Elon Musk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

Elon Musk

FRS

Musk at the Royal Society admissions day in London, 2018

Born Elon Reeve Musk

June 28, 1971 (age 50)

Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa

 South Africa
Citizenship
 Canada

 United States

Education University of Pennsylvania (BS, BA)

Title  Founder, CEO and Chief Engineer of SpaceX

 CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.

 Founder of The Boring

Company and X.com (now part of PayPal)

 Co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, and Zip2

 President of Musk Foundation

  Justine Wilson
Spouse(s)

(m. 2000; div. 2008)

 Talulah Riley

(m. 2010; div. 2012)

(m. 2013; div. 2016)

Partner(s) Grimes (2018–2022)[1]

Children 8[note 1]

Parent(s) Maye Musk

Errol Musk

Relatives  Tosca Musk (sister)

 Kimbal Musk (brother)

 Lyndon Rive (cousin)

Signature

This article is part of

a series about
Elon Musk

 Awards and honors

 Views

Companies

 Zip2
 X.com
  PayPal
 SpaceX
 Tesla, Inc.
 Tesla Energy
 OpenAI
 Neuralink
 The Boring Company

In popular culture

 Elon Musk
 Ludicrous
 Power Play
 "Members Only"
 "The Platonic Permutation"
 "The Musk Who Fell to Earth"
 "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty"

Related

 Boring Test Tunnel

 Criticism of Tesla
 Musk family
 Hyperloop
 Tesla Roadster in space
 TSLAQ

 v
 t
 e

Elon Reeve Musk FRS (/ˈiːlɒn/; born June 28, 1971) is an entrepreneur and business

magnate. He is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX; early-stage
investor, CEO, and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company;
and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. With an estimated net worth of around
US$245 billion as of March 2022,[3] Musk is the wealthiest person in the world
according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and the Forbes real-time
billionaires list.[4][5]
Musk was born to a Canadian mother and South African father, and raised
in Pretoria, South Africa. He briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving
to Canada at age 17 to avoid conscription. He was enrolled at Queen's
University and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania two years later, where
he received a bachelor's degree in economics and physics. He moved to California
in 1995 to attend Stanford University but decided instead to pursue a business
career, co-founding the web software company Zip2 with his brother Kimbal. The
startup was acquired by Compaq for $307 million in 1999. The same year, Musk co-
founded online bank X.com, which merged with Confinity in 2000 to form PayPal.
The company was bought by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.
In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport
services company, of which he is CEO and Chief Engineer. In 2004, he joined
electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.) as chairman and
product architect, becoming its CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a
solar energy services company that was later acquired by Tesla and became Tesla
Energy. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit research company that
promotes friendly artificial intelligence. In 2016, he co-founded Neuralink,
a neurotechnology company focused on developing brain–computer interfaces, and
founded The Boring Company, a tunnel construction company. Musk has proposed
the Hyperloop, a high-speed vactrain transportation system.
Musk has been criticized for unorthodox and unscientific stances and highly
publicized controversial statements. In 2018, he was sued by the US Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) for falsely tweeting that he had secured funding for a
private takeover of Tesla. He settled with the SEC, temporarily stepping down from
his chairmanship and agreeing to limitations on his Twitter usage. In 2019, he won a
defamation trial brought against him by a British caver who advised in the Tham
Luang cave rescue. Musk has also been criticized for spreading misinformation
about the COVID-19 pandemic and for his other views on such matters as artificial
intelligence, cryptocurrency, and public transport.

Contents

 1Early life
o 1.1Childhood and family
o 1.2Education
 2Business career
o 2.1Zip2
o 2.2X.com and PayPal
o 2.3SpaceX
o 2.4Tesla
 2.4.1SEC lawsuit
o 2.5SolarCity and Tesla Energy
o 2.6Neuralink
o 2.7The Boring Company
o 2.8Managerial style and treatment of employees
 3Other activities
o 3.1Hyperloop
o 3.2OpenAI
o 3.3Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case
o 3.42018 Joe Rogan podcast appearance
o 3.5Music ventures
o 3.6Donations and non-profits
 4Wealth
 5Views
o 5.1Politics
 o 5.2COVID-19
o 5.3Artificial intelligence, metaverse, and public transit
 6Personal life
 7Public recognition
o 7.1In popular culture
o 7.2Accolades
 8Notes and references
o 8.1Notes
o 8.2References and citations
o 8.3Works cited
 9External links

Early life
Childhood and family
Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa.[6] His mother
is Maye Musk (née Haldeman), a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan,
Canada,[7][8][9] but raised in South Africa. His father is Errol Musk, a South African
electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer who
was once a half owner of a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika.[10][11] Musk
has a younger brother, Kimbal (born 1972), and a younger sister, Tosca (born 1974).
[9][12]
 His maternal grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, was an American-born Canadian, [13]
[14]
 and Musk has British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.[15][16] The family was very
wealthy in Elon's youth; Errol Musk once said, "We had so much money at times we
couldn't even close our safe".[11][17] After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk mostly
lived with his father in Pretoria and elsewhere, [15] a choice he made two years after
the divorce and subsequently regretted. [18] Musk has become estranged from his
father, whom he describes as "a terrible human being... Almost every evil thing you
could possibly think of, he has done."[18] He has a half-sister and a half-brother on his
father's side.[13][19] Elon attended an Anglican Sunday school in his youth. [20]
Around age 10, Musk developed an interest in computing and video games and
acquired a Commodore VIC-20.[21][22] He learned computer programming using a
manual and, at age 12, sold the code of a BASIC-based video game he created
called Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500.[23][24] An
awkward and introverted child,[25] Musk was bullied throughout his childhood and was
once hospitalized after a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs. [18][26] He
attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School before
graduating from Pretoria Boys High School.[27]
Education

Musk graduated from Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa.

