See also: Elon Musk Quiz
Elon sold his first video game, called Blastar, for $500 when he was twelve years old.
Elon couldn’t emigrate directly to the United States from South Africa, so when he was seventeen years old, he migrated to Canada.
Musk was severely bullied during his school years and even hospitalized after being thrown down a staircase. His nose was broken so badly that several surgeries were required.
Elon Musk devoured books, including encyclopedias, as a child and credits much of his knowledge to self-learning.
He dropped out of Stanford after just two days in 1995 to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions.
Musk co-founded Zip2, a software company that provided business directories and maps for newspapers, and sold it for $307 million.
Nearly went bankrupt: In 2008, both Tesla and SpaceX were struggling financially, and Elon had to choose which one to save. He refused to forsake one for the other, so he split his remaining funds between the two.
Tesla wasn’t his idea: Musk wasn’t a founder of Tesla; he joined the company as an investor and eventually became its CEO and product architect.
X.com which is the recently rebranded Twitter.com is not the first X.com. Elon’s first X.com was a banking website which later became PayPal.
Mars obsession: Musk’s interest in colonizing Mars partly stems from wanting to ensure humanity’s survival in case of catastrophic events on Earth.
Musk’s personality and innovations partly inspired Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies.
Elon owns the Lotus Esprit submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me and planned to turn it into a real working submarine using a Tesla motor and battery. He spent just short of $1 million for the car.
As a child, he once dreamed of becoming a video game developer. He has spent tens of thousands of hours playing video games recreationally.
The reason Musk moved to Canada at 17 was to avoid mandatory military service in South Africa, which he opposed due to apartheid.
Elon has stated that there’s a high probability our reality is a simulation.
Musk has publicly said he works 80-100 hours a week to achieve his goals. This in part, has cost him at least one marriage.
Survived malaria: After a vacation to South Africa, Musk contracted malaria and was near death.
SpaceX saved money by designing and building 85% of its rocket components in-house. For instance, the latches for stage separation were reworked from bathroom stall latches.
He humorously named himself “Chief Twit” when he acquired Twitter in 2022.
Although it has not been proven, several authorities, and Musk himself believe he has Asperger Syndrome.
Musk often quotes Nietzsche and Douglas Adams, showing his philosophical and humorous influences. One of his favorite books is Adam’s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
Elon enjoys anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Studio Ghibli films.
Musk proposed the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system, and left it open-source for others to develop.
Along the same lines, he co-developed OpenAI as open-source, free to everyone, although since that time it is starting to be commercialized. OpenAI uses artificial intelligence to power the famous tools ChatGPT and Dall-E.
Musk has had multiple relationships and is currently the father of 11 children.
His first child, named Nevada Musk because he was born in Nevada died as a baby from sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Some of his children have unusual names including X Æ A-Xii Musk, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, Kai Musk, Saxon Musk, Damian Musk and Techno Mechanicus Musk. Most people refer to X Æ A-Xii Musk as “X.”
Open patents: Tesla made its patents open-source to accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy.
Tesla tequila: Musk launched a Tesla-branded tequila called “Teslaquila” as a joke that became reality.
Energy innovation: His company SolarCity (now part of Tesla) provides solar power systems for homes and businesses.
ambitions: Musk’s company Neuralink aims to merge humans with AI using brain-machine interfaces.
AI fears: Despite working on AI projects, Musk has repeatedly warned about its potential dangers.
Pop culture appearances: Musk has made cameos in The Simpsons, Rick and Morty, South Park and Saturday Night Live.
