was specifically criticizing the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a group he felt had been unfairly critical of him.

Elon Musk’s comments on Twitter, particularly his support of a user who echoed white nationalist sentiments and an antisemitic conspiracy theory, sparked widespread criticism.

The first tweet was seen as reinforcing the idea that Jews promote “hatred against Whites,” which led to accusations of Musk endorsing white nationalist ideologies.

His subsequent tweet supporting white pride further fueled the controversy, causing several advertisers to pull back from X.

During the DealBook Summit on November 29, 2023, Musk engaged in a tense exchange with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin regarding the advertiser withdrawal, expressing defiance and telling advertisers who disagreed with him to “go fuck yourself.” Musk later acknowledged that one of his controversial tweets was a mistake, calling it one of his “most foolish” actions and apologizing for handing ammunition to those with antisemitic views.

In January 2024, Musk sought to repair his image with a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp alongside prominent figures like Rabbi Ben Shapiro and Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev.

This visit, alongside his discussions about rising antisemitism, was widely interpreted as part of an effort to address the backlash and rehabilitate his public image.

COVID-19

Elon Musk faced significant criticism for his comments and actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which many considered to be misleading or irresponsible.

In March 2020, Musk downplayed the severity of the virus, calling the panic “dumb” and referring to COVID-19 as a “specific form of the common cold”.

He made predictions that were widely incorrect, including forecasting that there would be “probably close to zero” cases in the U.S. by the end of April 2020. He also falsely claimed that children were “essentially immune” to the virus.

Musk’s stance on lockdowns and government measures to control the spread of COVID-19 also drew criticism. He defied local health orders, keeping the Tesla Fremont factory open in March 2020 despite a shelter-in-place order, and later reopened it in May, warning employees about the consequences of not returning to work.

Additionally, he promoted misinformation, including endorsing chloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 and claiming that COVID-19 death statistics were inflated.

In December 2022, Musk went further by calling for the prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a move that added to the controversy surrounding his handling of the pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Musk made several high-profile but controversial statements and actions. In March 2020, he promised to help with the production of ventilators for COVID-19 patients if there was a shortage.

However, while he initially offered to make or buy ventilators, Tesla ultimately donated BiPAP and CPAP machines, which are less intensive than the mechanical ventilators needed for patients who cannot breathe on their own.

Musk also publicly opposed getting the COVID-19 vaccine, stating in September 2020 that he and his children were “not at risk for COVID.” His stance became more complicated when, after contracting the virus himself two months later, he questioned the reliability of his rapid antigen test results, citing conflicting positive and negative results from multiple tests.

This led to online backlash, with some referring to him as “Space Karen” in reference to his comments. Despite his earlier opposition, Musk later confirmed that he and his eligible children had received the vaccine in December 2021, acknowledging the effectiveness of the vaccines but maintaining his opposition to vaccine mandates.

Elon Musk Personal life

Elon Musk became a U.S. citizen in 2002. From the early 2000s until late 2020, he lived in California, where he founded both Tesla and SpaceX. In late 2020, Musk moved to Austin, Texas, citing dissatisfaction with California’s economic complacency.

Musk has publicly shared that he has Asperger syndrome, although he has never been officially diagnosed. He made this statement while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2021.

Musk is also known for his physical fitness, having trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while preparing for a potential fight with Mark Zuckerberg. In his leisure time, he enjoys video games like Quake, Diablo IV, Elden Ring, and Polytopia.

In terms of health, Musk has admitted to using doctor-prescribed ketamine to treat occasional depression, using it “once every other week.” However, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Musk may also use ketamine and other substances recreationally, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Relationships and children

Elon Musk has at least 12 children, with one of them, his firstborn, tragically passing away in 2002 from sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks.

Musk and his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, had used in vitro fertilization (IVF) to have twins in 2004 and triplets in 2006. They divorced in 2008 and shared custody of their children.

In 2022, one of Musk’s elder twins, now named Vivian Jenna Wilson, publicly changed her name and gender identity, becoming a trans woman and choosing to use her mother’s surname, distancing herself from Musk.

Musk has attributed the estrangement to what he described as “the takeover of elite schools and universities by neo-Marxists” and said her gender transition spurred his efforts to “destroy the woke mind virus.”

In a 2024 appearance on Jordan Peterson’s podcast, Musk commented on Vivian’s transition, stating he had “lost [his] son” and used the term “deadnaming” to refer to her previous name, suggesting that she was “killed” by the “woke mind virus.”

Vivian publicly criticized Musk’s comments, calling him “cold,” “quick to anger,” “uncaring and narcissistic,” and shared that his infrequent visits often involved him berating her for her femininity.