Aware that it would be easier to enter the United States from Canada, [28] Musk
applied for a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother. [29][30] While
awaiting the documentation, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months;
this allowed him to avoid mandatory service in the South African military.[31] Musk
arrived in Canada in June 1989, and lived with a second-cousin in Saskatchewan for
a year,[32] working odd jobs at a farm and lumber-mill.[33] In 1990, he entered Queen's
University in Kingston, Ontario.[34][35] Two years later, he transferred to the University of
Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics.[36][37][38][39]
In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley during the summer: at energy
storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which researched
electrolytic ultracapacitors for energy storage, and at the Palo Alto-based
startup Rocket Science Games.[40] In 1995, he was accepted to a Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in materials science at Stanford University in California.
[41]
 Musk attempted to get a job at Netscape but never received a response to his
inquiries.[29] He dropped out of Stanford after two days, deciding instead to join
the Internet boom and launch an Internet startup.[42]

Business career
Zip2
Main article: Zip2

External video

 Musk speaks of his early business

experience during a 2014 commencement

speech at USC on YouTube

In 1995, Musk, Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded web software company Zip2 with
funds from angel investors.[18] They housed the venture at a small rented office in
Palo Alto.[43] The company developed and marketed an Internet city guide for the
newspaper publishing industry, with maps, directions, and yellow pages. [44] Musk says
that before the company became successful, he could not afford an apartment and
instead rented an office and slept on the couch and showered at the YMCA, and
shared one computer with his brother. According to Musk, "The website was up
during the day and I was coding it at night, seven days a week, all the time." [43] The
Musk brothers obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago
Tribune,[45] and persuaded the board of directors to abandon plans for a merger
with CitySearch.[46] Musk's attempts to become CEO, a position held by its Chairman
Rich Sorkin,[47] were thwarted by the board.[48] Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million
in cash in February 1999,[49][50] and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.
[51][52]

X.com and PayPal

Main articles: X.com, PayPal, and PayPal Mafia
In 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment
company.[53] The startup was one of the first federally insured online banks, and, in its
initial months of operation, over 200,000 customers joined the service. [54] The
company's investors regarded Musk as inexperienced and had him replaced
with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year.[55] The following year, X.com merged
with online bank Confinity to avoid competition.[43][55][56] Founded by Max
Levchin and Peter Thiel,[57] Confinity had its own money-transfer service, PayPal,
which was more popular than X.com's service. [51][58] Within the merged company, Musk
returned as CEO. Musk's preference for Microsoft software over Linux created a rift
in the company and caused Thiel to resign. [59] Due to resulting technological issues
and lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him
with Thiel in September 2000.[60][note 2] Under Thiel, the company focused on the PayPal
service and was renamed PayPal in 2001. [62][63] In 2002, PayPal was acquired
by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk—the largest shareholder with 11.7%
of shares—received over $100 million.[64][65]
In 2017, Musk purchased the domain X.com from PayPal for an undisclosed amount,
explaining it has sentimental value.[66][67]
SpaceX
Main article: SpaceX

Musk explains the planned capabilities of SpaceX Starship to NORAD and Air Force Space Command in
2019

In 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society. He was inspired by
plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars and discussed funding the
project himself.[68] In October 2001, Musk traveled to Moscow with Jim
Cantrell and Mike Griffin to buy refurbished Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)
that could send the greenhouse payloads into space. He met with companies NPO
Lavochkin and Kosmotras; however, Musk was seen as a novice and was even spat
on by one of the Russian chief designers. The group returned to the United States
empty-handed. In February 2002, the group returned to Russia to look for three
ICBMs. They had another meeting with Kosmotras and were offered one rocket for
$8 million, which Musk rejected. Musk instead decided to start a company that could
build affordable rockets.[69] With $100 million of his early fortune,[70] Musk founded
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., traded as SpaceX, in May 2002.[71] As of
2021, he remains the company's CEO and also holds the title of Chief Engineer. [72]
SpaceX attempted its first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket in 2006,[73] and although the
rocket failed to reach Earth orbit, it was awarded a Commercial Orbital
Transportation Services program contract from NASA later that year.[74] After two
more failed attempts, which reportedly caused Musk so much stress that he was
"waking from nightmares, screaming and in physical pain," [75] SpaceX succeeded in
launching the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008, making it the first private liquid-fuel rocket
to do so.[76] Later that year, SpaceX received a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply
Services program contract from NASA for 12 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket
and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, replacing the Space
Shuttle after its 2011 retirement.[77] In 2012, the Dragon vehicle berthed with the ISS,
a first for a private enterprise.[78] Working towards its goal of reusable rockets, in
2015, SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9. [79] Landings were later
achieved on an autonomous spaceport drone ship, an ocean-based recovery
platform.[80] In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy; the inaugural
mission carried Musk's personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.[81][82] In 2017,
SpaceX unveiled its next-generation launch vehicle and spacecraft system, Big
Falcon Rocket, later renamed to Starship, which would support all SpaceX launch
service provider capabilities.[83] In 2018, SpaceX announced a planned 2023 lunar
circumnavigation mission, a private flight called dearMoon project.[84] In 2020, SpaceX
launched its first crewed flight, the Demo-2, becoming the first private company to
place a person into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS. [85]
SpaceX began development of the Starlink constellation of low Earth orbit satellites
in 2015 to provide satellite Internet access,[86] with the first two prototype satellites
launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites and the first large
deployment of a piece of the constellation occurred in May 2019, when the first 60
operational satellites were launched. [87] The total cost of the decade-long project to
design, build, and deploy the constellation is estimated by SpaceX to be about
$10 billion.[88][note 3]
The company has attracted criticism from astronomers who say Starlink's satellites
are blocking the view of the skies, and from experts arguing that they risk colliding
and causing dangers in space.[91][92] Musk rejected the criticism, stating that the impact
of satellites is "nothing" and that "space is just extremely enormous, and satellites
are very tiny."[91]
Tesla
Main article: Tesla, Inc.

