Not a day goes by that you go to the media and hear about Elon Musk. He is everywhere. On the one hand, Musk is dreaming of conquering space with SpaceX, and on the other hand, he wants to start a revolution in the automotive industry with Tesla Motors. Join Digikala Mag with Elon Musk's biography.
Elon Musk's life at a glance
Elon Musk was born in 1971 in South Africa. He became a millionaire at the age of 28 by selling the small startup Zip2 to Compaq. Elon Musk started X.com in 1999; In 2002, it was Space X; In 2003, he became CEO of Tesla Motors . In 2012, Elon Musk sent the first commercial spacecraft to the International Space Station. Elon's ambitions are not limited to these few cases. Elon's dreams of breaking the boundaries of time and place. In the following, we will go into more detail about his personal life and career.
? Elon Musk How did Elon Musk become
Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa. He spent his childhood and adolescence in this country. Elon owned a computer at the age of 10 and when he was 12 he was able to make his first computer game. This game was called Blaster . Interestingly, PC and Office Technology magazine bought the game from him for $ 500. Elon immigrated to Canada at the age of 19 to study. After spending two years at the University of Queens, he left the university in 1991 and went to the University of Pennsylvania. There he earned two bachelor's degrees in business and physics. He then went to Stanford University in California to pursue a doctorate in energy physics. But Elon only lasted two days.
Elon Musk with his wife and children
His arrival at Stanford University coincided with the rise of Internet companies. In order not to fall behind the caravan, he joined this wave and started his first company called Zip2.
The first step to building an empire
Zip2 was an online city guide that provided content for sites such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. In 1999, computer company Compaq bought Zip2 for $ 307 million in cash and $ 34 million in stock. Elon Musk himself pocketed $ 22 million from this historic deal. But this was just the beginning of the young Elon. Elon Musk's next step changed the world of financial payments.
The second step of Elon Musk
Elon Musk founded X.Com in 1999. The company operates in the field of online financial services. A year later, the company was merged with Confinity and the popular PayPal service was born. In 2002, it acquired PayPal's eBay online store for $ 1.5 billion. At the time, Elon Musk: owned 11 percent of PayPal.
Elon dreams of conquering space
In 2002, Elon Musk: turned to his other hobby, SpaceX, and launched SpaceX. With all his ambition, he wanted to take space travel to a new level.
He went step by step, until in 2008 he was able to gain the trust of NASA. This year, NASA signed a contract with SpaceX under which the company would be responsible for transporting cargo to the International Space Station.
In 2012,Musk made history with SpaceX. This year, they were able to send the Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station with a payload of 1,000 pounds. SpaceX was the first private company to do so.
In 2013, the company achieved another success and was able to send a satellite into the orbit of fixed satellites by Falcon 9. This is the orbit in which television satellites are placed.
In 2015, Falcon launched nine satellites called DSCOVR. The task of this satellite is to measure the impact of solar radiation on power networks and communications on Earth.
Moment of launching Falcon rocket 9
Gradually, the two issues of space conquest and the future salvation of the human race became Elon Musk's: main interests. As a result, his career took him to the fascinating world of transportation.
Elon does not believe in fossil fuels
Tesla Motors was Elon Musk:'s new adventure. The company was founded in 2003. Elon Musk: was one of the main founders of the company. He is currently the CEO and Chairman of Tesla Motors. Tesla Motors focuses on the design and production of low-cost electric vehicles. In 2008, the company introduced the Roadster. A sports car that accelerates from zero to 97 km / h in 3.7 seconds. This all-electric car travels up to 393 km on a single charge.
Elon Musk: next to Tesla Model S car
The Model S was Tesla's first electric sedan. This car also brought great success to Tesla Motors. The Model S was named Motor Trend Magazine Car of the Year in 2013. Tesla The Model X is the third car from 12-year-old Tesla. One of the most interesting features of the Model X is its rear doors, which open like two wings.
Elon Musk: is introducing the Tesla Model X car
Elon wants to make history
But it seems that Elon Musk:'s ambitions have no boundaries. In 2013, he published a revolutionary concept design; A plan that could completely transform the transportation industry. He calls this idea "hyperloop". This invention can significantly increase the speed of movement between different geographical points.
The hyperloop receives its energy from renewable sources. In this system, people sit inside special capsules and move at an incredible speed of 962 to 1220 kilometers per hour. Despite all the criticism, Elon Musk is working hard on this revolutionary project.
"If something is important enough, you should try it, even if it is a possible outcome of failure."
Of course, Musk ideas do not end with a hyperloop project. The list of companies he has started or has been involved in in various fields is long. It is as if he has drawn a future in his mind, and each of these companies is a piece of the jargon of that "future."
You can not imagine the future of the world beautifully and not pay attention to sustainable and renewable energies. Musk helped his cousins Linden and Peter start a solar company in 2006 long ago. Later in August 2016, it decided to have a more prominent presence in this field and, through Tesla, acquired SolarCity to complete Tesla's supply chain. "Solar energy and energy storage work better together," Musk said. "Tesla (storage) and SolarCity (solar power generation) together can perform best both technologically and economically, ultimately improving the process of energy production, storage and consumption."
Musk founded Boring to develop ideas similar to Hyperloop, in order to transform the city's traffic from its current two-dimensional form into a three-dimensional nest. He believes that congestion of cars in cities can be minimized by digging special tunnels in cities. The experimental phase of these tunnels was dug and tested in the premises of SpaceX company .
The future of Elon Musk can not be realized without artificial intelligence and increasing the capacity of the human brain. Two companies, OpenAI and NeuroLink, were founded for this purpose.
Musk often does not define the future of artificial intelligence very well in his interviews, and like Steve Hawking, he worries about getting out of control. The goal of OpenAI is to ensure the continuous service of human beings along with the development of artificial intelligence. Nerolink initially targeted brain diseases and injuries to treat them, and then with a more accurate understanding of the brain, it could increase its capabilities by adding parts to it. Probably the unspoken intention of the Musk is that somehow, by becoming a cyborg, a human being can always be ahead of artificial intelligence.
Elon Musk and the world of politics
After Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, he and his team were widely criticized for staying away from technology companies. Trump eventually selected a number of candidates as his advisers, including Elon Musk.
Many called you a Musk for accepting to work with Trump. "My goal is to accelerate the process of the world's transition to sustainable energies and the multiplanetization of human civilization so that employment can increase and the future can be better for all [and I will use every means at this]," he said in response to the criticism.
But in the end, with Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Environmental Treaty, which was the exact opposite of Musk's recommendations and goals, Musk ended his cooperation with the Trump administration.