On November 7, 2024, Musk misgendered Vivian again, referring to her as his son, further exacerbating the strained relationship.

Elon Musk’s romantic relationships have been widely publicized. He first married English actress Talulah Riley in 2010 at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland, but the couple divorced in 2012, only to remarry the following year.

They divorced for a second time in 2016. Musk then briefly dated actress Amber Heard in 2017, after reportedly pursuing her since 2012.

In 2018, Musk began a relationship with Canadian musician Grimes. They had a son together in May 2020, initially naming him “X Æ A-12,” which violated California naming laws.

They later changed it to “X Æ A-Xii.” Musk and Grimes had a second child, a daughter, via surrogacy in December 2021, but confirmed their “semi-separated” status around the same time.

Despite this, Musk described their relationship as “fluid,” and in March 2022, Grimes confirmed that they had broken up.

However, reports surfaced in 2023 that they had a third child together, a son, and Grimes filed a lawsuit regarding parental rights and custody over their eldest child.

In 2021, Musk had twins with Shivon Zilis, an executive at Neuralink, via IVF. These twins were born shortly before his second child with Grimes.

Musk also fathered a third child with Zilis via surrogacy in early 2024. Additionally, reports surfaced that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in 2021, which led to Brin and Shanahan’s divorce. Musk denied these claims.

Musk has also had a relationship with Australian actress Natasha Bassett and, in 2024, reportedly purchased a Texas compound for his children and their mothers.

Legal matters after 2020

In May 2022, Elon Musk faced sexual misconduct allegations from an unnamed former SpaceX contract flight attendant, as reported by Business Insider.

The source claimed that in 2016, Musk engaged in inappropriate behavior, and in 2018, the flight attendant received a $250,000 severance agreement in exchange for agreeing not to sue.

Musk denied the allegations, calling the report a “politically motivated hit piece” and asserting that if he had engaged in sexual harassment, it would have come to light earlier in his 30-year career.

Following the report, Tesla’s stock dropped by more than 6%, with some investors voicing concerns about Musk’s influence on the company.

In April 2023, the U.S. Virgin Islands government sought to subpoena Musk for documents in a lawsuit involving JPMorgan Chase and its connection to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. However, the subpoena did not implicate Musk in any wrongdoing, and it did not require his testimony.

In September 2023, Musk’s former girlfriend, Grimes, filed a petition in a parental relationship case as part of an ongoing custody dispute, following accusations from Grimes of Musk blocking her access to their youngest child. Grimes’ mother also accused Musk of withholding the passports of her grandchildren in July 2024.

In October 2023, Ben Brody, a 22-year-old college graduate from Los Angeles, filed a defamation lawsuit against Elon Musk, seeking over $1 million in damages.

Brody claimed that Musk falsely implicated him in a violent street brawl near Portland, Oregon, associating him with a neo-Nazi extremist group. Musk’s X posts promoted conspiracy theories that the incident was a “false flag” operation.

According to Brody, these accusations led to harassment and threats directed at him and his family. Musk was ordered to testify in February 2024, but in his deposition, he admitted to not knowing who Brody was and acknowledged he hadn’t researched the validity of his claims. Musk tried to prevent the deposition from being made public.

In October 2023, Musk also faced legal action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sued him for refusing to testify in an investigation about his purchase of Twitter stock in 2022. Musk argued that the SEC was harassing him, but in February 2024, a judge ruled that he must testify again.

In January 2024, a Delaware judge ruled that Musk’s $55 billion pay package from Tesla be rescinded, calling it an “unfathomable sum” that was unfair to shareholders.

Musk responded on X by advising against incorporating in Delaware. Later in June 2024, a shareholders’ vote re-ratified the pay package, but litigation continued, including a lawsuit from a Tesla investor accusing Musk of using “coercive tactics” to influence the vote.

In June 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had a romantic relationship with a former intern at SpaceX, with affidavits from the intern’s lawyers confirming the relationship.

The report also claimed Musk pursued sexual relationships with other SpaceX employees, including asking an employee who directly reported to him to “have his babies.” Additionally, eight former SpaceX employees, who had previously been fired after penning an anti-Musk letter, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Musk.

Later in June 2024, a former Twitter executive sued Musk for allegedly “cheating” him and other ousted executives out of $200 million in severance pay.

In August 2024, Musk filed a lawsuit against advertisers for boycotting X (formerly Twitter). That same month, Olympic boxer Imane Khelif filed a lawsuit for cyber harassment against X, accusing Musk of being involved in aggravated cyber harassment.

