Elon Reeve Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa. His early life and education laid the groundwork for his future entrepreneurial endeavors.

Musk co-founded Zip2, an online business directory, with his brother. This was one of his first major entrepreneurial ventures, which he later sold to Compaq Computer Corporation for over $300 million in 1999.

Musk invested in X.com, an online bank that later merged with Confinity to form PayPal. This digital payment platform was a groundbreaking innovation in online financial transactions and was eventually sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

Using $100 million of his own money, Musk founded SpaceX with the ambitious goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has since become a leading player in the space industry, achieving numerous milestones including the first private company to send a craft to the International Space Station and the first to send humans into orbit.

Musk invested $6.5 million in Tesla Motors during its Series A funding round, becoming the company's chairman of the board and its largest shareholder. Tesla has since become a pioneer in the electric vehicle industry, revolutionizing the automotive sector.

During the 2010s, Musk's companies achieved several significant milestones. SpaceX successfully launched, orbited, and recovered a spacecraft, and Tesla became one of the leading electric vehicle manufacturers. SpaceX also developed reusable rockets and the Starlink satellite constellation for global internet service.

SpaceX made history by becoming the first private company to send humans to the International Space Station with the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. This marked a significant step in commercial space travel and further solidified SpaceX's position in the space industry.

Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, adding the social media platform to his portfolio of companies. He has since renamed the company X, reflecting his broader vision for the platform's future.

As of 2025, Musk continues to be at the forefront of innovation, leading Tesla and SpaceX through new technological advancements and expansion plans. His influence extends beyond his companies, shaping the future of transportation, space exploration, and digital communication.