Musk Elon

Elon Musk is an American avnturist entrepreneur. Its two largest companies are Tesla Motors and SpaceX.

Biography

Elon Musk's mother conquered South Africa's catwalks in the distant 1970s with her beauty.

Mrs May Musk moved to the African country at the age of 2. Her parents were adventurers. However, like herself.

In 1969, she became a finalist of the Miss South Africa contest, and in 1970 the beauty got married, gave birth to Elon and two other Masks, and combined all this with work as a model and studying at the University of the Orange Free State in South Africa as a nutritionist.

He created and sold his own video game at the age of 12

The mask was interested in computers from an early age. He began programming starting at age 9. The guy got $500 when the source code for the BASIC-based game was published in the South African magazine PC and Office Technology. This was the first product to be sold by Elon^[1].

1988: Emigration from South Africa to Canada

After Musk left the Republic of South Africa in 1988, he sought work across Canada - tending vegetables and digging grain bins at a cousin's farm in Waldeck, then cutting logs with a chain saw in Vancouver.

At one job center, he asked about working on the best salary. It was cleaning the boiler room of a sawmill. The grueling $18 job, Elon said, was to wear a terry cloth suit and siphon off leftover materials in extremely high-temperature spaces.

Bank of Nova Scotia internship after call to top executive offering lunch

In Canada, he and his brother were looking for businessmen they would like to work for. Cold calls were taken in turn to ask if they could have lunch with them. One such businessman was Peter Nicholson - chief executive officer of Bank of Nova Scotia, who was fascinated by the boys "initiative.

Upon meeting them, he was so impressed with Elon that he offered him a summer internship at a bank for $14 an hour.

To earn extra money, Musk sold and repaired PCs in dorm

At the University of Queens in Ontario, Musk sold and repaired the computers of his fellow students. For example, if a computer was improperly booted or infected with a virus, it would fix it.

He made money paying for his studies by turning his house into a nightclub

After transferring to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, Musk quickly found use in his entrepreneurial vein. He and a friend moved into a 10-bedroom house for a relatively inexpensive sum. During the week, they studied, but on weekends they turned the place into a nightclub. Elon, who never liked to drink, stayed sober throughout all the parties to keep things under control.

1995

Musk dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to open his startup Zip2

Despite receiving a PhD from Stanford, he decided there was a much better chance of changing society online. Elon teamed up with his brother Kimbal and began developing Zip2, a company that provided maps and catalogs to online newspapers. They invested 28 thousand dollars in their company from their father's bank account.

Musk in photos as a student

In late August 2022, Jennifer Gwynn, Elon Musk's ex-girlfriend, auctioned RR Auction old pictures of the executive and Tesla. SpaceX All pictures were taken in 1994-1995. Each lot is sold at a price starting at $100.

The woman said she decided to sell the billionaire's pictures to pay for her son's college education. She noted that Musk did not like to openly express his love, but the relationship with him was "cute." Gwynne admitted that breaking up with the entrepreneur "broke her heart." In this regard, the couple stopped communicating. Musk's ex-girlfriend added that she did not agree with all the statements of the founder of SpaceX.

Шаблон:Quote 'Don't get me wrong, he's very smart... But it seems to me that he lacks love or some kind of recognition, "she concluded.

In the archival photos, Elon always smiles, fools around, rests with friends or is absorbed in his studies. In addition to the pictures, Jennifer sells a gold necklace with a small emerald, as well as a postcard that Musk gave her for her birthday in December 1994.

Jennifer Gwynne dated the future Tesla creator when they were both in their early 20s. The couple were together for one year, during which time the girl met Musk's mother, siblings and learned about his plans for electric vehicles.

In addition to the pictures, the woman decided to sell a gold necklace with a small emerald and a postcard that Musk gave her for her birthday in December 1994. "

Happy birthday, Jennifer (also known as Boo Boo). Love Elon, "Elon wrote on congratulatory paper.

Gwynn is going to help out from the sale of pictures at least $10 thousand. The photos will be at the RR Auction until September 14, 2022.^[2]

1999: Sale of interest in Zip2 for $22 million

Zip2 was purchased by a computer company Compaq in 1999, which was then a leading supplier of PC systems. The amount of the transaction for the sale of Zip2 amounted to 307 million. dollars Elon's stake is $22 million.

2000: Investment in X.com, which was later sold to eBay as part of PayPal

After the sale of the Zip2, Elon invested 12 million dollars to create a financial services company, X.com. In early 2000, X.com merged with its rival Confinity and was renamed PayPal. As a majority shareholder, Musk was ousted from his role as CEO amid a protracted boardroom spat. Then PayPal accepted an offer to buy from eBay in July 2002. After the 1.5 billion deal took place, Musk received a net income of $165 million.

2001: Announcement of a flight plan to Mars and a failed attempt to buy a rocket in Russia

In 2001, Musk voiced the idea of ​ ​ conquering space and flying on. Mars Musk came Russia to in order to buy a launch vehicle. Negotiations have stalled. After the visit, Musk announced the need to create his own engine.

2002: SpaceX's Creation and Suspiciously Quick Success

In 2002, a company was created, SpaceX the leadership of which Musk transferred to Tom Muller, who had previously led the development of a hydrogen engine in the military company TRW, which later entered the military holding. Northrop Grumman The public is convinced that within five minutes, the vice president of the largest contractor, Pentagon working on the most promising hydrogen engine project funded NASA Ministry of Defence USA and just going to the'garage' to Elon Musk and starting working on an oxygen-kerosene engine, which is a much lower stage of evolution in rocket science.