In October 2024, Musk and his America PAC were sued in Pennsylvania for allegedly operating an unlawful lottery ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Musk’s lawyer argued that it was not a lottery, since recipients were not selected by chance. A prosecuting attorney described it as a “scam” aimed at influencing the election.

In November 2024, Musk faced another lawsuit regarding the lottery, and two U.S. senators called for an investigation into his alleged contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Elon Musk Public perception

Elon Musk’s public persona began to emerge in the early 2010s, and he quickly became a polarizing figure.

While his ventures, such as Tesla, SpaceX, and others, have had a significant impact on their respective industries, Musk’s public statements and actions have earned him both admiration and controversy.

Known for his spontaneous decisions and eccentric personality, Musk is often compared to other billionaires who prefer to remain out of the limelight to protect their businesses.

Biographer Ashlee Vance described Musk’s public persona as a mix of “part philosopher, part troll,” especially due to his often provocative presence on social media, particularly Twitter.

Musk’s influence also extends to pop culture. He was a partial inspiration for the character of Tony Stark in the Marvel film Iron Man (2008) and made a cameo appearance in its sequel, Iron Man 2 (2010).

Musk has also appeared in films like Machete Kills (2013), Why Him? (2016), and Men in Black: International (2019). His television appearances include shows like The Simpsons (2015), The Big Bang Theory (2015), South Park (2016), Young Sheldon (2017), Rick and Morty (2019), and Saturday Night Live (2021).

Additionally, Musk contributed interviews to documentaries such as Racing Extinction (2015) and Werner Herzog’s Lo and Behold (2016).

Elon Musk’s contributions to space exploration, particularly the development of Falcon rockets, have earned him numerous prestigious awards.

These include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award in 2008, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal in 2010, and the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2012.

In 2015, Musk was honored with an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from Yale University and received an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Honorary Membership.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018 and, in February 2022, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Musk’s influence has been recognized by Time magazine, which listed him as one of the most influential people in the world on four occasions (2010, 2013, 2018, and 2021).

He was also named Time’s “Person of the Year” for 2021. Editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal described Musk as one of the most influential figures on life on Earth and potentially life beyond it.

Elon Musk Net Worth

Elon Musk’s net worth fluctuates significantly due to his involvement in high-profile ventures, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and other enterprises.

As of 2024, his fortune is estimated to be around $347.8 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.

His wealth primarily comes from his stake in Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer he leads, and SpaceX, his private space exploration company.

Tesla’s rapid growth, driven by Musk’s push for innovation in electric vehicles and clean energy, has significantly boosted his wealth.

The company reached a market capitalization of over $800 billion at its peak, although its stock price has seen considerable fluctuations.

Musk’s personal fortune is also influenced by SpaceX, a private company that is privately valued at over $137 billion.

SpaceX’s ability to reduce space travel costs with reusable rockets, along with successful contracts with NASA and commercial satellite launches, continues to grow the company’s value.

Musk has also made investments in Neuralink, a neurotechnology company, and The Boring Company, which focuses on tunneling and infrastructure projects.

These ventures, while still emerging, add diversity to his wealth portfolio. He also remains a major figure in cryptocurrency markets, having endorsed Bitcoin and Dogecoin in the past.

His net worth can fluctuate rapidly due to Tesla stock performance, which is influenced by factors such as the company’s production targets, global market conditions, and Musk’s public persona.

He is known for his occasional volatile behavior on social media platforms, particularly Twitter (now known as X), which can impact his companies’ stock prices and overall wealth.

Despite the ups and downs in his fortune, Elon Musk’s net worth positions him as a leading figure in technology, space exploration, and renewable energy, with the potential to influence various industries for decades to come.

Elon Musk Social Media

Elon Musk is known for his prominent and often controversial presence on social media, where he engages with followers, shares updates, and offers his opinions on various topics ranging from technology to politics.

His social media activity is a key part of his public persona, and his posts frequently make headlines. The primary platform he uses is X (formerly Twitter), which he acquired in 2022.

1. X (Twitter)

Elon Musk’s X account, with tens of millions of followers, is the hub of his online activity.

Known for his candid and often unpredictable posts, Musk regularly uses the platform to make announcements about his companies, comment on current events, and engage directly with his audience.

He has made significant impact through this platform, with his tweets often affecting the stock prices of companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and others.

Musk’s posts range from serious business updates to memes and jokes, creating a unique blend of entertainment and information for his followers.

His controversial tweets have also sparked debates, leading to both support and criticism. Follow him on x @elonmusk

2. Instagram

Although Musk is not as active on Instagram as he is on X, he occasionally shares personal moments, company updates, and promotional content related to his ventures.

