Elon Musk

Born 1971 · Age 54

Entrepreneur and technology executive; founder or co-founder of Zip2, X.com/PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla investor/CEO, OpenAI co‑founder, Neuralink co‑founder, founder of The Boring Company, acquirer of Twitter (X), founder of xAI; major political donor and served briefly as senior advisor in 2025.

Total Events

Career Span

54 years

Peak Net Worth

$425,000,000,000

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Life & Career Timeline

1971Age 0

Born in Pretoria, South Africa

Elon Reeve Musk born to Maye and Errol Musk in Pretoria.

6/28/1971Source

Confidence

99%

1979Age 8

Parents divorce

Musk's parents divorced; he chose to live with his father.

1/1/1979Source

Confidence

85%

1981Age 10

Learns programming

Developed interest in computing and taught himself to program on a VIC-20.

1/1/1981Source

Confidence

95%

1983Age 12

Sells videogame 'Blastar'

Sold a BASIC-based game called Blastar to a computer magazine for about $500.

1/1/1983Net Worth: $500Source

Confidence

95%

1988Age 17

Obtains Canadian passport / prepares to emigrate

Applied for/obtained Canadian passport via his Canadian-born mother to avoid South African military service.

1/1/1988Source

Confidence

90%

1989Age 18

Attends University of Pretoria (briefly)

Attended the University of Pretoria for approximately five months while waiting on Canadian paperwork.

1/1/1989Source

Confidence

90%

1989Age 18

Emigrates to Canada (arrives June 1989)

Moved to Canada (connected with a second cousin in Saskatchewan) and worked odd jobs while awaiting university enrollment.

6/1/1989Source

Confidence

95%

1990Age 19

Enters Queen's University

Began university studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

1/1/1990Source

Confidence

95%

1992Age 21

Transfers to University of Pennsylvania

Transferred to the University of Pennsylvania to study physics and economics.

1/1/1992Source

Confidence

98%

1994Age 23

Internships in Silicon Valley

Held internships at Pinnacle Research Institute (energy storage) and Rocket Science Games.

1/1/1994Source

Confidence

90%

1995Age 24

Accepted to Stanford (did not enroll)

Was accepted to Stanford graduate program in materials science but left after a few days to pursue internet startups.

1/1/1995Source

Confidence

95%

1995Age 24

Co-founds Zip2

Founded web software company Zip2 with brother Kimbal Musk and Greg Kouri; initial funds borrowed from his father; company provided internet city guides to newspapers.

1/1/1995Net Worth: $500Source

Confidence

98%

1996Age 25

Board disputes at Zip2

Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted by the board; he was not placed in full operational control.

1/1/1996Net Worth: $500Source

Confidence

70%

1999Age 27

Early wealth after Zip2 sale

Following the Zip2 exit, Musk had his first significant liquidity (~$22M) that he reinvested into later ventures.

1/1/1999Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

1999Age 27

Founds X.com (online bank)

Co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e‑mail payment company; early growth saw ~200,000 customers in initial months.

1/1/1999Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

1999Age 27

Replaced as X.com CEO by investors

Investors considered Musk inexperienced and replaced him with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of 1999.

1/1/1999Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

1999Age 27

Zip2 acquired by Compaq

Compaq bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash; Musk received approximately $22 million for his ~7% stake.

2/1/1999Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

98%

2000Age 29

Ousted as CEO of merged company

Following management and technical disputes, Musk was removed as CEO and Peter Thiel took over.

1/1/2000Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2000Age 29

X.com merges with Confinity (PayPal lineage)

X.com merged with Confinity (which had the PayPal money-transfer service); merged company eventually focused on PayPal.

1/1/2000Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

98%

2000Age 29

Personal: Marries Justine Wilson

Married Justine Wilson (marriage 2000; later divorced 2008).

1/1/2000Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

98%

2001Age 30

Company renamed PayPal and refocus

The merged company concentrated on the PayPal product and rebranded.