Tom Mueller doesn't cross alone. He brings with him a team of talented engineers (who have access to classified information), brings some secret technology and information that can be patented. And all this happens easily and at ease without any serious consequences for SpaceX.

The SpaceX team led by Tom Muller managed to make their Merlin engine in less than 4 years. For reference: building a rocket engine from scratch requires several years of scientific development, hundreds of prototypes and many cyclic tests.

Musk subsequently stated that the design of the Russian engine is RD-180 flawless, and pointed to gaps in rocket science for giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Public reproaches to the giants of American rocket science were voiced by the owner of a relatively small, at that time, startup. And they were quite reasonable, since the US Congress in 2014 banned the purchase of Russian engines, but a year later the ban was lifted due to the lack of an alternative in the United States. This suggests that building a rocket engine is challenging, even with unlimited material, human and financial resources.

But Musk has more than just one development. He immediately introduced to the public the Merlin engine, the Falcon launch vehicle and the control system, fully interfaced with the launch site systems at Cape Canaveral and the systems of the launch complex of the US Air Force Base Vandenberg. It is unrealistic to design a control system that includes hundreds of control channels through an electronic interface, pipelines, pneumatics and hydraulics, without having full access to classified military documentation, the Rybar channel wrote.

This was followed by five Falcon 1 missile launches, of which two successful were paid for by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA).

Following the departure of Tom Mueller and the TRW takeover, defense giant Northrop Grumman sued SpaceX for profiting from TRW's intellectual property. This was due to the transition to work at SpaceX of a team of engineers who had previously worked at TRW and the use of their experience and knowledge. But a small stratap manages to defend its position in court, and settle the lawsuit. Given the completely different weight categories and administrative resources of the companies, the settlement looked extremely unusual.

2014: Revolutionary Technology Forecasts

2017: Net worth $16.6 billion

In 2017, the fortune is 16.6 billion. dollars

2018

Tesla shares crash after Musk smokes marijuana live

On the evening of September 6, 2018, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, smoked marijuana live, which caused a 9% collapse in the company's shares on the morning of September 7. Read more here.

A fine of $20 million for deception during the privatization of the company

In late September 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a pre-trial agreement concluded with Elon Musk. The businessman agreed to pay a fine of $20 million and leave the post of chairman of the board of directors of Tesla Motors after deception with the privatization of the company. At the same time, he will remain as CEO of the electric car manufacturer.

In addition to these requirements, Tesla must appoint two new independent directors. Another point of the agreements involves the introduction of additional control and monitoring measures over Musk's messages.

In August 2018, Elon Musk announced his readiness to buy back Tesla shares at a price of $420 apiece, but later abandoned the idea. According to the SEC, when the entrepreneur wrote about support for the buyout from the investor he found, he misled Tesla shareholders. The commission concluded that the head of Tesla had no reason to make such statements. In addition, Musk could manipulate the price of the company's shares by issuing false information.

The pre-trial settlement of the proceedings contributed to the rise in Tesla quotes by more than 18% on Monday, October 1, 2018. Thus, the shares won back the fall on Friday, September 28, when the SEC announced the initiation of a case against Elon Musk. The consent of the head of Tesla to resign as chairman of the board of directors and pay a fine was announced after the exchange closed on September 28, so that day the decision could not affect Tesla quotes.^[3]

Meanwhile, Tesla's board of directors supported the head of the company in his confrontation with the authorities.

Tesla and the board have full confidence in Elon, his integrity and his leadership in the company, which led to the creation of the most successful American car company in more than a century, the official statement said.

Tesla refuses to pay Musk without increasing company value

Tesla announced in early 2018 a plan to pay remuneration to its CEO Elon Musk. According to this plan, Musk will not receive anything if the company does not systematically increase its value. Remuneration to the general director will be paid only when Tesla's capitalization will overcome the next milestone^[4].

2019

Elon Musk presented President of Belarus Lukashenko with an electric car

In early September 2019, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that Elon Musk gave him an electric car. Read more here.

US media: Elon Musk fooled investors and deceived taxpayers

At the end of August 2019, Vanity Fair magazine published a large article in which the interlocutors of the publication accuse Elon Musk of giving empty promises, fooling investors and deceiving taxpayers.

One former Tesla employee, who fell under the reduction, contemptuously declared: "He is a flutter." This employee repeatedly asked Musk where the $750 million of taxpayers that New York State transferred to his company as part of the Buffalo Billion program went to revive the upstate and provide new jobs. "You gave us hope for change."

In public, Musk rarely mentions Tesla's Buffalo plant, a controversial side venture of his grandiose brother. Tesla bought the main tenant of the SolarCity plant for almost $5 billion in 2016. The plan was to turn the plant into the largest solar cell facility in the Western Hemisphere. SolarCity was to produce 10,000 solar panels a day and install them in homes and businesses across the country. To carry out such a plan, it would take a lot of new jobs that the state needed so much.

However, dreams were not destined to come true. Although SolarCity has promised to create 1,460 new jobs at the plant, only 329 people are employed there. In addition, suspicions arose that Tesla acquired SolarCity at the expense of its own shareholders, and a subsidy from taxpayers in the amount of $750 million sank into oblivion. More and more questions arise about SolarCity products. So, Walmart sued Tesla for violating the terms of the contract, saying that the solar panels installed in seven stores ignited, causing huge damage.

The fact is that the initial success of the company hid difficult realities. All of Musk's new endeavors, including the SolarCity plant, required raising money from external investors, often large banks, who were then entitled to the first part of the company's income. As a result, SolarCity was in a financial hole. Musk's promises to turn this plant into a large-scale project were not backed by real technology. On the SolarCity website, Musk predicted he would "achieve a breakthrough" in solar pricing thanks to "significant economies of scale." Although the company's board was concerned, Musk had a reputation as a genius for manufacturing and was trusted.