His account showcases a more informal side of the billionaire, often featuring pictures from his family life, his companies’ innovations, and his public appearances.

Despite not posting as frequently, his Instagram account still garners significant attention whenever he does share content. Follow him on Instagram @teslamotors

3. YouTube

Musk has a limited presence on YouTube but is often featured in interviews, documentaries, and special broadcasts related to his ventures.

SpaceX and Tesla have official YouTube channels where they post videos of launches, product unveilings, and other corporate events. Musk occasionally appears in these videos, contributing to the content related to his companies.

His own YouTube channel is rarely used for personal content, but his impact through other corporate accounts is substantial. See what Elon Musk share on YouTube @elonmusk-fanzone

4. LinkedIn

While LinkedIn is a more professional platform, Musk has a presence there, primarily for business related updates. His profile and posts typically focus on the achievements and milestones of Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures he is involved with.

He uses LinkedIn to network and engage with other professionals, but his activity here is much less frequent compared to his more casual posts on X.

5. Other Platforms

Musk’s social media reach extends to other platforms, though he is not as active on them. He occasionally appears in interviews on Podcasts like those hosted by Joe Rogan and others, where he shares deeper insights into his views and plans for the future.

Overall, Elon Musk’s use of social media reflects his unconventional approach to business and public life.

His posts often influence industries, public opinion, and even global markets, showcasing the power he holds in the digital space.

Quick Information

– Full Name: Elon Reeve Musk

– Born Date: June 28, 1971, Pretoria, South Africa

– Nationality: South African-born American

– Education: Attended Queen’s University, University of Pennsylvania (dual degree in economics and physics)

– Net Worth: One of the wealthiest people in the world, with a fortune fluctuating around $200 billion (as of 2024).

– Notable Ventures

  – Tesla Inc.: CEO and founder, revolutionizing the electric vehicle industry.

  – SpaceX: Founder and CEO, aiming to reduce space travel costs and enable Mars colonization.

  – Neuralink: Co-founder, focusing on developing brain-machine interfaces.

  – The Boring Company: Founder, working on tunneling technology for high-speed transportation.

  – OpenAI: Co-founder (until 2018), a non-profit focused on artificial intelligence research.

  – Zip2: Co-founder of his first company, sold to Compaq for nearly $300 million in 1999.

  – PayPal: Co-founded X.com, which later became PayPal, sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in stock.

– Awards

  – Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal (2012)

  – Fellow of the Royal Society (2018)

  – Time’s “Person of the Year” (2021)

  – George Low Transportation Award (2008)

– Innovations

  – Developed Falcon 9 rockets that have made space launches reusable.

  – Pioneered the Tesla Model S, accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles.

  – Introduced Hyperloop concept, a new mode of high-speed transportation.

– Public Persona

  – Known for his controversial social media presence and outspoken opinions on various topics, particularly via X (formerly Twitter).

  – Frequently engages in political and social debates and is a polarizing figure in tech circles.

  – Described as a visionary entrepreneur, with a drive to push the boundaries of technology in fields like space exploration and sustainable energy.

– Personal Life

  – Children: Has at least 12 children, including one deceased child.

  – Former partners include Justine Wilson, Talulah Riley, Amber Heard, and Grimes.

  – Known for his unconventional lifestyle, including relocating to Texas in 2020 due to California’s regulatory environment.

– Challenges:

  – Legal and ethical controversies, including disputes with the SEC and accusations of workplace harassment.

  – Faced backlash for COVID-19 misinformation and controversial comments on issues like AI, cryptocurrency, and climate change.

  – Encountered legal action, including a defamation lawsuit over false accusations and a compensation lawsuit concerning his Tesla pay package.

– Pop Culture:

  – Appeared as a cameo in Iron Man 2 (2010) and other films like Machete Kills (2013), Why Him? (2016), and Men in Black: International (2019).

  – Made appearances in TV shows such as The Big Bang Theory, South Park, and Rick and Morty.

In conclusion,

Elon Musk’s extraordinary journey from a curious child with a passion for technology to becoming one of the most influential figures of the 21st century is nothing short of remarkable.

His relentless pursuit of innovation, from revolutionizing space travel with SpaceX to reshaping the future of electric vehicles with Tesla, has earned him a place at the forefront of global industries.

While his career achievements are unparalleled, his personal life, including his relationships, children, and active presence on social media, also offer a glimpse into the multifaceted nature of this tech mogul.

With a net worth that continues to grow and a vision that seems limitless, Elon Musk remains an iconic figure whose influence will undoubtedly shape the world for generations to come.