1/1/2001Net Worth: $22,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2002Age 31

Becomes U.S. citizen

Musk acquired American citizenship (in addition to South African and Canadian).

1/1/2002Net Worth: $175,800,000Source

Confidence

95%

2002Age 31

Uses PayPal proceeds to fund SpaceX

After PayPal sale Musk invested roughly $100M to found SpaceX, committing a substantial portion of his proceeds to space ventures.

1/1/2002Net Worth: $75,800,000Source

Confidence

90%

2002Age 31

Personal: Birth and death of first child Nevada

Elon and Justine's first child Nevada was born and died at about 10 weeks from SIDS in 2002.

1/1/2002Net Worth: $175,800,000Source

Confidence

95%

2002Age 31

eBay acquires PayPal

eBay purchased PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock; Musk (largest shareholder at ~11.72%) received approximately $175.8 million.

1/1/2002Net Worth: $175,800,000Source

Confidence

98%

2002Age 31

Founds SpaceX with personal funding

Founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and became CEO and chief engineer; invested about $100 million of his early fortune.

5/1/2002Net Worth: $75,800,000Source

Confidence

95%

2003Age 32

Tesla Motors incorporated (by others)

Tesla Motors was incorporated by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning (Musk would invest in 2004).

1/1/2003Net Worth: $75,800,000Source

Confidence

95%

2004Age 33

Personal: Twins Griffin and Vivian born

Twins Griffin and Vivian (Vivian later Vivian Jenna Wilson) born to Elon and Justine via IVF.

1/1/2004Net Worth: $69,465,000Source

Confidence

95%

2004Age 33

Leads Tesla Series A; becomes chairman

Led Tesla's Series A investment, contributing roughly $6.35 million; became majority shareholder and joined Tesla's board as chairman.

2/1/2004Net Worth: $69,465,000Source

Confidence

95%

2006Age 35

Personal: Triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian born

Triplets born to Elon and Justine via IVF.

1/1/2006Net Worth: $70,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2006Age 35

First launch attempt: Falcon 1 (failed)

SpaceX attempted the first Falcon 1 orbital launch; the mission failed to reach orbit.

1/1/2006Net Worth: $70,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2006Age 35

Helps found SolarCity (concept & capital)

Provided concept and financial capital for SolarCity, founded by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive.

1/1/2006Net Worth: $70,000,000Source

Confidence

93%

2008Age 37

Falcon 1 reaches orbit

After earlier failures, Falcon 1 successfully reached orbit in 2008.

1/1/2008Net Worth: $120,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2008Age 37

Musk becomes Tesla CEO & product architect

Assumed leadership of Tesla as CEO and product architect amid company turmoil and the 2008 financial crisis.

1/1/2008Net Worth: $120,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2008Age 37

Tesla Roadster deliveries begin

Tesla began deliveries of the Roadster (first modern mass-production EV using lithium-ion cells); about 2,500 vehicles sold.

1/1/2008Net Worth: $125,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2010Age 39

Named in 'PayPal Mafia' legacy; PayPal IPO earlier

PayPal's IPO and later eBay sale cemented Musk's status among early internet entrepreneurs; proceeds funded later ventures.

1/1/2010Net Worth: $400,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2010Age 39

Tesla initial public offering (IPO)

Tesla went public in 2010; IPO raised roughly $226 million.

1/1/2010Net Worth: $400,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2010Age 39

Personal: Marries Talulah Riley

Musk married actress Talulah Riley (first marriage 2010; divorced 2012; remarried 2013; divorced 2016).

1/1/2010Net Worth: $1,200,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2012Age 41

Tesla Model S launch

Tesla began deliveries of the Model S luxury sedan (major commercial and critical success).

1/1/2012Net Worth: $800,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2012Age 41

Dragon docks with the International Space Station

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS—the first commercial vehicle to do so.

1/1/2012Net Worth: $600,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2015Age 44

SpaceX first successful orbital rocket landing

SpaceX landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 on land in 2015—key milestone for reusability.

