Elon’s World

In year 2000, Silicon Valley and San Francisco was in a depression. The Internet madness has died down. Venture capitalists do not invest anymore because of the dot com bubble.At the time, Silicon Valley was only busy making click-ads. Twitter and Facebook were just starting out. Some say that the technology industry had failed. It stopped turning science fiction into reality.

Elon Musk was also part of the dot com mania. After finishing college, he made $22 million from Zip2. It was software like Google Maps. Zip2 was bought by Compaq in 1999. Musk invested his money to another start-up called X.com. It became PayPal. When eBay bought PayPal in 2002, Musk became even richer.Instead of staying in Silicon Valley, Musk moved out to Los Angeles. That is where he built Tesla, Space X and Solar City. His companies lead in the automotive, aerospace and solar industries. With rockets, electric cars, and solar panels, Musk transforms the future. In Elon’s world, reality and science fiction are rolled up into one.

Elon Musk is different from other technology millionaires because of his worldview. Musk said, “If we can solve sustainable energy and be well on our way to becoming a multi-planetary species…that would be really good.” Today, Musk Co. has thousands of employees. It has a net worth of $10 billion.

Africa

Musk’s Grandfather Joshua Haldeman flew his own plane from Canada to South Africa.He migrated with his whole family. They settled in Pretoria.But sometimes,the family would fly to Norway, Scotland and Australia.MayeHaldeman and Errol Musk were childhood sweethearts. Right after marriage, they had Elon. He was born on June 28, 1971. Errol Musk is a successful engineer. Maye is a dietician. They had two other children named Kimbal and Tosca.

At 5 years old, Elon showed high levels of concentration. He spent many hours reading. His favourite books are The Lord of the Rings and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy. When he ran out of books, he read two sets of encyclopaedia.Things went well with the Musk family. They owned the biggest home in Pretoria. However, when Elon was eight years old, his parents got a divorce. He and his brother Kimbal lived with his father. Elon thought that he didn’t have a happy childhood. His father was not a happy man.

The first time Elon saw a computer when he was 10. He got really amazed. He immediately asked his father to buy one. When the computer arrived, Elon spent three whole days to learn BASIC programming.Elon was very close with his brother Kimbal and cousins Peter, Lyndon and Russ Rive. They make homemade rockets and explosives. They also enjoy long train trips and play Dungeons & Dragons.

At school though, Elon had a very different experience. He was often bullied. There was an incident that really traumatized him. Elon was eating at the stairs.And then a boy attacked him from behind. He was kicked in the head and pushed down. Elon fell from the stairs. He got more punches.Elon was immediately brought to the hospital. He had blood all over. It took him a week to go back to school. For four years, Elon endured this situation. The gang would always go after him for no reason. Eventually, he had to transfer.

At 17 years old, Elon was eager to leave South Africa. He thought America would give him better opportunity. He was also interested in Silicon Valley. When his family got Canadian citizenship, Elon flew to his great escape.

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Canada

Musk had a difficult time in Canada. He just rode the plane with no place to stay. It took him a while to find his relatives. For his 18th birthday, he celebrated with some neighbours and the relatives he just met. Musk worked odd jobs such as tending vegetables and cutting logs. Later on, Kimbal also arrived in Canada.In 1989, Musk enrolled at Queen’s University in Ontario. It is where he met his ex-wife, Justine Wilson. Justine stood him up for their first date. But Musk was persistent. Justine said, “He can sweep you off your feet.”

A lot changed for Musk in college. He still talked a lot about space and energy. His classmates would just laugh it off. Musk found people who share the same interests. Musk made extra cash by fixing computers. He also sold spare parts to his dorm mates.After two years, Musk got a scholarship. He continued his studies in University of Pennsylvania. He studied both economics and physics. At Penn, Musk found friends who have lunch and discuss physics. He also rented a frat house with a close friend. They would hold wild parties for $5 per head.

Musk wrote interesting business plans for his classes. One of them was entitled “The Importance of Being Solar”. He predicted that there will be a leap in solar power tech. Large solar plants will be constructed. He discussed solar cells and the compounds that can maximize their power.He also wrote a paper on ultracapacitors. They are battery cells which can store huge amounts of energy. They can recharge and deliver power 100 times more than other capacitors. Musk already thinks of electric cars and rockets.

His professors commended him for his concise analysis. Musk can tackle complex physics concepts. He also knows how to make good profit from them. He first thought of creating video games after finishing college. But Musk wanted a career that would have a big effect on the world.He would often dream about space, renewable energy and the Internet. They have great market potential. Musk also thought they would create significant change in the future. Silicon Valley is busy sharing baby photos. But Musk is working to save human race from annihilation.

Elon’s First Start-up

In 1994, Kimbal and Elonhad many road trips. They had the idea of a business on the Internet. Eventually, Musk became an intern in Silicon Valley. When he finished school, he and Kimbal started the company.Zip2 is the online version of the Yellow Pages. It is a directory and map of all business establishments. Elondid the website coding. Kimbal was responsible for selling the site.

Kimbal did door-to door sales. But business owners don’t understand what Zip2 is for. It took a while before they find an investor. Finally, a capitalist would take interest. He invested $3 million. Zip2 extended to newspaper classified ads. However, as the company got bigger, Musk was removed from management. He became chief technical officer. Zip 2 moved to a larger office. It also hired programmers to improve its codes. In 1998, the company would merge with CitySearch in a $300 million deal. City Search was a competitor.

Compaq bought Zip2 in 1999. The Musk brothers have turned their dot com idea into a reality. It wasn’t easy though. Elon Musk wanted to be CEO.

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