Thanks to Musk's grandiose promises, the state allocated $350 million for the construction of the plant and another $400 million for equipment. The company received a 10-year lease on the facility for just $1 a year. In exchange, SolarCity promised to hire at least 1,460 people for high-tech jobs at the plant and 2,000 more to sell and install solar panels. But SolarCity's debt has skyrocketed, its bond yields have hit lows and executives have begun to leave the doomed event. To keep the plant afloat, Musk bought its $75 million bonds, borrowing from Tesla. He also used his reputation to support the plant's position in the market: in February 2016, when SolarCity shares fell to their lowest in three years, Musk bought $10 million worth of shares, raising their value by almost 25%.

As a result, realizing that SolarCity, which was run by Musk's relatives and friends, faces inevitable collapse, he forced the Tesla board of directors to buy out the plant. However, together with the plant, Tesla acquired a lot of debts and extremely weak production, which could not cope with its tasks. Of course, if Musk hadn't bailed out SolarCity, his entire debt-ridden empire would probably just have collapsed. But the purchase has weakened Tesla, and Musk, meanwhile, continues to feed investors with promises.^[5]

2020

Putin called Evgeny Kaspersky Russian Elon Musk

In early March 2020, Vladimir Putin in an interview with TASS called Evgeny Kaspersky Russian Ilon Mask. So the head of state answered the question of who in Russia can be the same role model as the founder of Tesla. Read more here.

Los Angeles transfers 1,255 Philips and Medtronic ventilators

On March 24, 2020, it became known that more than 1,200 artificial lung ventilation devices (IVL) were received from the American businessman Elon Mask by the California authorities. Read more here.

Mask's free ventilators turned out to be useless for seriously ill patients with COVID-19

In early April 2020, it became known that free ventilators, donated Elon Musk To Los Angeles and, turned out To New York to be useless for seriously ill patients with. COVID-19 Judging by the photo taken in one of the hospitals, the devices acquired by Musk are not at all IVL systems - these are just BPAP, two-phase ventilation devices with positive pressure in the respiratory tract. They are used to treat sleep apnea by maintaining constant breathing at night. More. here

Decision to sell two homes in Los Angeles

In May 2020, Elon Musk put up for sale two of his Los Angeles houses with a total value of $40 million.

Musk and his companies own a minimum of seven residential properties, most of which are located in Los Angeles.

Musk attributed his impulse to dedicating himself to Mars and not wanting a property that pulls him down. At the same time, the businessman does not need money and the reason for the sale is not connected with this in any way, Musk claims.

Recognition in sympathy for the Russian language

On May 23, 2020, Elon Musk admitted to sympathy in the Russian language. He did this in comments on the social network Twitter.

One of the users posted a photo of wheat bread on Twitter and accompanied it with the caption:

The last astronaut of this week, the wheat highest grade. How do you like that, Elon Musk?

I really like the sound of the Russian language, "Musk replied in Russian.

After that, the billionaire received many comments from Russian-speaking users.

He has not heard our slang yet, - wrote a user under the pseudonym Miss AngShire.

When the cancer whistles on the mountain, "Musk replied, falling flat  .

This was followed by jokes from Musk's followers. One of them asked if the head of Tesla would build a plant in Russia if Moscow was renamed "Muskow." A user with the nickname Tesla Facts joked that in Russian Moscow is already pronounced "Musk-wa," that is, consonant with his last name.^[6]

This is not the first time a businessman has written on Twitter in Russian. So, earlier he scolded the former US Secretary of Labor  Robert Reich with an "idiot" in Russian.

This happened after Reich  reacted to an article in The Washington Post, which spoke about Musk's threats to move production from California to Texas and Nevada, as Alamida County authorities banned the company from working due to coronavirus-related restrictions. The former minister decided that "Musk threatens to take jobs from people if he is not allowed to risk their health." In response, the billionaire first called Reich an "idiot" in Russian, and then apologized  and noted that he wanted to write a "boring idiot."

In April 2019, Elon Musk was asked whether it was true that he was working on space exploration, as he was seeking the arrival of representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations on Earth. "Where are the aliens?" Musk replied. To another user's remark that aliens live beneath the surface of Mars, he wrote: "This is where the dog is buried." Musk used the following phrase in one of the discussions: "They say that chickens are milked."

Sale of a house near Los Angeles for $29 million

In June 2020, Elon Musk sold his home in the prestigious Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air for $29 million.

The buyer was a company associated with the Chinese billionaire businessman and founder of NetEase, William Lay Dean.

In May, Elon Musk announced his intention to sell almost all of his physical property, including real estate.

I sell almost all physical property. I won't have my own home, ― he wrote on Twitter.

Sale of four homes in Los Angeles

In early July 2020, it became known about Elon Musk's decision to sell four houses in Los Angeles. On this, the founder and CEO of Tesla will be able to earn about $62.5 million.

Musk agreed to sell the homes to developer Arya Chalon, LLC, which is owned by businessman and designer Ardi Tawangarian.

Arya Chalon, LLC will combine the real estate portfolio into a new single project to make it truly unique, the developer said in a statement.

According to Business Insider, Musk once owned seven houses in the United States, their total value was about $100 million. In the period from 2015 to 2019, the entrepreneur paid a total of $55 million for the purchase of four houses.

Reports that Elon Musk began selling his homes appeared after a series of his controversial statements that the businessman made on his Twitter blog. One of them was:

I don't need money. I dedicate myself to Mars and Earth. The property just pulls you down, "the businessman said after the statement about plans to sell all his real estate.