1/1/2015Net Worth: $1,100,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2015Age 44

Co-founds OpenAI

Co-founded non-profit AI research lab OpenAI to advance AI aligned to human benefit.

1/1/2015Net Worth: $900,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2016Age 45

Co-founds Neuralink

Co-founded neurotechnology company Neuralink, investing roughly $100 million to develop brain–computer interfaces.

1/1/2016Net Worth: $1,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2016Age 45

Tesla announces acquisition of SolarCity

Tesla announced it would acquire SolarCity (founded by Musk's cousins) and merge it into Tesla Energy; deal value cited in sources between $2.0–2.6 billion.

1/1/2016Net Worth: $1,100,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2017Age 46

Founds The Boring Company

Founded The Boring Company to develop tunneling and underground transport systems (initial test digs on SpaceX property).

1/1/2017Net Worth: $1,200,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2018Age 47

Falcon Heavy inaugural launch

SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy; maiden flight carried Musk's personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.

1/1/2018Net Worth: $135,000,000,000Source

Confidence

70%

2018Age 47

Leaves OpenAI board

Musk stepped down from OpenAI's board citing conflicts of interest with Tesla's AI work.

1/1/2018Net Worth: $135,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2018Age 47

Boring Company flamethrower stunt

The Boring Company sold about 10,000 'flamethrowers' for $500 each in a limited stunt, selling out reportedly in a day.

1/1/2018Net Worth: $138,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2018Age 47

Controversies: 'Funding secured' tweet and SEC enforcement

Musk tweeted about taking Tesla private at $420 with 'funding secured'—this led to SEC enforcement and later settlement requiring pre-approval of certain tweets and fines.

1/1/2018Net Worth: $135,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2019Age 48

Starlink first large deployment (May 2019)

After prototypes, SpaceX deployed its first large Starlink satellite constellation in May 2019 to provide satellite internet.

1/1/2019Net Worth: $140,000,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2019Age 48

Starlink cost estimate published

SpaceX estimated the total cost to design, build and deploy the Starlink constellation at about $10 billion (2020 estimate referenced to project).

1/1/2019Net Worth: $140,000,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2019Age 48

Boring Company wins Las Vegas contract ($48.7M)

The Boring Company secured a $48.7 million contract to build an underground Loop system for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

1/1/2019Net Worth: $140,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2020Age 49

SpaceX Demo-2: first crewed private flight to ISS

SpaceX launched Demo-2, the first private company to send astronauts to orbit and dock with the ISS (May 2020).

1/1/2020Net Worth: $140,000,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2020Age 49

Model 3 goes into mass production (2017 launched; mass-market impact by 2020)

Model 3 became Tesla's mass-market sedan and by 2020 had become a major sales driver worldwide.

1/1/2020Net Worth: $150,000,000,000Source

Confidence

70%

2020Age 48

Resigns as Tesla chairman (SEC settlement)

As part of settlement with the SEC over 'funding secured' tweets, Musk resigned as Tesla chairman (settlement date appears in sources around 2018–2020) and Tesla and Musk each paid $20M fines.

5/1/2020Net Worth: $140,000,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2021Age 50

Becomes (intermittently) richest person in the world

Musk first reached the top of global rich lists in 2021 and remained among the wealthiest since; wealth surged through Tesla stock gains.

1/1/2021Net Worth: $400,000,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2022Age 51

Acquires Twitter (deal agreed April; closed October 2022)

After acquiring a ~9% stake and a contentious negotiation, Musk agreed to buy Twitter for about $44 billion (deal included ~$12.5B in loans and ~$21B equity financing) and closed the acquisition on Oct 27, 2022.

1/1/2022Net Worth: $180,000,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2022Age 51

Purchased domain X.com from PayPal

Musk repurchased the domain X.com from PayPal for an undisclosed amount in 2017 (noted as sentimental; included here because of later X branding/events).

