Tesla CEO Elon Musk: 10 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Elon Musk has been in the news recently wanting to create a “hyper loop” train. With a history of bold innovations, here are ten facts you need to know about the Tesla Motors CEO.

1.Musk Is A Forbes Favorite

Ranked 190 out of 400 on Forbes most recent Richest in America list, the 42 year old south african born businessman is worth an estimated $2.9 billion. He’s appeared on various lists for the venerable business magazine for the past few years including the World’s Most Powerful People. Musk’s primary fortune comes from his electric car company Tesla Motors.

2.Musk Had Potential Early

The 42 year old father of five children had potential for a tech career at an early age. The inventor developed and created code for a video game called Blaster which he later sold for a profit. While some of the most famous figureheads of Silicon Valley took different routes to create their companies, Musk really valued his education. The CEO transferred from Queens University to the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a dual degree in business and physics from The Wharton School and the university’s school of arts and sciences. Planning on continuing his physics studies in Stanford’s PhD program, his career ended up sidelining this goal.

3.PayPal Was His First Controversy

Originally called X.com, the online payment system that eventually became Paypal gave the entrepreneur some problems in the first half of the 21st century. The transition from X.com happened when they acquired a site called Confinity which was owned by notable tech investor Peter Thiel. For awhile, Musk was considered the be the founder but that status became questionable as time went on which meant that the Tesla Motors CEO needed to gear up for a lawsuit.

4.Musk Inspired Iron Man Filmmaker

Although this was one mark on his professional career, the serial entrepreneur has still made an impact on others especially with Jon Favreau. The director was inspired by Musk’s sense of adventure in all of his business endeavors. He felt there was a great comparison for the character of Tony Stark. Musk even cameos in the second Iron man movie asking the  billionaire inventor to create an electric jetpack for him. Favreau appreciated the gesture so much that he wrote the profile for Musk in Time Magazine’s annual 100 most influential people.

5.Musk Feels No One Else Wants To Develop Electric Cars

Musk has been brave in his professional pursuits and wanted to get into the electric car business since “no one else would.”. At D11, the founder discussed his thoughts on his newest series of electric roadsters. The CEO’s company was founded in 2003 with a focus on creating a luxurious but environmentally friendly car. The vehicles come in three different models but still are priced high. While they are on the road in thirty one countries, Tesla is still one of the prime producers of these creative cars.

6.We May Live On Mars Soon Thanks To Musk

With a focus on transportation and exploration, Musk’s SpaceX company is leading the way with space travel. Quickly becoming the leading provider of launch services, the eleven year old company’s most recent accomplishment was the Dragon capsule demonstrating it has the ability to carry NASA cargo. While Musk has intends for the rockets to be reusable in order to slash launch costs, the company has potential for us to continue exploration in outer space. For expansion, the CEO has a desire to explore Mars.

7.Tesla Founder Has Had A Tumultuous Personal Life

While Elon Musk has achieved considerable success, his personal life is another story. His first wife, Justine Musk, married the billionaire but divorced him a few years later. The situation became very messy with Justine being very vocal especially when Elon announced his engagement to British actress Talulah Riley. The settlement nearly cost the billionaire everything. To complicate this more, Talulah Riley left him in 2012.

8.He May or May Not Be Dating Cameron Diaz

Not letting this slow him down, the businessman has been rumored to be dating actress Cameron Diaz. The Sun reported that the actress supposedly was getting to know the founder after her purchase of Tesla car. While E! reported the reasons why this match-up would work, Musk has firmly denied this is not true.

9.Musk’s Future Plans

Turmoil has hit the entrepreneur just like any other business leader but he is not letting this slow him down. Recently, he is working on plans to create a hyper loop train that would cut down travel time between coasts by 30 minutes. While technology for this new form of transportation is still being kept under wraps, other sources have said this could be possible. Adding colonization of Mars to his interests, Elon Musk having his head in the clouds could help continue his wealth.

10. Is Elon Musk the Next Steve Jobs?

Steve Jobs left an incredible mark for innovation. The legendary Apple founder produced some of the most essential products we need. This is not an easy comparison to live up to. Musk has had a hectic rise to fame like most of the tech giants today but he has some potential to go further. Both of his companies are producing novelties that we haven’t seen before and has a strong advantage of capitalizing on a unique but competitive market. The electric car industry is still starting to develop but SpaceX could end up becoming revolutionary.