It is curious that Elon Musk did not resort to the help of realtors and decided to sell the houses with his own efforts, posting ads on the Zillow website (the American analogue of Avito). It reported that the property was being sold by the owner. This is very unusual for such expensive lots.

Among the homes Musk sold are historic properties owned by the late actor Gene Wilder. In one of his "tweets," Musk said that this house "cannot be demolished." The 260sqm property includes a five-bedroom house, a swimming pool and a guest cottage. The seller asked for $9.5 million for him.

Another lot is a manor on a hill with panoramic views for $30 million. The house was built in 1990, was subsequently reconstructed.^[7]

State growth by 3.5 times in 8 months to $100 billion

By the end of August 2020, Elon Musk's fortune has grown more than 3.5 times since the beginning of the year and for the first time exceeded $100 billion .

As of August 27, Musk's fortune is estimated at $101 billion. At the same time, at the beginning of the year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI), it was at around 27.4 billion.

No. 3 on the list of the richest people on the planet: $120 billion

In November 2020, Elon Musk rose to third place in the list of the richest people in the world. Musk's fortune grew by $10.2 billion dollars at the end of the trading day on November 18 - to $120 billion.

Zuckerberg dropped to fourth place, losing just over $1 billion in a day. Now its capital is estimated at $103 billion.

In first place in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, his fortune is $183 billion. In second place is Microsoft founder Bill Gates with a capital of $128 billion.

Moving from Silicon Valley to Texas

In early December 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he had moved from Silicon Valley to Texas. His move coincided with a massive exodus of startups from California due to the beginning of the pandemic and the expansion of remote work opportunities.

Musk's move coincided with the moment his company SpaceX developed its new Starship and a new Gigafactory Tesla was being built in Austin.

In an interview with CNBC, Musk noted that his personal move to Tesla and SpaceX's business will not affect in any way yet, and the companies will maintain their production base in Silicon Valley. Although Musk spent a significant part of his life in California, he has recently often criticized local laws and regulations. He spent a lot of time in Texas before that, as the Boring Company office and SpaceX launch pad are located in this state. In addition, Tesla plans to build a new car plant in Texas, and it is now under development.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise also announced that it plans to move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Texas, and earlier in 2020, Palantir Technologies moved its headquarters from California to Denver. Musk believes tech companies will continue to leave California:

I believe Silicon Valley's influence will gradually decline.

The entrepreneur considers the statistics of California sad, because once more than twelve car assembly enterprises functioned in the state, and now only Tesla carries out such activities. SpaceX, an aerospace company founded by Musk, has also lost its competitors in California.

Probably California scared off Musk with high taxes and strict regulatory policies. So, in Texas there is no state income tax, and in California the income of Musk, who has already become the second richest man in the world, would be taxed at a rate of 13.3%.^[8]

Texas is Tesla's USA third-largest market in after California and Florida, despite years of opposition from car dealers to its direct-selling model.

2021

Elon Musk is the richest man on Earth

In early January 2021, Elon Musk became the richest man on. To the earth His fortune by January 11 is estimated at $209 billion (given Bloomberg by Billionaires Index) against $186 billion from the head, Amazon Jeff Bezos who was previously the richest planet. The chapter Tesla SpaceX took first place on January 7, and a few days later he strengthened his leadership. Bloomberg closed the top 3 rating ($134 Bill Gates billion).

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is calculated in real time based on the share value of companies in which billionaires have shares. In total, the rating includes the 500 richest people in the world.

According to Forbes, the fortune of Musk and Bezos by January 11, 2021 is $189.7 billion and $185.7 billion, respectively.

Musk reacted skeptically to the news of his leadership on the size of the fortune, writing on a Twitter blog that it was "strange and he needs to get back to work."

At the beginning of 2020, Elon Musk's fortune was estimated at $27 billion. Over the year, the indicator grew by about $150 billion (the increase was the most in Bill Gates' fortune, the TV channel notes CNBC), which was largely facilitated by the rapid rise in Tesla quotes - the shares of the electric car manufacturer went up more than 9 times over the year. Musk became the richest man after Tesla securities rose another 8% on January 7, 2021, and the company's market capitalization reached more than $760 billion.

Elon Musk in early January 2021 announced that in the near future he would sell all his property, transferring it to money, in order to speed up the preparation of a flight to Mars with the further colonization of the Red Planet. According to the businessman, he does not need real estate - he can sleep in the office at the Tesla factory. His children need a house, but he can rent it, for this it is not necessary to be the owner.^[9]

The start of the construction of the city of Starbase in Texas

In early March 2021, Elon Musk announced the construction of his own city in Texas. The entrepreneur plans to name the village Starbase (Eng. "Star base"). Read more here.

Admission of Asperger's syndrome

In May 2021, Elon Musk admitted to having Asperger's syndrome. This is a mental disorder that is characterized by pronounced difficulties in social communication, perception of the world around it, and a stereotypical, repetitive set of interests and activities.

My speech today is historic, as I will become the first host of SNL with [Asperger syndrome]. Or at least the first person to admit it... Look, I know that sometimes I say and write strange things, that's how my brain works. To everyone I've offended, I want to say the following. I reinvented electric cars and send people to Mars, did you think I would be a calm and normal dude? "Musk said on NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedy telecast.

He noted that, among other things, he writes quite ambiguous things on Twitter, but "that's how his brain works."

Elon Musk is known for his extraordinary behavior, his statements on social networks more than once led to strong fluctuations in Tesla's stock price and cost him hundreds of millions of dollars himself.