1/1/2022Net Worth: $180,000,000,000Source

Confidence

70%

2022Age 51

Installs major changes at Twitter

Immediately after acquisition Musk fired top executives, became CEO, instituted subscription-based verification and enacted mass layoffs.

1/1/2022Net Worth: $175,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2023Age 52

Neuralink receives FDA approval for extended human trials

In September 2023 the FDA approved Neuralink to initiate six-year human trials.

1/1/2023Net Worth: $210,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2023Age 52

xAI launches Grok to premium X users

xAI introduced its Grok model to premium users on X in December 2023.

1/1/2023Net Worth: $220,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2023Age 52

Rebrands Twitter to X (July 2023)

Twitter was rebranded as X and the bird logo replaced; product direction shifted toward an 'everything app'.

1/1/2023Net Worth: $200,000,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2023Age 52

Founds xAI (July 2023)

Announced formation of xAI to build AI models and to compete with other AI firms; mission described as 'maximum truth-seeking AI'.

1/1/2023Net Worth: $210,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2024Age 53

Legal: Sues OpenAI and Microsoft

In 2024 Musk sued OpenAI and Microsoft alleging they strayed from OpenAI's nonprofit mission (legal action reported).

1/1/2024Net Worth: $320,000,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2024Age 53

Provides Starlink service to Ukraine (cost to SpaceX)

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine Musk provided free Starlink service to Ukraine, at an estimated annual cost to SpaceX of about $400 million.

1/1/2024Net Worth: $330,000,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2024Age 53

Tesla reaches $1 trillion market cap (Oct 2021 milestone cited again)

Tesla achieved a market capitalization of $1 trillion in October 2021; company remained one of Musk's principal value sources through 2024.

1/1/2024Net Worth: $360,000,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2024Age 53

xAI attracts major investments ($6B)

In May 2024 xAI announced it had attracted roughly $6 billion in investments to scale its AI efforts.

1/1/2024Net Worth: $350,000,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2024Age 53

Neuralink implants first human (reported)

Neuralink completed its first human implant in January 2024; company reported promising early results.

1/1/2024Net Worth: $330,000,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2024Age 53

SpaceX awarded $843M NASA contract to deorbit ISS

NASA awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to deorbit the International Space Station at end of its lifespan.

1/1/2024Net Worth: $320,000,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2024Age 53

Largest donor in 2024 U.S. presidential election

Through America PAC and other channels Musk became the largest political donor in the 2024 election, donating roughly $288 million to Trump and other Republican causes.

1/1/2024Net Worth: $300,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2025Age 53

DOGE seizes OPM office and accesses federal databases

DOGE team took over OPM office on inauguration day and accessed Treasury Bureau systems, sending deferred-resignation offers to millions of employees.

1/1/2025Net Worth: $390,000,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2025Age 54

xAI acquires X in all‑stock deal (~$33B) (March 2025 reported)

Reported that xAI acquired Musk's social-media company X in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $33 billion (reported March 2025).

1/1/2025Net Worth: $425,000,000,000Source

Confidence

75%

2025Age 53

Appointed senior adviser to President Trump; DOGE begins operations

On Jan 20, 2025 Musk served as a senior adviser and was the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); DOGE teams immediately took actions in multiple agencies.

1/20/2025Net Worth: $390,000,000,000Source

Confidence

88%

2025Age 54

Forbes net worth estimate (May 2025)

Forbes estimated Musk's net worth to be US$424.7 billion (May 2025 update referenced in sources).

5/1/2025Net Worth: $424,700,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2025Age 53

Resigns from DOGE / Trump administration

Musk announced his departure from his DOGE advisory role on May 28, 2025 after public disagreements with President Trump over budget legislation.

5/28/2025Net Worth: $420,000,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

Key Achievement Ages

Explore what Elon Musk and others achieved at these notable ages:

Sells videogame 'Blastar'

Age 17

Obtains Canadian passport / pr...

Age 18

Attends University of Pretoria...

Browse All Ages →

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