Musk next to a Tesla Model S at the Tesla Fremont Factory in 2011

Tesla, Inc.—originally Tesla Motors—was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin
Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who financed the company until the Series A
round of funding.[93] Both men played active roles in the company's early development
prior to Musk's involvement.[94] Musk led the Series A round of investment in February
2004; he invested $6.5 million, became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla's
board of directors as chairman.[95][96] Musk took an active role within the company and
oversaw Roadster product design but was not deeply involved in day-to-day
business operations.[97] Following a series of escalating conflicts in 2007 and the 2008
financial crisis, Eberhard was ousted from the firm.[98][99] Musk assumed leadership of
the company as CEO and product architect in 2008. [100] A 2009 lawsuit settlement with
Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two
others.[101][102] As of 2019, Elon Musk was the longest tenured CEO of any automotive
manufacturer globally.[103] In 2021, Musk nominally changed his title to Technoking
while retaining his position as CEO.[104]
Tesla first built an electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008. With sales of about
2,500 vehicles, it was the first serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion
battery cells.[105] Tesla began delivery of its four-door Model S sedan in 2012;[106] a
cross-over, the Model X was launched in 2015.[107][108] A mass market sedan, the Model
3, was released in 2017.[109][110] As of March 2020, it is the world's best-selling electric
car, with more than 500,000 units delivered. [111] A fifth vehicle, the Model Y crossover,
was launched in 2020.[112] The Cybertruck, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in
2019.[113] Under Musk, Tesla has also constructed multiple lithium-ion battery and
electric vehicle subassembly factories, such as Gigafactory 1 in Nevada
and Gigafactory 3 in China.[114][115][116]

Musk at the 2019 Tesla annual shareholder meeting

Since its initial public offering in 2010,[117] Tesla stock has risen significantly; it became
the most valuable carmaker in summer 2020, [118][119] and it entered the S&P 500 later
that year.[120][121] In October 2021 it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, the
sixth company to do so in U.S. history.[122] On November 6, 2021, Musk proposed
on Twitter selling 10% of his Tesla stock, since "much is made lately of unrealized
gains being a means of tax avoidance".[123][124] After more than 3.5 million Twitter
accounts supported the sale, Musk sold $6.9 billion of Tesla stock in the week
ending November 12,[123] and a total of $16.4 billion by year end, reaching the 10%
target.[125] In February 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Elon and
Kimbal Musk were under investigation by the SEC for possible insider trading related
to the sale.[126]
SEC lawsuit
In September 2018, Musk was sued by the SEC[127] for a tweet claiming funding had
been secured for potentially taking Tesla private.[128][note 4] The lawsuit claimed that
discussions Musk held with foreign investors in July 2018 did not confirm key deal
terms and thus characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to
investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of publicly traded
companies.[128][132][133] Musk called the allegations unjustified and claimed he had never
compromised his integrity.[134] Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without
admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined
$20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla
chairman but was able to remain as CEO.[135][136]
Musk has stated in interviews he does not regret posting the tweet that triggered the
SEC investigation.[137][138] On February 19, 2019, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla
would build half a million cars in 2019.[139] The SEC reacted to Musk's tweet by filing in
court, initially asking the court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of a
settlement agreement with such a tweet, which was disputed by Musk. This was
eventually settled by a joint agreement between Musk and the SEC clarifying the
previous agreement details.[140] The agreement included a list of topics that Musk
would need preclearance before tweeting about. [141] In May 2020, a judge prevented a
lawsuit from proceeding that claimed a tweet by Musk regarding Tesla stock price
("too high imo") violated the agreement.[142][143] FOIA released records showing that the
SEC itself concluded Musk has subsequently violated the agreement twice by
tweeting regarding "Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price". [144]
SolarCity and Tesla Energy
Main articles: SolarCity and Tesla Energy