During the show, Musk also took part in several sketches, which are traditionally played in front of a live audience by actors from the permanent SNL troupe and guest stars. The musical guest of the release was American singer, songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus.

According to Forbes, a few days after Elon Musk participated in a TV show, during which the businessman admitted to having Asperger's syndrome, his fortune decreased by $20.5 billion. By May 13, it amounted to $145.5 billion, which, however, allowed Musk to remain in the top three richest people on the planet.

In fact, the head of Tesla is not the first host of the show with such a diagnosis. In 2003, the former TV show participant actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd, who repeatedly talked about having Asperger's syndrome, became the host of one of the Saturday Night Live episodes, the Daily Beast notes.^[10]

California home sale

In June 2021, it became known that Elon Musk was selling his house in California.

Lower value of California home sale

In mid-October 2021, it became known that Elon Musk reduced the value of his last house in California. The businessman rented this mansion for events.

The house of the founder and head of Tesla in the Bay Area with an area of ​ ​ 1.4 thousand square meters was offered for $31.99 million, which is about $5.5 million less than the previous price. Elon Musk, whose own fortune by October 13, 2021 exceeds $225 billion, wrote on the social network in June 2021 that he had decided to sell the last of his houses.

The Hillsborough home lists seven bedrooms and ten bathrooms on a 19-hectare property for October 13, 2021. Built in 1916, it includes a library and music hall, as well as a fully restored kitchen and private swimming pool. Elon Musk said in June 2021 that the house was being rented out for events and that if he sold, it would be more beneficial if a big family bought the house.

A week earlier, the billionaire announced that Tesla would move its headquarters to Austin, citing high home prices and long travel times in the San Francisco Bay Area as limiting the company's growth. Elon Musk did not mention his clash with local health officials, who in 2020 temporarily blocked his efforts to open a Tesla plant in the city of Fremont^[11].

Fortune exceeded $300 billion - world record

At the end of October 2021, Elon Musk turned out to be the first person in history whose fortune exceeded $300 billion. This happened against the background of the rapid growth of quotations of Tesla Motors, which the businessman founded and heads.

According to the TV channel CNBC , citing the Bloomberg Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is updated in real time taking into account the company's quotations, on October 28, 2021, Musk's fortune reached $302 billion, and on October 30 - $311 billion. This is more than, for example, an annual, GDP Finland or Chile. Vietnam

As of November 1, 2021, Tesla's stock price is $1,114, up 17.2% from five days earlier. Over the month, the automaker's securities have risen in price by almost 44%, according to data from the Nasdaq exchange. At the end of October 2021, the share price of companies soared thanks to the announcement of a deal with Hertz - the rental giant decided to purchase 100 thousand Tesla electric vehicles for $4.2 billion. Thanks to this contract, Tesla's market capitalization for the first time exceeded $1 trillion.

By October 30, 2021, Elon Musk was significantly, one and a half times, ahead of the second richest man on the planet - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($195 billion).

According to Forbes, by November 1, 2021, Elon Musk's fortune is $292.6 billion against $195.9 billion from the following Jeff Bezos. The head of Amazon is the owner of the previous record state - at the peak of the growth of the value of Amazon, the entrepreneur's capital reached $212 billion.

The bulk of Elon Musk's fortune is a 21% stake in Tesla. He also owns a minority stake  in SpaceX. In February 2021, investors during the financing round valued this company at $74 billion^[12]

Sale of 10% of its stake in Tesla for $14 billion

In December 2021, Elon Musk said that he had sold enough Tesla shares recently, thereby fulfilling his promise to sell 10% of his stake in Tesla.

According to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on December 21, Musk exercised options for the purchase of 2 million shares and sold about 584 thousand securities. In total, Musk has sold shares for more than $14 billion since November 8.

2022

Elon Musk refused to block Russian media: "I am a supporter of absolute freedom of speech"

The head of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk, refused to block Russian news sources, despite the pressure on him.

Some states have (not) Ukraine demanded to Starlink block the Russian news sources. We won't do that unless at gunpoint. Sorry, but I am a supporter of absolute freedom of speech, "Musk said in. social networks Twitter

Buying a 9.2% stake in Twitter worth $3 billion

On April 4, 2022, it became known that Elon Musk acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter and became the largest shareholder in the platform. The cost of this package is estimated at $3 billion. Read more here.

The richest man in the world. Net worth $219 billion

In April 2022, Elon Musk first topped the Forbes world list, overtaking Jeff Bezos, who was recognized as the richest man in the world for 4 years.

Over the year, Musk's fortune increased by $68 billion, to $219 billion, Bezos's fortune decreased by $6 billion, to $171 billion.

Plan to fully buy Twitter for $44 billion

On April 14, 2022, Twitter shares jumped 12% in premarket trading after Elon Musk offered to fully buy out the company. The richest man in the world said he was ready to pay $54.2 per paper - almost 20% more expensive than they cost at the close of previous trading.

On the same day, Saudi Prince Al-Walid ibn Talal, Twitter's largest shareholder, rejected Elon Musk's offer to buy the social network.

"I don't think Musk's proposal matches the true cost of Twitter given the prospects for its development," he wrote.

On April 25, 2022, it became known that Elon Musk nevertheless persuaded the main holders of Twitter shares to sell the company. 100% of the shares will cost the billionaire $44 billion. Earlier, Musk aggressively bought up shares that were freely available, and Twitter, resisting an unfriendly takeover, used the so-called. "Poisoned pill": the release of additional shares, which at a large discount go to top management and key shareholders to blur the share of the attacking side. However, as you can see, Musk was able to break the resistance/

During the 2020 presidential election in the United States, the billionaire actively supported Donald Trump. Twitter, in turn, was one of the key platforms for Trumpists. However, towards the end of the race, the administration of the service decided that Joe Biden was nicer to her, after reports of numerous falsifications in favor of Biden, both the then president himself and thousands of his supporters who replicated this information fell under the ban.

