Elon Musk Archive

Biography

Short timeline inspired by Grokipedia, « Elon Musk ».

  1. Jun 28, 1971Born in Pretoria, South AfricaBorn in Pretoria, South AfricaWikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
  2. 1989Moves to Canada with about $2,000 in his pocket

    At 17 he leaves South Africa alone, works odd jobs, then studies at Queen's University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.

    Moves to Canada with about $2,000 in his pocketWikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 1995Founds Zip2 with his brother Kimbal
  4. 1999Sells Zip2 (~$307M) and founds X.com
  5. 2002eBay buys PayPal (~$1.5B)
  6. 05/2002Founds SpaceX

    He puts about $100 million of his PayPal money into the company, aiming to cut the cost of reaching space and, one day, to make life multiplanetary.

    Founds SpaceXWikimedia Commons · CC0
  7. 2004Joins Tesla as lead investor and chairman

    Tesla had been founded a year earlier by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning; Musk leads its first funding round and pushes for a sporty electric car to prove EVs can be desirable.

  8. 02/2008First Tesla Roadster deliveredFirst Tesla Roadster deliveredWikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
  9. Sep 28, 2008Falcon 1 reaches orbit

    After three failures in a row and with money almost gone, the fourth launch makes Falcon 1 the first privately built liquid-fuel rocket to reach orbit. NASA signs a $1.6B resupply contract in December.

    Falcon 1 reaches orbitWikimedia Commons · CC0
  10. 10/2008Becomes CEO of Tesla
  11. 06/2010Tesla goes public; first Falcon 9 flight
  12. 05/2012Dragon becomes the first private spacecraft to reach the ISSDragon becomes the first private spacecraft to reach the ISSWikimedia Commons · Public domain
  13. 06/2012First Tesla Model S deliveredFirst Tesla Model S deliveredWikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  14. 12/2015First landing of a Falcon 9 boosterFirst landing of a Falcon 9 boosterWikimedia Commons · CC0
  15. 2016Co-founds NeuralinkCo-founds NeuralinkWikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
  16. 2017Creates The Boring Company; first Model 3 delivered (July)Creates The Boring Company; first Model 3 delivered (July)Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
  17. 02/2018Falcon Heavy's first flight sends his Roadster into spaceFalcon Heavy's first flight sends his Roadster into spaceWikimedia Commons · CC0
  18. 05/2019First batch of Starlink satellitesFirst batch of Starlink satellitesWikimedia Commons · CC0
  19. 03/2020First Tesla Model Y deliveredFirst Tesla Model Y deliveredWikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  20. May 30, 2020First crewed Crew Dragon flight to the ISSFirst crewed Crew Dragon flight to the ISSWikimedia Commons · Public domain
  21. 10/2020Tesla releases Full Self-Driving (Beta)

    Ten years after Autopilot was announced, a first group of owners can let the car drive itself on city streets, under supervision. The software later becomes the base of the robotaxi service.

    Tesla releases Full Self-Driving (Beta)Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
  22. 08/2021Unveils the Optimus humanoid robot

    Announced at Tesla's AI Day, then shown walking as a prototype in September 2022. Musk calls it potentially Tesla's most valuable product.

    Unveils the Optimus humanoid robotTesla AI Day 2021 · © Tesla
  23. Apr 7, 2022Opens Gigafactory Texas in Austin

    Celebrated with the "Cyber Rodeo", the plant becomes Tesla's headquarters and builds the Model Y, then the Cybertruck.

    Opens Gigafactory Texas in AustinWikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
  24. Oct 27, 2022Buys Twitter (~$44B), later renamed XBuys Twitter (~$44B), later renamed XWikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  25. 03/2023Founds xAI, maker of Grok
  26. Apr 20, 2023First Starship test flight
  27. 11/2023First Cybertruck deliveredFirst Cybertruck deliveredWikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  28. 07/2024Backs Donald Trump's presidential campaign

    He endorses Trump after the Butler assassination attempt and becomes one of the campaign's biggest donors. After the win he is named to lead DOGE, a government-efficiency effort, in November 2024.

  29. Oct 13, 2024The launch tower catches a Starship booster for the first timeThe launch tower catches a Starship booster for the first timeWikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
  30. 06/2025Tesla robotaxi service launches in AustinTesla robotaxi service launches in AustinWikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  31. 03/2026Announces Terafab, a chip factory shared by Tesla, SpaceX and xAI

    Planned in Austin, it aims to make the AI chips his companies need in-house rather than relying on outside suppliers.

  32. Sep 28, 2026Starship reaches orbit for the first time

Short timeline inspired by Grokipedia, « Elon Musk ».