SolarCity solar-panel installation vans in 2009

Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which his
cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive co-founded in 2006.[145] By 2013, SolarCity was the
second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. [146] In 2014,
Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility
in Buffalo, New York, triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States.
[147]
 Construction on the factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It
operated as a joint venture with Panasonic until early 2020 when Panasonic
departed.[148][149]
Tesla acquired SolarCity for over $2 billion in 2016 and merged it with its battery
energy storage products division to create Tesla Energy. The announcement of the
deal resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla's stock price. At the time, SolarCity
was facing liquidity issues; however, Tesla shareholders were not informed.
[150]
 Consequently, multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and
Tesla's directors, claiming that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit
Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholders. [151][152] During a June
2019 court deposition, Musk acknowledged that the company reallocated every
possible employee from the solar division to work on the Model 3, and, according to
Musk, "as a result, solar suffered." This had not previously been disclosed to
shareholders. Court documents unsealed in 2019 have confirmed that Musk was
also aware of the company's liquidity issues.[150] Tesla directors settled the lawsuit in
January 2020, leaving Musk the sole remaining defendant. [153][154]
Neuralink
Main article: Neuralink

Musk discussing a Neuralink device during a live demonstration in 2020

In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup company to

integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by creating devices that are
embedded in the human brain to facilitate its merging with machines. The devices
will also reconcile with the latest improvements in artificial intelligence to stay
updated. Such improvements could enhance memory or allow the devices to
communicate with software more effectively.[155][156]
At a live demonstration in August 2020, Musk described one of their early devices as
"a Fitbit in your skull" that could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other
disabilities. Many neuroscientists and publications criticized these claims; [157][158][159] MIT
Technology Review described them as "highly speculative" and "neuroscience
theater".[157]
The Boring Company
Main article: The Boring Company

Musk during the 2018 inauguration of the Boring Test Tunnel in Hawthorne, California

In 2016, Musk founded The Boring Company to construct tunnels.[160] In early 2017,

the company began discussions with regulatory bodies and initiated construction of a
30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on
the premises of SpaceX's offices as it required no permits. [161] A tunnel beneath
the Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2021.[162] Local officials
have approved further expansions of the tunnel system. [163]
As a merchandising and publicity stunt, The Boring Company sold 2,000
novelty flamethrowers in 2018.[164][165] The idea was allegedly inspired by the Mel
Brooks-directed film Spaceballs (1987).[166][167]
Managerial style and treatment of employees
See also: Criticism of Tesla, Inc. §  Workplace culture issues
Musk's managerial style and treatment of his employees have been heavily
criticized.[168][169][170][171][172][173] One person who worked closely with Musk said he exhibits "a
high level of degenerate behavior" such as paranoia and bullying. [169] Another
described him as exhibiting "total and complete pathological sociopathy". [169] Business
Insider reported that Tesla employees were told not to walk past Musk's desk
because of his "wild firing rampages".[174] The Wall Street Journal reported that, after
Musk insisted on branding his vehicles as "self-driving", he faced criticism from his
engineers, some of whom resigned in response, with one stating that Musk's
"reckless decision making... ha[d] potentially put customer lives at risk". [175] The 2021
book Power Play contains multiple anecdotes of Musk berating employees. [176]

Other activities
Hyperloop
Main articles: Hyperloop and Hyperloop pod competition
In 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a vactrain (or vacuum tube train),
assigning a dozen engineers from Tesla and SpaceX to establish the conceptual
foundations and create initial designs. [177] On August 12, 2013, Musk unveiled the
concept, which he dubbed the Hyperloop. [178] The alpha design for the system was
published in a whitepaper posted to the Tesla and SpaceX blogs.[179] The document
scoped out the technology and outlined a notional route where such a transport
system could be built between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco
Bay Area at an estimated total cost of $6 billion.[180] The proposal, if technologically
feasible at the costs he has cited, would make Hyperloop travel cheaper than any
other mode of transport for such long distances.[181]
In June 2015, Musk announced a design competition for students and others to build
Hyperloop pods to operate on a SpaceX-sponsored mile-long track in a 2015–
2017 Hyperloop pod competition. The track was used in January 2017, and Musk
also announced that the company started a tunnel project with Hawthorne airport as
its destination.[182] In July 2017, Musk claimed that he had received "verbal
government approval" to build a hyperloop from New York City to Washington, D.C.,
stopping in both Philadelphia and Baltimore.[183] Mention of the project for the DC to
Baltimore part were removed from the Boring Company website later in 2021. [184]
OpenAI
Main article: OpenAI
In December 2015, Musk announced the creation of OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial
intelligence (AI) research company aiming to develop artificial general
intelligence intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity. [185] A particular focus of
the company is to "counteract large corporations [and governments] who may gain
too much power by owning super-intelligence systems". [186][18] In 2018, Musk left the
OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as the
company increasingly became involved in AI through Tesla Autopilot.[187]
Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case
Further information: Tham Luang cave rescue