In the case of buying a social network, we are also not talking about economics, but about politics. After the deal closes, Twitter will become a private company whose management will only answer to Musk. The billionaire buys a powerful media resource on the eve of the congressional elections and 2 years before the next presidential election. Probably, he regards the social network as a counterweight to Facebook, which has finally turned into an appendage to the press service of the Democratic Party. The White House has already raised its concerns about the deal.

Interestingly, Trump is not going to return to Twitter yet. This is also understandable, firstly, Trump plans to return to the presidency, does not want to become overly dependent on Musk, who, although an ally, plays his games. Secondly, the deal has not yet been closed and it will have to pass approval in the antimonopoly department. And here difficulties may arise: antitrust officers can delay the process so that Musk becomes a full-fledged owner of the service only after 2024.

Raising $700 million in investments from the company of a Russian businessman to buy Twitter

In June 2022, it became known that the investment company Vy Capital, which belongs to Russian businessman Alexander Tamas, allocated about $700 million to Ilona Musk to buy the social network Twitter. Read more here.

Stop buying Twitter over Putin's May 9 speech

On May 13, 2022, Elon Musk announced the suspension of the process of buying Twitter. Against the background of this statement, the shares of the social network fell significantly - at the peak, the fall in quotations reached 26% in preliminary trading. Read more here.

In September 2022, it became known that Elon Musk's decision to postpone the purchase Twitter was made due to the president's speech Russia Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Victory Day. This was written by Business Insider. More. here

Not buying Twitter

In July 2022, Elon Musk canceled a deal to buy Twitter, saying the company had made "misleading statements" about the number of spambots on the service.

Twitter intends to sue in connection with the termination by Elon Musk of the deal to acquire it, the chairman of the board of directors said.

Twitter sues Elon Musk for refusing to buy social network

Twitter, which owns the social network of the same name, went to court to force billionaire Elon Musk to complete a deal to buy the company. This became known on July 13, 2022. Read more here.

Tesla stock sale for $6.9 billion

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk sold 7.9 million shares of the company for a total of $6.9 billion. It follows from them that Musk sold shares from August 5 to 9, after the annual meeting of Tesla shareholders, which was held on August 4 in Austin (Texas). This became known on August 10, 2022.

According to Bloomberg estimates, over the past ten months, the businessman has sold Tesla shares worth about $32 billion. The previous time - at the end of April, then it was about a package of $8.4 billion. The head of Tesla after that said that he no longer plans to sell securities.

As of August 9, 2022, the volume of Tesla securities owned by Musk is $155 million^[13] to^[14].

Proposals for a plan for resolving the conflict in Ukraine

On October 3, 2022, Elon Musk proposed his vision for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. He listed four points of the "Ukrainian-Russian world" and invited users to express their attitude to the project:

• Hold a referendum on the regions of Ukraine annexed to Russia under the supervision of the UN.
• Crimea remains part of Russia ("as it has been since 1783, before Khrushchev's mistake").
• Guarantees of water supply to Crimea
• Ukraine remains a country with neutral status.

Soon after, Elon Musk launched a new survey in which he proposed his own version of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, asking whether the residents of Donbass and Crimea should decide for themselves "whether they are part of Russia or Ukraine."

Tesla shares tumbled nearly 9% after the offer.

In the following publication, Elon Musk wrote:

"Russia is partially mobilizing. They will move on to full military mobilization if Crimea is threatened. The number of casualties on both sides will be catastrophic.

The population of Russia is 3 times the population of Ukraine, so Ukraine's victory in an all-out war is unlikely. If you care about the people of Ukraine, look for peace. "

Buying Twitter for $44 billion and appointing head of the company

American businessman Elon Musk nevertheless agreed to buy Twitter for an initial cost of 44 billion (dollars 54.2 for dollar one ordinary share). This became known on October 5, 2022. More. here

In October 2022, Elon Musk closed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and took over the company.

Skirmish with Garry Kasparov

To chess player Garry Kasparov's rebuke that "someone sitting in the comfort of their mansions in Silicon Valley is telling Ukraine how to do their own business," Elon Musk replied: "Although it's true that Kasparov plays chess almost as well as my iPhone, otherwise he's an idiot. And I don't even have a house, let alone a'mansion', a jerk. "

Publication of internal files with the requirements of the US President Biden's team to delete posts from Twitter

In December 2022, Elon Musk posted internal Twitter files, which say that the team of US President Biden demanded to repeatedly delete posts from the social network. Twitter's previous team agreed to remove them and executed the errands.

Among the posts deleted by Twitter were files related to Biden's son, photos from his phone - drugs and erotic content. Also, due to the story of the lost laptop of the son of the President of the United States, the New York Post was blocked on Twitter. This was reported in an investigation involving Elon Musk.

Fortune - $175 billion; 1st in the Bloomberg ranking

On December 12, 2022, Bloomberg updated the ranking of the richest people on the planet. In it, Elon Musk took first place with a fortune of $175 billion. Read more here.

Sale of 22 million Tesla shares for $3.58 billion

Elon Musk sold Tesla shares worth $3.58 billion between December 12 and 14, 2022, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In total, during this period, he sold 22 million shares of the company, cites data from MarketWatch documents.

