Elon Musk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elon Musk
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Musk in 2018
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| Administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
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Elon Reeve Musk
June 28, 1971 Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa |
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| Political party | Republican |
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| Children | 12 |
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| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS) |
| Occupation |
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| Awards | Full list |
| Signature |  |
Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is a famous businessman. He is known for leading the electric car company Tesla, Inc. and the space company SpaceX. Since January 2025, he has also been working as the Administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States. He also owns X Corp., which runs the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Elon Musk helped start other companies like The Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, and OpenAI. He is currently one of the wealthiest people in the world. As of 2025, his wealth is estimated to be around US$427 billion.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Elon Musk was born and grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother, Maye Musk, was a model and dietitian. His father, Errol Musk, was an engineer and property developer. Elon has a younger brother, Kimbal Musk, and a younger sister, Tosca Musk. His parents divorced in 1980.
Elon was a quiet child who loved to read. He said reading books like The Lord of the Rings helped him succeed. When he was ten, he became very interested in computers and video games. He taught himself how to program. At age twelve, he sold his first video game, Blastar, for about $500.
After high school, Elon moved to Canada and became a citizen when he was 17. He later studied at Queen's University and then the University of Pennsylvania. There, he earned degrees in economics and physics.
Elon Musk's Business Ventures
In 1995, Elon Musk moved to California. He decided to start a business instead of going to Stanford University.
Starting with Zip2 and PayPal
Elon and his brother Kimbal started a company called Zip2. It created an online city guide with maps and directions. In 1999, a company called Compaq bought Zip2 for $307 million. Elon received $22 million from the sale.
In 1999, Elon also helped start an online bank called X.com. This company later merged with another to form PayPal. In 2002, eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion.
SpaceX: Reaching for the Stars
In 2002, Elon Musk started SpaceX. His goal was to make rockets that could be reused many times. This would make space travel much cheaper. The first rocket, Falcon 1, failed three times before it successfully reached orbit in 2006.
Another rocket, the Falcon 9, has been launched over 100 times. In 2008, SpaceX signed a deal with NASA. They agreed to fly 12 missions to the International Space Station (ISS) using their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. These missions would resupply the station.
Since 2019, SpaceX has been building Starship. This is a very large, fully reusable rocket. In 2020, SpaceX launched its first flight with astronauts. This made it the first private company to send astronauts into orbit and dock with the ISS.
SpaceX also created Starlink, a group of satellites that provide internet access to people on Earth. They also design satellites for military use. In 2024, NASA gave SpaceX a contract to help remove the ISS from orbit when it's no longer needed.
Tesla: Electric Cars and More
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In 2004, Elon Musk invested in Tesla, Inc., an electric vehicle company. He became its chairman and helped design many of its cars. In 2008, he became Tesla's CEO. In 2022, Tesla showed off a robot it developed called Optimus.
In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a company that installs solar energy systems. Tesla later bought SolarCity, and it became Tesla Energy. By 2013, SolarCity was one of the biggest solar power providers in the U.S.
Hyperloop: Fast Tube Travel
In 2013, Elon Musk shared plans for a "hyperloop". This would be a vacuum tube train designed to travel very quickly between cities. In 2015, he started a competition for students to build Hyperloop pods. These pods would run on a special track owned by SpaceX.
Neuralink: Connecting Brains to Computers
In 2016, Elon Musk co-founded Neuralink. This company is working on technology that could connect the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI). They hope to create devices that can be put into the brain. These devices could help improve memory or allow brains to communicate with computers. Neuralink also hopes to use this technology to treat brain conditions like Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injuries.
The Boring Company: Tunnels to Beat Traffic
In 2017, Musk started The Boring Company. This company builds tunnels underground. His idea is to create special tunnels for vehicles that can travel very fast, up to 150 miles per hour. The goal is to reduce traffic jams in big cities.
One tunnel under the Las Vegas Convention Center was finished in 2021. Local officials have approved plans to make this tunnel system even bigger.
X (formerly Twitter) Ownership
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I made an offer
April 14, 2022
Elon Musk has been a very active user on Twitter (now called X) since 2009. He has over 100 million followers. In 2022, he started buying shares in Twitter and quickly became the company's biggest owner.
On October 27, 2022, Elon Musk officially bought Twitter. He then made many changes to the company.