Rescue personnel and equipment at the cave entrance

In July 2018, Musk arranged for his employees to build a small rescue pod to assist
the rescue of children stuck in a flooded cavern in Thailand.[188] Richard Stanton,
leader of the international rescue diving team, urged Musk on in construction of the
mini-submarine as a back-up, in case flooding worsened. [189] Named "Wild Boar" after
the children's soccer team,[190] its design was a five-foot (1.5 m)-long, 12-inch (30 cm)-
wide sealed tube weighing about 90 pounds (41 kg) propelled manually by divers in
the front and back with segmented compartments to place diver weights to adjust
buoyancy,[191][192] intended to solve the problem of safely extracting the children.
Engineers at SpaceX and The Boring Company built the mini-submarine out of
a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen transfer tube[193] in eight hours and personally delivered it to
Thailand.[191] By this time, however, eight of the 12 children had already been rescued
using full face masks and oxygen under anesthesia; consequently Thai authorities
declined to use the submarine.[194] Elon Musk was later one of the 187 people who
received various honors conferred by the King of Thailand in March 2019 for
involvement in the rescue effort, e.g. the Order of the Direkgunabhorn.[195][196]
Vernon Unsworth, a British recreational caver who had been exploring the cave for
the previous six years and played a key advisory role in the rescue, criticized the
submarine on CNN as amounting to nothing more than a public relations effort with
no chance of success, and that Musk "had no conception of what the cave passage
was like" and "can stick his submarine where it hurts". Musk asserted on Twitter that
the device would have worked and referred to Unsworth as "pedo guy". [197] He
subsequently deleted the tweets, along with an earlier tweet in which he told another
critic of the device, "Stay tuned jackass."[197] On July 16, Unsworth stated that he was
considering legal action.[198][199]
Two days later, Musk issued an apology for his remarks.[200][201] Then, on August 28,
2018, in response to criticism from a writer on Twitter, Musk tweeted, "You don't
think it's strange he hasn't sued me?"[202] The following day, a letter dated August 6
from L. Lin Wood, the rescuer's attorney, emerged, showing that he had been
making preparations for a libel lawsuit. [203][204]
Around this time, James Howard-Higgins emailed Musk claiming to be a private
investigator and with an offer to "dig deep" into Unsworth's past, which Musk
accepted; Higgins was later revealed to be a convicted felon with multiple counts of
fraud.[205][206] On August 30, using details produced during the alleged investigation,
[207]
 Musk sent a BuzzFeed News reporter who had written about the controversy an
email prefaced with "off the record", telling the reporter to "stop defending child
rapists, you fucking asshole" and claiming that Unsworth is a "single white guy from
England who's been traveling to or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years... until moving
to Chiang Rai for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time." On
September 5, the reporter tweeted a screenshot of the email, saying that "Off the
record is a two-party agreement," which he "did not agree to." [208][209][210]
In September, Unsworth filed a defamation suit in Los Angeles federal court. [211][212] In
his defense, Musk argued that in slang usage "'pedo guy' was a common insult used
in South Africa when I was growing up... synonymous with 'creepy old man' and is
used to insult a person's appearance and demeanor." [213] The defamation case began
in December 2019, with Unsworth seeking $190 million in damages.[214] During the
trial Musk apologized to Unsworth again for the tweet. On December 6, the jury
found in favor of Musk and ruled he was not liable. [215][216]
2018 Joe Rogan podcast appearance
On September 6, 2018, Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and
discussed various topics for over two hours. During the interview, Musk sampled a
single puff from a cigar consisting, Joe Rogan claimed, of tobacco laced with
cannabis.
Tesla stock dropped after the incident, which coincided with the confirmation of the
departure of Tesla's vice president of worldwide finance earlier that day. [217]
[218]
 Fortune wondered if the cannabis use could have ramifications for SpaceX
contracts with the United States Air Force, though an Air Force spokesperson
told The Verge that there was no investigation and that the Air Force was still
processing the situation.[219][220] In a 60 Minutes interview, Musk said of the incident: "I
do not smoke pot. As anybody who watched that podcast could tell, I have no idea
how to smoke pot."[221][222]
Music ventures
On March 30, 2019, Musk released a rap track, "RIP Harambe", on SoundCloud as
Emo G Records. The track, which is an allusion to the killing of Harambe, a gorilla in
a Cincinnati zoo, and the subsequent "tasteless" Internet sensationalism surrounding
the event, was performed by Yung Jake, written by Yung Jake and Caroline
Polachek, and produced by BloodPop.[223][224] On January 30, 2020, Musk released
an EDM track, "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe", featuring his own lyrics and vocals.
[225]
 While The Guardian critic Alexi Petridis described it as "indistinguishable... from
umpteen competent but unthrilling bits of bedroom electronica posted elsewhere on
Soundcloud",[226] TechCrunch said it was "not a bad representation of the genre". [225]
Donations and non-profits
Musk is president of the Musk Foundation,[227] which states its purpose is to provide
solar-power energy systems in disaster areas as well as to support research and
development, advocacy, and educational goals. [228][229] Since 2002, the foundation has
made over 350 contributions. Around half were to scientific research or education
nonprofits. Notable beneficiaries include the Wikimedia Foundation, his alma mater
the University of Pennsylvania, and Kimbal's Big Green.[230] Vox described the
foundation as "almost entertaining in its simplicity and yet is strikingly opaque",
noting that its website was only 33 words in plain-text. [231] The foundation has been
criticized for the relatively small amount of wealth donated. [232] From 2002 to 2018, it
gave out $25 million directly to non-profits, nearly half of which went to Musk's
OpenAI,[231] which was at the time a non-profit organization. [233] In 2012, Musk took
the Giving Pledge, thereby committing to give the majority of his wealth to charitable
causes either during his lifetimes or in his will.[234] In 2020, Forbes still gave Musk a
philanthropy score of 1, because he had given away less than 1% of his net worth. [230]
Musk has endowed prizes at the X Prize Foundation, including $15 million to
encourage innovation in addressing illiteracy and $100 million to reward
improved carbon capture technology.[235][236][237][238] In November 2021, Musk donated
$5.7 billion of Tesla's shares to charity.[239]
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk gifted Starlink access and systems
for free to Ukraine, to ensure internet access and communication in the country.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Musk personally for the support of
Ukraine and announced further talks between the two about space projects to take
place after the war.[240][241]

