The True Identity of Elon Musk

Elon Musk can be characterized in various ways: intelligent, innovative, daring, abusive, toxic, and dangerous. Regardless of one's opinion on this controversial billionaire, there is always something to discuss.

Let's delve into the true identity of Elon Musk.

Early Years

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, in June 1971, Elon Musk is the oldest of three children. His father, Errol Musk, had a diverse range of professions, including electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and ultimately, property developer and co-owner of a diamond mine in Zambia. Elon's mother, May, was a former model and dietitian. From a young age, Elon showed a strong passion for learning. He had a voracious appetite for books and could often finish one in a day. He was a bright and ambitious boy who started coding at the age of 12. In 1983, at the age of 12, he even sold a video game he designed called "Blastar" for $500, which would be equivalent to about $840 today.

However, Elon's childhood was not without its challenges. He faced bullying at school and was even pushed down the stairs at one point. Yet, the most troubling abuse he experienced did not come from his peers but from his father. Elon's parents had a turbulent marriage and divorced when he was eight years old. He and his brother lived with their father until their teenage years. While there is limited evidence of physical abuse from Errol Musk towards Elon and his siblings, the emotional abuse was significant. Elon has mentioned in interviews that it was sad how his father would sit them down and lecture them for hours when he was angry with them. The relationship between Elon and his father remains one of the darkest and most private aspects of his life.

Despite his father's shortcomings in providing emotional support, Errol compensated for it with financial success. The acquisition of the emerald mine proved to be highly lucrative for the family. Elon recalls moments when they couldn't close their family safe and even walking around New York City with emeralds in his pockets during a trip. In summary, Elon Musk's life has been marked by brilliance, innovation, risk-taking, and personal hardships. His relationship with his father, Errol, has been tumultuous, with emotional abuse overshadowing any financial support. Nonetheless, Elon's entrepreneurial spirit and achievements continue to captivate public attention.

Elon demonstrated his business acumen and drive from a young age. In high school, he and his brother embarked on a venture to open a video arcade in South Africa. Despite making progress in signing a lease and filling out forms with the city planning department, they were unable to proceed due to being deemed too young to obtain a real estate permit without an adult co-signer. Following high school, Elon and his brother relocated to Canada to live with their mother and sister. He spent two years at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario before completing his education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained degrees in economics and physics. Upon moving to the United States, Elon was determined to experience the challenges of self-sufficiency. He committed to living on one dollar a day and purchased groceries in bulk to sustain himself.

Entrepreneurship Beginnings

During his time at the University of Pennsylvania, Elon and a classmate transformed a 10-bedroom frat house into a nightclub, showcasing his entrepreneurial spirit. Subsequently, he pursued a PhD at Stanford University but dropped out after only two days to seize opportunities arising from the dot-com boom in Silicon Valley. In Palo Alto, Elon and his brother Kimball founded Zip2, a tech company similar to MapQuest. In the early stages of their startup, Elon resided in his office and relied on the YMCA for showering facilities to save money. Despite financial challenges, their investment paid off when they sold Zip2 to Compaq in 1999 for $341 million, with Elon receiving $22 million. Although Elon and his brother achieved success with their company, they encountered difficulties due to the control exerted by investors. Compaq directed the product towards media companies rather than the business-to-consumer model Elon had envisioned.

During this period, Elon's reputation as being difficult to work with began to emerge. Additionally, the acquisition made Elon and his brother among the newest wealthy individuals in Silicon Valley. With his $22 million, Elon acquired a rare McLaren sports car and invested $10 million in his next project, a banking site called X.com. Approximately a year later, X.com merged with Kofinity, a financial startup co-founded by Peter Thiel, to form the company now known as PayPal. Elon assumed the role of CEO, but his tenure was short-lived due to disagreements over the company's server operating system. Musk proposed moving from the free Unix system to Windows, but the Chief Technology Officer, Max Levchen, opposed the change. While on his honeymoon in Australia, Elon contracted malaria and was away from the company for six months, during which he was essentially ousted as CEO. However, he remained PayPal's largest shareholder and received $165 million when eBay acquired the company for $1.5 billion.

