100 Elon Musk Untold Facts: How Much Money Does The Tesla, SpaceX Founder Make? Net Worth, Age, Wife, Kids, Bio, Wiki

Biography facts about Elon Musk, the famous American business magnate and one of the world’s richest persons who founded SpaceX, Tesla, Paypal, etc.

KEY FACTS

• Sold first company Zip2 to Compaq in 1999 for $340 million
• Invested a portion of his windfall into X.com
• X.com became Paypal. Paypal sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5b
• Owns 48% of SpaceX which is valued at $46 billion
• Owns 22% of Tesla
• Net Worth increased $142 billion in 2020
• Once testifed that he his “cash poor” and has $500 million worth of debt
• Once owned $100 million worth of real estate
• Sold six LA homes in 2020

Elon Musk called by his real name Elon Reeve Musk FRS is a 50-year-old South African-American entrepreneur and business magnate who is best known as the founder and Chief Engineer at aerospace company SpaceX; early-stage investor, CEO, and Product Architect of electric car company Tesla, Inc.; founder of PayPal, The Boring Company; and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. 

SpaceX had developed rocket stages that were reusable, and were at a far lower cost than competitors, which effectively helped to bring down the costs of rocket launches.

Elon Musk has a net worth of $296.2 billion in November 2021 making him the richest man in the world followed by Jeff Bezos with $210.7 billion.

He received economics and physics degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He became a naturalized American citizen in 2002. 

His brother Kimbal and sister Tosca were CEOs of OneRiot and Musk Entertainment, respectively. In 2000, he married Justine Musk and after having six sons, the couple divorced in 2008. He and actress Talulah Riley were married two separate times. In 2017, he briefly dated actress Amber Heard. Then in 2018, he began dating singer Grimes; the two broke up in 2021. He and Grimes welcomed a son named X Æ A-12 in 2020. 

He was the inspiration for director Jon Favreau’s take on the classic comic book character Tony Stark in the Iron Man film. He appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast. 

How did Elon Musk get his money? What are Elon Musk’s businesses? Who are Elon Musk wives? What are the names of Elon Musk children? Read till the end of this article for answers to these search qeuires and more.

Elon Musk Profile Summary

Check out these interesting facts about Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest businessmen and CEO of Tesla Motor, SpaceX, and SolarCity that everyone must read about…

Elon Musk Biography (Wikipedia, Age, Height, Education, Early Life, Family Life, Personal Life, Wiki, Bio, etc…)

#1. Elon’s real name is Elon Reeve Musk.

#2. Elon Musk was born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa.

#3. Musk was born to a South African father and a Canadian mother. His patents’ names are Errol Musk (father); Maye Musk (mother).

#4. His siblings are Tosca Musk (sister); Kimbal Musk (brother); Lyndon Rive (cousin)

#5. Elon Musk is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and has Cancer as his Zodiac sign.

#6. Elon Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur who cofounded the electronic-payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft. His business are SpaceX; Tesla, Inc.; PayPal, The Boring Company; Neuralink, and OpenAI.

#7. Elon Musk is famous for being an Aerospace Engineer, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Investor, Designer, Businessperson, Investor, Film Producer.

#8. He was also one of the first significant investors in, as well as chief executive officer of, the electric car manufacturer Tesla.

#9. He displayed an early talent for computers and entrepreneurship.

#10. Musk bought his first computer at the age of 10 and taught himself how to program.

#11. When he was 12 he made his first software sale—a game he created called Blaster and sold it to a computer magazine.

#12. At age 17, in 1989, he moved to Canada to attend Queen’s University but left in 1992 to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania.

#13. Musk graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and continued on to earn a second bachelor’s degree in physics then pursued a Ph.D. in energy physics in 1997.

#14. He enrolled in graduate school in physics at Stanford University in California, but he dropped out after only two days because he felt that the Internet had much more potential to change society than work in physics.

#15. In 1988, after obtaining a Canadian passport, Musk left South Africa because he was unwilling to support apartheid through compulsory military service and because he sought the greater economic opportunities available in the United States.

Personal Life (Wives, Girlfriends, Children)

#16. Elon has been married three times, twice to the same woman, and has short-dated two women including an actress.

#17. In 2000, he married Canadian author Justine Wilson Musk and after having six sons, the couple divorced in 2008.

#18. He and actress Talulah Riley were married two separate times: they first got married in 2013, and divorced in 2016 and married again in 2010, and divorced in 2012.