Reduction in wealth for the year by $200 billion

Elon Musk's fortune has decreased from the end of 2021 to the end of 2022 by more than $200 billion, the largest amount that a person has ever lost in world history.

2023

Musk hired ex-AI laboratory employee Igor Babushkin for a new artificial intelligence developer

In mid-April 2023, American entrepreneur Elon Musk created X.AI, which will research and develop in the field of AI. The company is registered in Nevada. Read more here.

Tweet fraud case over possible Tesla buyout

In January 2023, it became known that Elon Musk would stand trial in a securities fraud case due to tweets in 2018 in which he announced a possible buyout of Tesla for $72 billion. As a result, the buyout did not take place, and Musk's tweets provoked a rise in Tesla stock prices.

Tesla shareholders sued Musk. As a result, he was found not guilty by a jury in federal court in San Francisco on February 4, 2023.

Accusations of Deputy Secretary of State Nuland in the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine

Elon Musk in February 2023 accused US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of escalating hostilities in Ukraine after her words that military bases in Crimea are legitimate targets for Kyiv.

"No one drowned for this war more than Nuland," Musk wrote on Twitter, commenting on the Newsweek article with Nuland's words.

Move to Twitter CTO

Linda Yakkarino became the new CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk said on May 12, 2023. Musk himself moved to the position of technical director.

Comparison of Soros to a mutant who wants to destroy civilization

In May 2023, Elon Musk harshly commented on rumors about the death of George Soros, which were later denied.

Musk compared Soros to one of the main villains of the Marvel universe Marvell of the mutant Magneto, obsessed with the idea of ​ ​ superiority of mutants over humans.

"He wants to destroy the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity. "

Elon Musk takes ketamine

According to the Wall Street Journal, billionaire Elon Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, uses ketamine, an NMDA antagonist used as a drug for anesthesia in medicine. This substance is also used as an analgesic. It is noted that Musk takes ketamine in small doses to fight depression, as well as at various "social events." Moreover, Musk himself, referring to the experience of "friends," said that "ketamine, taken from time to time, is a better option" than traditional drugs for depression. At the same time, Elon Musk opposed the "zombification of people with SSRIs" - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These are third-generation antidepressants designed to treat anxiety disorders and depression. Read more here.

Building a new AI company to 'understand the true nature of the universe'

On July 12, 2023, billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced the creation of a new company called xAI, which will develop in the field of artificial intelligence. Read more here.

Sharp condemnation of US deliveries of cluster munitions to Ukraine

"The US is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine in despair, unsuccessfully trying to change the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine and humiliating itself," Elon Musk wrote on Twitter on July 16, 2023.

"America has always condemned as evil those who use cluster bombs, and now we are sending them for use? Nothing good will come of it. Fate loves irony but hates hypocrisy, "Musk wrote.

In the comments under the post, he also indicated that Russia has at least 4 times more artillery and 10 times more ammunition than Kyiv.

"We have run out of normal ammunition to send to Ukraine, so now send them cluster bombs in despair, humiliating yourself without changing the result," Musk summed up.

After his statement caused a scandal in the media and social networks, he began to delete tweets.

Support for accusations of hatred of Jewish communities towards white people and Asians

In November 2023, amid Israel's genocide of Palestinians, Musk backed a post accusing Jews of spreading hatred against whites.

As the post of the user under the nickname 'The Artist Formally Known as Eric' read: 'Jewish communities incite exactly the type of dialectical hatred towards whites that they claim they want people to stop using against them'.

In his comment under the post, Musk wrote: 'Actually you told the truth.' He supplemented the post with words that the Anti-Defamation League - an organization that fights anti-Semitism - is unfairly attacking the West, given that the majority in the West supports Jews and the state of Israel. He believes the ADL 'promotes racism against white people'. "I am deeply offended by the statements of the ADL and any other groups that de facto promote anti-white racism, anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind," Musk commented. 'I'm sick of it. Stop now. "

2024

The media told what drugs Elon Musk uses

On January 6, 2023, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article in which it reported on the use of illegal drugs by Elon Musk. According to the publication, the founder and CEO of Tesla attended closed private parties around the world, at which he used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. Participants in such meetings sign non-disclosure agreements and hand over their phones at the entrance, the publication says.

According to WSJ, this behavior of a businessman causes concern among some top managers of Ilona Mask companies - they fear a negative impact on the image of the business and the dynamics of quotations. According to people close to Musk, by the beginning of January 2024, the entrepreneur continues to use narcotic substances, especially ketamine.

The WSJ said that Musk's colleagues and friends were accustomed to his harsh statements, but at the end of 2017, changes were noticed in his behavior at a corporate event. Then hundreds of SpaceX employees waited about an hour for the entrepreneur, and when he nevertheless went on stage, his speech was slurred. Those present claim that the businessman "mumbled incoherently" for about 15 minutes, after which the initiative was seized by the company's president Gwynne Shotwell.

Elon Musk himself, commenting on the publication of the WSJ, denied accusations of drug use. According to him, sample tests for three years already show the absence of traces of not only drugs in his body, but also alcohol. The billionaire wrote about this on his page on the social network X (former Twitter).

After that only puff with Rogan, I agreed at the request of NASA to undergo three years of selective drug testing. Not even traces of drugs or alcohol were found, "Musk said.[15]

Increase stake in Tesla to 20.5%

In February 2024, it became known that Tesla founder Elon Musk increased his stake in the company by more than one and a half times - to 20.5%. The billionaire owns 411.06 million ordinary shares of the electric car manufacturer, as well as options for the purchase of 303.96 million shares. Read more here.

