What Is Elon Musk's Story?
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Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971, and not in California or in New York or where you would expect a computer tycoon to be born. He was quite the reader as a child, particularly books on space, science fiction, and computers. He was never the social or sporty type. He was shy and reserved and in his free time, he read and worked on computers. He started learning how to program himself when he was 10 or 11 years old, and by 12, he had already written a video game and sold it. Other kids his age were playing toys, and he was making things and learning about how stuff worked.
He Left South Africa As A Teen Because He Knew He Wanted A Future That Could Not Happen If He Stayed There
As a teenager, Elon understood that if he was going to pursue the dreams that he had—such as making cool technology or going to outer space—he couldn’t remain in South Africa. So he moved away. Initially, he moved to Canada and studied at Queen’s University. He later shifted to the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. It was a huge decision for him. He wasn’t that wealthy and had to earn money by working odd jobs like cleaning boilers and selling computer components in order to make ends meet. But even then, he had that attitude that if it was worthwhile doing something, it did not matter how difficult it was.
His First Big Break Was Not Tesla Or SpaceX, But A Little Company Called Zip2 That Most People Have Never Even Heard Of
Before he was known for rockets or electric cars, Elon co-founded a tiny software company called Zip2 in conjunction with his brother. It basically assisted newspapers in creating online city guides during the ‘90s when the internet was relatively new. It wasn’t glamorous, yet it was successful. Zip2 was eventually purchased by Compaq for more than $300 million, and Elon made his fortune. Most would have stopped there, cashed in, and taken it easy. But Elon used it to scale even higher.
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He Helped Build PayPal Which Totally Changed Online Payments, But He Still Wasn’t Satisfied With Just That
After Zip2, Elon co-founded X.com (yes, that was really the name), which was dedicated to Internet banking. It eventually developed into what we today know as PayPal. When PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion, Musk was very wealthy again. But rather than indulging in a beachfront property and relaxing, he began investing his wealth in what others regarded as crazy projects—making rockets, electric cars, brain chips, and tunnels beneath cities in cities. He was not doing it for the money—he wanted to make stuff that was going to change the world.
SpaceX And Tesla Were Both Massive Risks That Almost Failed, But He Kept Going Even When Things Looked Really Bad
Many people don't know how close Elon Musk was to losing everything. In 2008, both SpaceX and Tesla were in deep trouble. SpaceX had lost many launch attempts, and Tesla was low on cash. He invested almost all of his own cash in keeping them going and also took loans from his friends in order to make payroll. Everyone was expecting him to be finished, but then SpaceX had one successful launch and then NASA awarded them a contract. Tesla began picking up steam too after the launch of the Roadster and then the Model S. After that, it all just took off.
His Story Keeps Going Because He Is Always Thinking About The Next Wild Thing Even If Everyone Thinks He Is Going Too Far
What makes Elon's tale stand apart is that it never actually comes to a halt. He did not halt with PayPal. He did not halt with Tesla. Even after launching a car into space, he did not halt. Now he is working on projects like Neuralink (a system that links brains to computers), Starlink (a satellite internet system that encompasses the world), and even establishing a Martian colony using SpaceX. Some view him as a genius. Others view him as outright crazy. But one thing for certain—he never halts pursuing whatever the next thing is, and that’s really what his whole tale has basically been.
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