#19. In 2017, he briefly but romantically dated actress Amber Heard.

#20. Then in 2018, he began dating Canadian singer Grimes; the two broke up in 2021. He and Grimes welcomed a son named X Æ A-12 in May 2020. 

#21. The names of Elon Musk’s children are X Æ A-Xii, Nevada Alexander Musk, Damian Musk, Xavier Musk, Griffin Musk, Kai Musk, and Saxon Musk.

Success

#22. Musk’s first company, Zip2 Corporation, was an online city guide. In 1999 a division of Compaq Computer bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options.

#23. Also in 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services/payments company. An X.com acquisition the following year led to the creation of PayPal, as it is known today, and in 2002 PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock.

#24. Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), in 2002 with the intention of building spacecraft for commercial space travel.

#25. By 2008, SpaceX was well-established and NASA awarded the company the contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space Station—with plans for astronaut transport in the future.

#26. Next was Tesla Motors, an automobile company dedicated to producing affordable, mass-market electric cars.

#27. Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon along with Ian Wright and J.B. Straubel was the company’s first employee and retroactively named co-founders.

#28. With a stake in the company taken by Daimler and a strategic partnership with Toyota, Tesla Motors launched its initial public offering in June 2010, raising $226 million.

#29. In 2012, Musk and SpaceX made history when the company launched its Falcon 9 rocket into space with an unmanned capsule.

#30. In 2013, he released a concept for a new form of transportation called the Hyperloop, intended for travel at speeds greater than 700 mph to commute between major cities.

#31. As opposed to railroads, the Hyperloop would use tubes for transportation. Musk says the Hyperloop could take from 7 to 10 years to be built, tested, and ready for use.

PayPal

#32. In 1995 he founded Zip2, a company that provided maps and business directories to online newspapers.

#33. In 1999 Zip2 was bought by the computer manufacturer Compaq for $307 million, and Musk then founded an online financial services company, X.com, which later became PayPal, which specialized in transferring money online.

#34. The online auction eBay bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

#35. Previously, Elon co-founded and sold PayPal, the world’s leading Internet payment system, and Zip2, one of the first internet maps and directions services.

SpaceX

#36. Musk was long convinced that for life to survive, humanity has to become a multiplanet species. However, he was dissatisfied with the great expense of rocket launchers.

#37. In 2002 he founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to make more affordable rockets. As lead designer at SpaceX, Elon oversees the development of rockets and spacecraft for missions to Earth orbit and ultimately to other planets.

#38. In 2008, the SpaceX Falcon 1 was the first privately developed liquid-fuel rocket to reach orbit, and SpaceX made further history in 2017 by re-flying both a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft for the first time.

#39. Soon after, Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two, completed its first flight in 2018.

#40. Its first two rockets were the Falcon 1 (first launched in 2006) and the larger Falcon 9 (first launched in 2010), which were designed to cost much less than competing rockets.

#41. A third rocket, the Falcon Heavy (first launched in 2018), was designed to carry 117,000 pounds (53,000 kg) to orbit, nearly twice as much as its largest competitor, the Boeing Company’s Delta IV Heavy, for one-third the cost.

#42. SpaceX has announced the successor to the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy: the Super Heavy–Starship system. The Super Heavy first stage would be capable of lifting 100,000 kg (220,000 pounds) to low Earth orbit. The payload would be the Starship, a spacecraft designed for providing fast transportation between cities on Earth and building bases on the Moon and Mars.

#43. In 2019, SpaceX also developed the Dragon spacecraft, which carries supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Dragon can carry as many as seven astronauts, and it had a crewed flight carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken to the ISS in 2020.

#44. Building on these achievements, SpaceX is developing Starship – a fully reusable transportation system that will carry crew and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and beyond ­– and Starlink, which will deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable.

#45. By pioneering reusable rockets, SpaceX is pursuing the long-term goal of making humans a multi-planet species by creating a self-sustaining city on Mars.

#46. Musk sought to reduce the expense of spaceflight by developing a fully reusable rocket that could lift off and return to the pad it launched from.

#47. In addition to being CEO of SpaceX, Musk was also a chief designer in building the Falcon rockets, Dragon, and Grasshopper.

#48. Beginning in 2012, SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket made several short flights test such technology.