Leadership Style
Elon Musk is known for expecting his employees to work very hard. He has even called himself a "nano-manager." Some people praise his leadership, saying it has helped his companies succeed. Others criticize him, saying he can be too demanding.
Giving Back: Philanthropy
Elon Musk is the president of the Musk Foundation. This foundation works on several important goals:
- It helps provide solar power to areas affected by disasters.
- It supports research for human space exploration, children's health, and clean energy.
- It also supports education in science and engineering.
In 2015, Musk helped create OpenAI. This is a research company focused on artificial intelligence (AI). Its goal is to make sure AI is safe and helpful for humanity.
In 2018, Elon Musk helped with the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand. He arranged for his employees to build a mini-submarine to help rescue children trapped in a flooded cave. However, the submarine was not needed because the children were rescued using other methods.
Elon Musk's Wealth
When PayPal was sold in 2002, Elon Musk made $175.8 million. In 2012, he was first listed as a billionaire by Forbes magazine. By January 2021, he became the richest person in the world. He says he is gathering resources to help humanity expand into space.
As of 2025, his wealth is estimated to be around $427 billion. Most of his money comes from his ownership in Tesla and SpaceX.
Elon Musk's Views
Thoughts on Big Threats
Elon Musk believes that artificial intelligence (AI) could be a big threat to humanity. He thinks governments should be careful about how AI is used to prevent it from becoming too powerful.
He also sees climate change as a major threat. He supports a carbon tax. This would make people pay more for activities that harm the environment, encouraging cleaner choices.
Musk also believes that fewer people being born each year is a risk to human civilization. He thinks humans should be able to live on Mars, and many people will be needed to move there.
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Views on COVID-19
Musk criticized the rules that shut down businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he did close the Tesla Fremont Factory because of these rules. In May 2020, he reopened the factory, even though the rules were still in place.
Elon Musk also bought and donated special breathing machines (BiPAP and CPAP machines). These machines helped many people who were sick with COVID-19.
He stated in September 2020 that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine. However, he later received it because he needed to travel for work.
Financial Ideas
Elon Musk believes the government should not give money to companies to help them. Instead, he thinks they should use a carbon tax to discourage bad environmental behavior. He believes that a free market (where businesses compete freely) would find the best solutions.
Technology Opinions
Musk has supported cryptocurrencies (digital money) over traditional money issued by governments. However, he later said that Tesla would not use Bitcoin until its energy use problems were solved.
He has also criticized public transportation and encouraged people to use private cars. However, city planners often say that public transportation is better for busy cities. It saves money, energy, and space.
Personal Life
Elon Musk lived in California for many years, where he started Tesla and SpaceX. In 2020, he moved to Texas. In 2021, he shared that he has Asperger syndrome, which is a mild form of autism.
Elon Musk has 13 children. He married his first wife, Justine Wilson, in 2000. Their first child passed away at a young age. They later had twins and then triplets. They divorced in 2008.
He later married English actress Talulah Riley twice, divorcing in 2012 and again in 2016. He also dated Canadian musician Grimes. They had a son in 2020, named X AE A-XII Musk. In 2021, they had a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (nicknamed "Y") through surrogacy. In 2023, they had a third child, a son named Techno Mechanicus "Tau" Musk.
Musk also has four children with Shivon Zilis, who works at Neuralink.
Media Appearances
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Elon Musk was one of the people who inspired the character of Tony Stark in the Marvel movie Iron Man. He has also appeared as himself in several movies and TV shows, like Iron Man 2 and The Big Bang Theory.
Awards and Honors
- Received an honorary degree in engineering from Yale University (2015).
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (2018).
- Won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award (2008).
- Won the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal (2010).
- Listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People (2010, 2013, 2018, and 2021).
- Chosen as Time's "Person of the Year" (2021).
- Elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2022).
Elon Musk Quotes
- "I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary."
- "If you go back a few hundred years, what we take for granted today would seem like magic."
- "Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough."
Interesting Facts About Elon Musk
- When he was 12, he sold his video game Blastar for $500.
- He joined Tesla a year after it was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.
- He almost sold Tesla to Google for $6 billion in 2013.
- He was able to start SpaceX with the $100 million he earned when eBay bought PayPal.
- His wealth comes from his ownership in companies, not from a salary.
- He bought James Bond’s classic submarine car at an auction for almost $1 million in 2013.
- Elon's mother, Maye Musk, is a model.
See also
In Spanish: Elon Musk para niños