Wealth

Musk's net worth from 2012 to 2021 as estimated by Forbes magazine

Musk made $165 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002.[242] He was first listed
on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.[243]
At the start of 2020, Musk had a net worth of $27 billion.[244] By the year's end his net
worth had increased by $150 billion, largely driven by his ownership of around 20%
of Tesla stock.[245] During this, Musk's net worth was often volatile. For example, it
dropped $16.3 billion in September, the largest single-day plunge in the history of
the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[246] In November of that year, Musk
passed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person in
the world; a week later he passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the
second-richest.[247] In January 2021, Musk, with a net worth of $185 billion,
surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world.
[248]
 Bezos reclaimed the top spot the following month. [249] On September 27, 2021,
Forbes announced that Musk had a net worth of over $200 billion, and was the
richest person in the world, after Tesla stock surged. [250] In November 2021, Musk
became the first person with a net worth over $300 billion. [251]
Around three-quarters of Musk's wealth derives from Tesla. [247] Musk does not receive
a salary from Tesla; he agreed in 2018 to a compensation plan with the board that
ties his personal earnings to Tesla's valuation and revenue. [245] The deal stipulated
that Musk only receives the compensation if Tesla reaches certain market values.
[252]
 It was the largest such deal ever done between a CEO and board. [253] In the first
award, given in May 2020, he was eligible to purchase 1.69 million TSLA shares
(about 1% of the company) at below-market prices, which was worth about
$800 million.[253][252]
Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018.
[254]
 According to ProPublica, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018.[255] His 2021
tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla
stock.[254]
Musk has repeatedly described himself as "cash poor",[256][257] and has "professed to
have little interest in the material trappings of wealth". [256] In 2012, Musk signed The
Giving Pledge and, in May 2020, pledged to "sell almost all physical possessions". [257]
[258]
 In 2021, Musk defended his wealth by saying he is "accumulating resources to
help make life multiplanetary [and] extend the light of consciousness to the stars".
[259]
 In the early 2000s, Musk was[clarification needed] a private pilot, his favorite aircraft then
being the L-39 Albatros, though he decided to stop piloting by 2008.[260][261] He uses a
private jet owned by SpaceX[262][263] and acquired a second jet in August 2020. [264] The
jet's heavy use of fossil fuels—it flew over 150,000 miles in 2018—has received
criticism.[262][265]

Views
Main article: Views of Elon Musk
Politics

Musk with then US Vice President Mike Pence in 2020 at the Kennedy Space Center shortly
before SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch

In 2015, Musk stated he was a "significant (though not top-tier) donor to Democrats"
but that he also gives heavily to Republicans. Musk said that political contributions
are a requirement to have a voice in the United States government. [266] Musk
criticized Donald Trump for his stance on climate change[267] and after joining Trump's
two business advisory councils,[268][269] Musk resigned from both in June 2017 in protest
against Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.
[270]
 In the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Musk endorsed candidate Andrew
Yang and expressed support for his proposed universal basic income;[271] he
endorsed Kanye West's independent campaign in the general election.[272] Musk has
stated that he thinks a theoretical government on Mars should be direct democracy.
[273]
 In September 2021, following the adoption of Texas' strict abortion restrictions,
Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that Musk and SpaceX supported Texas' "social
policies". In response, Musk stated, "In general, I believe government should rarely
impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximize their
cumulative happiness. That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics." [274] Regarding
Democratic proposals for increased taxes on billionaires, Musk's responses have
included critical policy remarks and lashing out at proponents such as Senator Ron
Wyden.[275][276]
In July 2020, Musk tweeted "Pronouns suck" to significant backlash on Twitter,
including from his partner Grimes.[277][278][279] The tweet has been perceived by some
as transphobic and an attack on non-binary identities.[280] In a series of December
2020 tweets, Musk again mocked the use of pronouns. The Human Rights
Campaign, which had previously given Tesla the number one ranking on
its Corporate Equality Index, criticized his tweets and called for an apology.[281][282]
Musk has stated that he does not believe the U.S. government should
provide subsidies to companies; instead they should use a carbon tax to discourage
poor behavior.[283][284] Musk says that the free market would achieve the best solution,
and that producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should come with its own
consequences.[285] His stance has been called hypocritical as his businesses have
received billions of dollars in subsidies.[286][287] In addition, Tesla made large sums from
government-initiated systems of zero emissions credits offered in California and
the United States federal level, which enabled improved initial consumer adoption of
Tesla vehicles, as the tax credits given by governments enabled Tesla's battery
electric vehicles to be price-competitive, in relative comparison with existing lower-
priced internal combustion engine vehicles.[288] Notably, Tesla generates a sizeable
portion of its revenue from its sales of carbon credits granted to the company, by
both the European Union Emissions Trading System and the Chinese national
carbon trading scheme.[289][290][291][292]

