Businessperson of the Year Elon Musk

Businessperson of the Year Elon Musk

Who is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk was born on June 29, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa to Maye Musk and Errol Musk. His father was an electrician engineer is a South Africa entrepreneur known for founding the ingenious Tesla Motors. When his parents got divorced in 1980, Elon chose to live with his father in South Africa. At the age of nine, he got his first personal computer. He took an interest in programming and began learning it by him. He finished a six-month course in just three days.

First Invention (Blaster)  

At the age of twelve, he sold his first self-made video game, ‘Blaster’ after graduating from secondary school, he decided to leave home. In 1989, Elon moved to Canada. While staying there, he worked odd jobs like shoveling dirt in boiling room.

School & College Life

At the age of eighteen, in 1989, he attended the Queen’s University in Ontario for his under-graduate studies. In 1992, he was transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, obtaining a dual degree in physics and economics

He also holds a doctorate in Design from the Art Center College of Design and a doctorate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Surrey. As a college student, Elon took up much internship. He worked as an intern in a bank, and a research and video game company.

Musk is an avid reader, and as a kid would read books from up to ten hours a day. He had an existential crisis while reading Douglas Adam’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He learned his life’s most valuable lesson after reading this book. He decided his life’s mission was to safe humanity.

In 1995, he moved to California to attend Stanford University. He applied for a PHD in Physics but left the university after only two days. 

First Company by Musk Brothers

Musk brainstormed his idea with his brother, Kimbal Musk. He creates his first IT Company Zip2 in 1995. The biggest reason behind in success was the Internet, which was experiencing a period of growth and development. Nobody had tried to maneuver it to their own advantage before Musk’s company.

In 1999, the company Zip2 was purchased by Compaq’s Search Engine, Alta Vista. The same year Musk began working on an electronic payment method. His next business was cancelled X.com. The company work as an online bank. Musk soon face competition in the form of a banking startup called Confinity.    

After Year 2000

In 2002, his company merged with Confinity to from PayPal, the biggest online payment portal in the world. In 2002, eBay bought PayPal. Musk stopped investing in internet businesses and shifted his attention to his other interests like space engineering energy sources.

Space X

In 2002, he invested in his third company SpaceX. In 2001, he went to Russia to buy a rocket to send it to Mars. But his idea failed when he came to realize that rockets are extravagantly prized. Musk was still inspired by the idea of refusing space transformation costs to enable people to colonize Mars. In just seven years, the company designs the Falcon line of Space launch vehicles and the Dragon line of multipurpose spacecraft. Musk’s SpaceX received contracts from NASA to create a launch craft to deliver cargo to the International Space Satiation.

Telsa Motors  

Musk is also known for designing Tesla Motors. Their first electric sports car is called the “Tesla Roadster’. For his design of the Tesla Roadster, Musk received the Global green Product design Award.

Solar City Corporation

He started Tesla Motors Company in 2003. In 2006, Musk invested in another company called Solar City Corporation. Solar City provides solar power system for homes, businesses and governments. Today the company is one of the largest provider’s solar energy and aims to fight global warming.

Deal With Railways

Musk also involved in the development of rail systems. He received approval to build a Hyperloop from New York City to Washington D.C by 2020; the first Hyperloop train will start running.      

For changing the face of our future, Musk has been awarded several times. In 2010, Musk received the FAI Gold Space Medal for aerospace records.

He was named ‘Business person of the Year’ by Fortune magazine. In 2016, he was included in the Forbes’ list of ‘The World’s Most Powerful People.