Personal life

Hair transplant

Main article: Hair transplant

Musk began to lose his hair at an early age: it all started with characteristic bald patches on his forehead and temples. Elon got rich, but this did not convince him to stay: baldness went to the top of his head.

Experts are convinced that the businessman made as many as two transplants. The first was performed according to the FUT method, when skin flaps are transplanted from the back of the head (in some photos, journalists saw a scar from the operation).

2018: Romance with singer Grimes

Since 2018, Elon Musk has been dating American singer Grimes. In January 2020, the couple announced that Grimes was expecting a child.

2020: The Birth of a Sixth Child

On May 4, 2020, Elon Musk announced the birth of his son. The founder of SpaceX and Tesla Motors became a father for the sixth time.

A few hours ago. Mom and child are fine, "Musk wrote on his Twitter blog.

When the entrepreneur was asked about what he would name the child, Musk offered the "X Æ A-12 Musk" option.

This is the first child of Canadian singer Grimes (Claire Alice Boucher), with whom Musk did not formalize an official marriage. Musk also has five children from his first marriage (lasting eight years) with Justine Wilson.

For the second time, Musk married actress Talula Riley, but this marriage did not last long. After that, Elon Musk had an affair with the scandalous Amber Heard. True, this relationship could not stand the test of work. Despite this, they broke up as friends.

As for Grimes, in March 2020  she starred for the digital cover of Garage Magazine and gave an interview, where she spoke about her latest album, pregnancy and the decision to give birth to a child. She promised that she would not stop working on new material even after the birth of a child.

In early 2020, Grimes posted nude photos on Twitter and Instagram, which, presumably, hinted at pregnancy. The pictures caused a lot of excitement online.

In early May 2020, Elon Musk sent Tesla shares to the fall with one "tweet." "Tesla stock price too high imho," he wrote . After this post, the automaker's shares fell 9.35% to $708.77. At the moment, their cost dropped to $683.04.

 On the same evening, Musk published several more recordings of ambiguous content. He stated that he was selling all the property and he would not have his own house, and also demanded to return freedom to people and said that his girlfriend, the Grimes singer, was angry with him.^[16]

2021

Breaking up with singer Grimes

Singer Grimes and Elon Musk broke up in September 2021, but maintained a warm relationship and often see each other.

The Birth of Twins

In early July 2022, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and the richest man in the world became the father of twins in 2021. Mother is Siobhan Zilis, director of special projects at the Neuralink company he founded.

According to Business Insider, it is known that the twins were born in November 2021. Siobhan Zylis petitioned to change the names of the two children to legally take the surname Musk, and use the name Zylis as a middle name. On April 25, 2022, papers were filed with the court to change their names, based on the fact that Elon Musk recognized these children and gave his last name. In May 2022, approval was obtained, making the twins the 9th and 10th children in the Musk clan.

Siobhan Zilis holds the position of Director of Operations and Special Projects at a neurotechnological company, Neuralink is engaged in implanting patients' brains using machine technology. For July 2022, Elon Musk is the co-founder and CEO of Neuralink.

Zilis and Musk have been working together since April 2016, when Siobhan Zilis became an adviser at OpenAI. Zilis then worked for both Tesla and Neuralink. At Neuralink, Zylis is developing an implantable computer chip for the human brain. She previously worked for Bloomberg venture capital fund as well as IBM.

{{quote 'Doing my best to help the overpopulation crisis! Falling birth rates are the biggest danger facing civilization! I hope you will have big families, and congratulations to those who already have them, "said Tesla Motors Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. }} Musk already has seven children for July 2022: five with ex-wife Justin Wilson and two with former lover, singer Grimes. Moreover, the youngest daughter from Grimes was born a few weeks after twins from Siobhan Zilis were born.^[17]

An affair with Nicole Shanahan - the wife of Sergei Brin

In the fall of 2021, Elon Musk entered into a short love affair with the wife of Sergei Brin, which prompted the co-founder of Google to file for divorce in early 2022 and ended the long friendship of billionaires. This newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) became known at the end of July 2022 from informed sources. At the time of publication, Musk is the richest businessman in the world according to Forbes, whose fortune is estimated at $253.4 billion. Brin ranks 10th ($89.9 billion). Read more here.

2022

Ex-SpaceX employee accused Musk of sexual harassment and received $250,000

In May 2022, it became known that SpaceX paid a former employee $250,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed with the founder of the company, Elon Musk, in 2018.

The woman worked as a flight attendant at SpaceX's corporate jet fleet. According to the documents, she admitted to her friend that after getting a job, she was advised to get a masseuse license to massage Musk.

According to the victim, in 2016, during a flight on Gulfstream G650ER Musk invited her to a private cabin "for a full-body massage." When the woman arrived, Musk "was completely naked, except for the lower half of his body covered with a sheet." During the massage, the plaintiff said in a statement, Musk "exposed his genitals" and then "touched her and offered to buy her a horse (according to Insider, the woman is riding. - RBC) if "does more," referring to sexual intercourse. "

The woman refused, the documents say. After that, after a while, she noticed that the number of her working shifts had sharply decreased.

The case never reached court, since in November 2018 Musk, SpaceX and the plaintiff entered into a severance agreement, according to which she was paid $250,000 in exchange for a promise not to sue.

Son plans to change gender and name to female

In mid-June 2022, the child of American entrepreneur Elon Musk Xavier Alexander Musk filed a petition to change his name in the Los Angeles Supreme Court. Upon reaching the age of 18, the businessman's child stated that he wants to be a girl and refuses to have anything in common with his biological father. Read more here.

Elon Musk also has two children with singer Grimes by June 2022. For June 2022, Musk meets with Australian actress Natasha Bassett.

Notes