Musk with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval

Musk, a longtime opponent of short-selling, has repeatedly criticized the practice and
argued it should be illegal.[293][294] Musk's opposition to short-selling has been
speculated to stem from how short-sellers often organize and publish opposition
research about the companies that they believe are currently overvalued. [295] In early
2021, he encouraged the GameStop short squeeze.[296][297] Musk has also regularly
promoted cryptocurrencies, stating that he supports them over
traditional government-issued fiat currencies.[298] Given the volatile effects that his
tweets about them have,[299] his statements around cryptocurrencies have been
viewed as market manipulations by critics such as Nouriel Roubini.[300]
In November 2021, Musk was criticized after mocking U.S. Senator Bernie
Sanders on Twitter. Sanders posted a message on Twitter saying "We must demand
that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period." Musk then replied: "I keep
forgetting that you're still alive."[301][302][303]
Musk has voiced concerns about human population decline,[304][305] saying that "Mars
has zero human population. We need a lot of people to become a multiplanet
civilization."[306] Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council session in
December 2021, Musk stated that declining birth rates and population is one of the
biggest risks to human civilization.[307]
In a December 2021 interview with Christian conservative satirical website The
Babylon Bee, Musk lamented that it was "increasingly difficult to get things done" in
California. Musk had sold enough to reach his goal of selling 10% of his shares in
Tesla (then the world's most valuable car company), partially to pay taxes, and
relocated his personal and Tesla's tax residence from California to Texas in order to
avoid state income tax. Musk said that "California used to be the land of opportunity
and now it is ... becoming moreso the land of sort of overregulation, overlitigation,
overtaxation."[308] In the same interview, he stated, "At its heart wokeness is divisive,
exclusionary, and hateful. It basically gives mean people ... a shield to be mean and
cruel, armored in false virtue."[309]
Musk condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and announced measures
to support Ukraine's defense, such as providing the country with free Starlink access,
for which Ukrainian president Zelenskyy personally thanked Musk while announcing
further talks between the two.[240][241]
COVID-19
Elon Musk Twitter
@elonmusk

Based on current trends, probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April
March 19, 2020[310]

Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the COVID-19
pandemic.[311][312] He spread misinformation about the virus, including
promoting chloroquine and assuming that death statistics were manipulated. [313][314][315][316]
[317]
 At the start of the pandemic, he claimed that children "are essentially immune" to
the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.[318][319] Twitter determined that, given the "overall context
and conclusion of the Tweet", it did not break their rules on COVID-19 commentary;
the decision was described as "irresponsible" by The Verge.[320]
Musk also called "the coronavirus panic...dumb".[321][322][323] Musk repeatedly criticized
lockdowns and violated local orders by re-opening the Tesla Fremont factory.[324][325]
[326]
 In March 2020, commenting on a New York Times report that China had reported
no new cases of domestic spread of the novel coronavirus, Musk predicted that there
would be "probably close to zero new cases in US by the end of April". [327]
[328]
 Politico later labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident and
spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]".[329] In November 2020, the phrase
"Space Karen" trended on Twitter in connection with Musk after he tweeted
misinformation about the effectiveness of COVID-19 testing.[320][330][331][332]
Also in March 2020, Musk offered to donate ventilators which Tesla would build or
buy from a third party.[333] Multiple hospitals noted that the devices eventually donated
were BiPAP and CPAP machines, not the much more expensive and sought-after
invasive mechanical ventilator (IMV) machines, but the devices could still be used to
free up ventilators for the sickest patients. [334][335][336] Invasive ventilators can cost up to
$50,000 whereas CPAP machines can be purchased for around $500. [337]
In 2021, findings of an antibody-testing program that SpaceX worked with doctors
and academic researchers to create were published in Nature Communications with
Musk listed as a co-author.[338][339]
Artificial intelligence, metaverse, and public transit
Musk has frequently spoken about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI),
repeatedly calling it the greatest threat to humanity. [340][341] Musk's opinions about AI
have provoked controversy.[342] Consequently, according to CNBC, Musk is "not
always looked upon favorably" by the AI research community. [343] Musk and Mark
Zuckerberg have clashed on the issue, with Zuckerberg calling his warnings "pretty
irresponsible".[344][345][346] Musk's claims that humans live in a computer simulation have
also been criticized.[347][348]
In December 2021, when prompted for his opinion about the virtual reality (VR)
driven metaverse, Musk said that he was "unable to see a compelling metaverse
situation" and further remarked that "I think we're far from disappearing into the
metaverse. This sounds just kind of buzzword-y." [349][350]
"Sure you can put a TV on your nose. I'm not sure that makes you 'in the
metaverse'." "I don't see someone strapping a frigging screen to their face all day
and not wanting to ever leave. That seems — no way."
Despite his companies' dealing in various areas of transportation, Musk has
criticized public transportation,[351][352] a stance that has been called elitist, as public
modes of transportation provide service for all persons, while cars can be used only
by those who own or rent and can drive them. [353][354]
In December 2017, in response to an audience question about his take on public
transit and urban sprawl, at a Tesla event on the sidelines of the Neural Information
Processing Systems Conference in Long Beach, California, Musk remarked: [355][356]
"There is this premise that good things must be somehow painful. I think public
transport is painful. It sucks. Why do you want to get on something with a lot of other
people, that doesn't leave where you want it to leave, doesn't start where you want it
to start, doesn't end where you want it to end? And it doesn't go all the time."
"It's a pain in the ass, that's why everyone doesn't like it. And there's like a bunch of
random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. And so that's why
people like individualized transport, that goes where you want, when you want."
When the audience member responded that public transportation seemed to work in
Japan, Musk shot back, "What, where they cram people in the subway? That doesn't
sound great."
His comments have sparked widespread criticism from both transportation and urban
planning experts, which have pointed out that public transportation in dense urban
areas is more economical, more energy efficient and requires much less space than
private cars.[357][358][354]