Tesla

#49. Musk had long been interested in the possibilities of electric cars, and in 2003 he became one of the major funders of Tesla Motors (later renamed Tesla), an electric car company founded by entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

#50. As the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon leads all product design, engineering, and global manufacturing of the company’s electric vehicles, battery products, and solar energy products.

#51. Since the company’s inception in 2003, Tesla’s mission has been to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

#52. The first Tesla product, the Roadster sports car, debuted in 2008, followed by the Model S sedan, which was introduced in 2012, and the Model X SUV, which launched in 2015.

#53. Model S received Consumer Reports’ Best Overall Car and has been named the Ultimate Car of the Year by Motor Trend, while Model X was the first SUV ever to earn 5-star safety ratings in every category and sub-category in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s tests.

#54. In 2017, Tesla began deliveries of Model 3, a mass-market electric vehicle with more than 320 miles of range, and unveiled Tesla Semi, which is designed to save owners at least $200,000 over a million miles based on fuel costs alone.

#55. In 2019, Tesla unveiled Cybertruck, which will have better utility than a traditional truck and more performance than a sports car, as well as the Model Y compact SUV, which began customer deliveries in early 2020.

#56. Tesla also produces three energy storage products, the Powerwall home battery, the Powerpack commercial-scale battery, and Megapack, which is designed for utility-scale installations.

#57. In 2016, Tesla became the world’s first vertically-integrated sustainable energy company with the acquisition of SolarCity, the leading provider of solar power systems in the United States, and in 2017 released Solar Roof – a beautiful and affordable energy generation product.

#58. The company won further praise for its Model X luxury SUV, which went on the market in 2015. The Model 3, a less-expensive vehicle, went into production in 2017.

#59. Musk expressed reservations about Tesla being publicly traded, and in August 2018 he made a series of tweets about taking the company private, noting that he had “secured funding.”

#60. The following month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk for securities fraud, alleging that the tweets were “false and misleading.”

#61. Shortly thereafter Tesla’s board rejected the SEC’s proposed settlement, reportedly because Musk had threatened to resign.

#62. However, the news sent Tesla stock plummeting, and a harsher deal was ultimately accepted. Its terms included Musk stepping down as chairman for three years, though he was allowed to continue as CEO.

#63. Dissatisfied with the projected cost ($68 billion) of a high-speed rail system in California, Musk in 2013 proposed an alternate faster system, the Hyperloop, a pneumatic tube in which a pod carrying 28 passengers would travel the 350 miles (560 km) between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 35 minutes at a top speed of 760 miles (1,220 km) per hour, nearly the speed of sound.

#64. Musk claimed that the Hyperloop would cost only $6 billion and that, with the pods departing every two minutes on average, the system could accommodate the six million people who travel that route every year.

#65. However, he stated that, between running SpaceX and Tesla, he could not devote time to the Hyperloop’s development.

Neuralink

#66. Elon is also CEO of Neuralink, which is developing ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect the human brain to computers.

The Boring Company

#67. He also launched The Boring Company, which combines fast, affordable tunneling technology with an all-electric public transportation system in order to alleviate soul-crushing urban congestion and enable high-speed long-distance travel.

#68. The Boring Company built a 1.15-mile R&D tunnel in Hawthorne and is currently constructing Vegas Loop, a public transportation system at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Tesla Salary

#69. Elon takes no salary as CEO of Tesla. He instead has a highly unusual and extremely lucrative bonus plan tied to the company’s market cap milestones. When the plan was forged, Tesla was worth around $50 billion.

#70. There are 12 total milestones based on $50 billion market cap increases. Elon hit every single milestone and therefore qualified to receive all $100 billion from the bonus plan. Shares related to this plan are released quarterly after the Board of Directors confirms the milestone was achieved.

Tesla Compensation Plan

#71. In January 2018, the Tesla board unveiled a compensation plan for Musk that would eventually be worth $100 billion.

#72. The plan called for Musk to receive up to $100 billion in stock options over a decade in 12-tranches.

#73. The first chunk of options was granted once Tesla hits a market cap of $100 billion (roughly double the value when the plan was announced). From that point on, Elon received another of the tranches every time the company increases in market cap by $50 billion.

#74. If he did not achieve any of the 12 tranches, he would have received zero compensation.

#75. Within three years Elon unlocked all 12 tranches of the compensation plan as Tesla’s market cap ultimately zoomed above $1 trillion for the first time in October 2021.

What is Elon Musk’s Net Worth?