Personal life
Musk met his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, while attending Queen's
University, and they married in 2000.[359] He contracted malaria in 2000 while on
vacation in South Africa, and almost died.[360] In 2002, their first child, son Nevada
Alexander Musk, died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at the age of 10
weeks.[361] After his death, the couple decided to use IVF to continue their family.
[362]
 Twins Xavier and Griffin were born in April 2004, followed by triplets Kai, Saxon,
and Damian in 2006.[362] The couple divorced in 2008 and share custody of their five
sons.[359][363][364]
In 2008, Musk began dating English actress Talulah Riley, and in 2010, the couple
married at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland.[365][366] In 2012, he announced a divorce
from Riley.[367][368][369] In 2013, Musk and Riley remarried. In December 2014, he filed for
a second divorce from Riley; however, the action was withdrawn. [370] A second divorce
was finalized in 2016.[371] Musk then dated Amber Heard for several months in 2017;
[372][373]
 he had reportedly been pursuing her since 2012. [373] Musk was later accused
by Johnny Depp of having an affair with Heard while she was still married to Depp. [374]
[375][376]
 Musk and Heard both denied the affair. [377]
In May 2018, Musk and Canadian musician Grimes revealed that they were dating.[378]
[379][380]
 Grimes gave birth to their son in May 2020. [381][382] According to Musk and Grimes,
his name was "X Æ A-12"; however, the name would have violated California
regulations as it contained characters that are not in the modern English alphabet, [383]
[384]
 and was then changed to "X Æ A-Xii". This drew more confusion, as Æ is not a
letter in the modern English alphabet.[385] The child was eventually named "X AE A-
XII" Musk, with "X" as a first name, "AE A-XII" as a middle name, and "Musk" as
surname.[386] Musk confirmed reports that the couple are "semi-separated" in
September 2021; in an interview with Time in December 2021, he said he was
single,[387][388][389] and in early 2022, Musk was reported to be in a relationship with
Australian actress Natasha Bassett.[390] In March 2022, Grimes said of her relationship
with Musk: "I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we're very fluid." She
further revealed that their first daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, nicknamed Y, was
born in December 2021 via surrogate.[1] Later in March 2022, Grimes tweeted that
she and Musk had broken up again "but he's my best friend and the love of my
life."[391]
From the early 2000s until late 2020, Musk resided in California where both Tesla
and SpaceX were founded and where their headquarters are still located. [392] In 2020,
he moved to Texas, stating that California had become "complacent" with its
economic success.[392][393]
During his hosting of Saturday Night Live in May 2021, Musk stated that he
has Asperger syndrome.[394]

Public recognition
In popular culture
Main article: Elon Musk in popular culture
Musk has had multiple cameos and appearances in films such as Iron Man 2 (2010),
[395]
 Why Him? (2016),[396] and Men in Black: International (2019).[397] Television series
on which he has appeared include The Simpsons ("The Musk Who Fell to Earth",
2015),[398] The Big Bang Theory ("The Platonic Permutation", 2015),[399] South
Park ("Members Only", 2016),[400][401] Rick and Morty ("One Crew over the Crewcoo's
Morty", 2019),[402][403] and Saturday Night Live (2021).[404] He has contributed interviews
to the documentaries Racing Extinction (2015) and the Werner Herzog-directed Lo
and Behold (2016).[405][406]
In China, Elon Musk has become a "trademark phenomenon" according to SCMP,
with over 270 different companies having registered trademarks using his English
name or Chinese transliteration, for a multitude of products including printing,
restaurants, textiles, and design.[407]
Accolades
Main article: List of awards and honors received by Elon Musk
Musk was elected a fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018.[408] In 2015, he
received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology at Yale,[409] and IEEE
Honorary Membership.[410] Awards for his contributions to the development of the
Falcon rockets include the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics George Low Transportation Award in 2008,[411] the Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal in 2010,[412] and the Royal
Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2012.[413] He was listed among Time magazine's
100 Most Influential People in 2010,[414] 2013,[415] 2018,[416] and 2021.[417] In 2021, Musk
was selected as Time's "Person of the Year". Time editor-in-chief Edward
Felsenthal wrote that "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few
individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life
off Earth too".[418][419] Musk was elected as a member into the National Academy of
Engineering in 2022 For breakthroughs in design, engineering, manufacturing, and
operation of reusable launch vehicles and sustainable transportation and energy
systems.[420]