#76.. Elon Musk has a net worth of $290 billion in 2021. He is one of the top five richest persons in the world and the richest person in modern history.

#77. Though he wears many hats and is constantly topping his latest project, he is currently best-known for being the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and chief product architect of Tesla Motors, and chairman of SolarCity.

#78. As of this writing, Elon Musk owns roughly 24% of Tesla’s outstanding shares and 43% of the privately-held SpaceX.

#79. In October 2021 Tesla’s market cap broke $1 trillion for the first time. That same month SpaceX raided money at a $100 billion valuation. At this point, Elon’s net worth teetered around $300 billion for the first time.

Net Worth History

#80. On January 1, 2020, Elon’s net worth was $28 billion. He ended 2020 with a net worth of $170 billion.

#81. Elon’s net worth topped $70 billion for the first time on July 10, 2020. At that point roughly $15 billion was attributable to the privately-held SpaceX and the remaining $55 billion was from Tesla.

#82. On July 13, 2020, when Elon’s net worth hit $80 billion for the first time, $15 billion came from SpaceX and $65 billion came from Tesla.

#83. In August 2020 two important factors pushed Elon’s net worth above $90 billion for the first time. First, in mid-August Tesla shares hit an all-time high of $1,900. At that level, the company’s total market cap was $350 billion. Elon’s 20% stake was worth $70 billion. The second factor was an increased valuation of SpaceX which was officially confirmed on August 18, 2020.

#84. The fundraising round increased SpaceX’s private valuation to $46 billion, up from $36 billion. At a valuation of $46 billion, Elon’s 48% stake adds $22 billion in pre-tax wealth to Elon’s net worth.

#85. On November 17, 2020, Elon’s net worth topped $100 billion for the first time. At that point, he surpassed Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person on the planet for the first time.

#86. On November 24, 2020, Elon’s net worth topped $128 billion for the first time. At that point, he surpassed Bill Gates to become the second-richest person in the world for the first time.

#87. On that day (November 24, 2020) he was $54 billion away from Jeff Bezos’ $184 billion net worth and his net worth had officially increased $100 billion since January 1, 2020.

#88. On January 7, 2021, Elon’s net worth hit $195 billion. On this day Elon eclipsed Jeff Bezos as the richest person in the world for the first time.

#89. On January 8, 2021, Elon ended the week with a net worth of $210 billion after starting the week worth $170 billion.

#90. In October 2021 when Tesla’s market cap topped $1 trillion and SpaceX’s valuation was $100 billion, Elon’s net worth was $300 billion.

#91. On November 1st, 2021, When Tesla’s market cap topped $1.2 trillion, Elon Musk’s net worth was $335 billion.

Elon Musk Net Worth Details

#92. As of this writing, Elon Musk owns 43% of rocket maker SpaceX and 24% of Tesla.

#93. In a 2019 legal deposition, Musk explained that he actually is somewhat cash-poor and that 99% of his personal wealth is attributable to shares in Tesla and SpaceX.

#94. The lawsuit also revealed that Musk’s base salary at Tesla is $56,380. He declines the salary in most years.

#95. At the time of the lawsuit, Musk had $500 million worth of debt with the majority owed to Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

#96. Roughly at least $60 million of his Morgan Stanley debt was home mortgage-related. He has since sold off most of his homes and re-paid this mortgage debt.

#97. He reportedly burned through all of his liquid cash from previous business sales to launch SpaceX.

Real Estate Holdings

#98. Elon previously owned $100 million worth of real estate in California alone. In the Northern California town of Hillsborough, he continues to own a 100-year-old, 16,000 square-foot villa that sits on nearly 50-acres. He bought this house for $23.364 million in 2017.

#99. In Southern California he at one time owned six homes in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel-Air. His Bel-Air footprint included a 20,000 square-foot house that he bought for $17 million in 2012, a 7,000 square-foot house he bought for $20 million in 2015, and a 9,300 square-foot house he purchased in 2016 for $24.25 million.

#100. In 2020 Elon stunned the world by announcing his intention to sell all of his worldly possessions, starting with his LA homes. True to his word, he proceeded to sell off each home. He sold four homes at once to one buyer in December 2020.

Summary

Elon Musk’s net worth is $290 billion in 2021 making him one of the richest people on the planet. Musk’s fortune comes from his 24% stake in Tesla and his 43% stake in the privately-held SpaceX. Musk is relatively cash-poor and he has an estimated $500 million worth of debt owed to Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.