Before the sale of PayPal, Elon Musk was already making plans for his next big move. He had a vision to send human beings to Mars, which led him to establish SpaceX, a space exploration company, in 2002. With an initial investment of $100 million, his goal was to make space flight significantly more affordable. Musk's determination and defiance were evident in his choice to name one of the spacecraft "Puff the Magic Dragon," as a playful jab at those who doubted the feasibility of sending consumers to space. In 2004, Musk embarked on his most lucrative venture yet, making the first of many investments in Tesla Motors, an electric vehicle company co-founded by Martin Eberhardt. Musk actively participated in Tesla's research and development, playing a key role in the creation of the Tesla Roadster in 2006. His involvement was so significant that he orchestrated a coup in 2007, ousting Eberhardt from his position and later removing the remaining board members from the company.

The year 2008 proved to be a challenging one for Musk. The global financial crisis severely limited his options, and he had to personally invest $40 million of his own capital to rescue Tesla from bankruptcy. Between SpaceX, Tesla, and the newly acquired SolarCity, Musk faced the risk of losing everything. Additionally, this was the year he tragically lost his infant son. However, fortune smiled upon Musk when SpaceX secured a $1.5 billion contract with NASA to deliver supplies to space during Christmas of 2008. Furthermore, Tesla received over $300 million in external investments by June 2010 and successfully conducted an IPO, raising $226 million.

Family Life

Elon Musk is an eccentric individual, and despite being one of the wealthiest people in history, he keeps his private life relatively unknown. Musk has been married three times and has 10 children. He met his first wife, Justine Wilson, while studying at Queen's University in Ontario. In a charming gesture, Musk showed up with two melting ice cream cones in his hands after Wilson declined his invitation to get ice cream. Musk pursued her with roses even after transferring to Wharton business school. Eventually, they married and moved to Los Angeles in 2000. Sadly, they lost their first son, Nevada, to SIDS. However, they have five surviving children: twins and triplets. Musk and Justine divorced in 2008.

Musk later married actress Talulah Riley in 2010, but they divorced in 2012. They remarried in 2013 but divorced once again in 2016. Despite the divorces, they maintain an amicable relationship. In 2016, Musk briefly dated actress Amber Heard but ended the relationship due to their demanding schedules. Musk expressed his deep love for Heard and the pain he felt when they couldn't make it work. In 2018, he embarked on a whirlwind romance with Canadian musician Grimes, with whom he had a son named X Ash A12 in 2020. However, their relationship ended in 2021, although they continue to co-parent their son.

In 2020, Musk made the decision to relocate himself and the Tesla plant to Texas, driven by dissatisfaction with taxes, regulations, and COVID-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, the move seemed to mark the end of his relationship with Grimes. Musk's extensive lineage includes a controversial secret set of twins fathered with a Neuralink executive. These twins arrived shortly after his breakup with Grimes and the birth of their second child together, a baby girl via surrogate. The twins were born in Austin, Texas, bringing Musk's total number of children to 10 with three different mothers, most of them being twins or triplets. Adding to the controversies surrounding Musk, it was reported in May 2022 that he paid $250,000 to a SpaceX flight attendant who accused him of sexual misconduct. The claim alleged that Musk exposed himself to the flight attendant during a massage in 2018.

Elon Musk has denied any wrongdoing, but he has faced criticism for his theories on population and the falling birth rate in the U.S. which he refers to as the "underpopulation crisis." Musk has a peculiar fascination with this issue and claims that his children are his way of addressing the problem. According to him, a declining birth rate poses the greatest threat to civilization.

Musk has always been determined to achieve his goals once he sets his mind to them. Being an avid Twitter user, he decided in 2022 to become the owner of the platform. He purchased 9.2 percent of Twitter's stock, making him the largest individual shareholder. Subsequently, he offered to buy the entire company at an inflated price, threatened to sell his shares if the sale didn't go through, and eventually acquired the social media platform for $44 billion. Upon taking control, Musk made immediate changes to Twitter, including a significant reduction in the workforce and the removal of anyone who disagreed with him. He also discontinued free lunches for staff and converted conference rooms into bedrooms for employees who are now expected to work up to 80 hours per week.

Additionally, Musk implemented changes such as charging more for the Twitter blue feature, which allows users to edit their tweets, and revoked the verified blue check mark from previously verified accounts that were not subscribed to Twitter blue. He also reinstated controversial public figures like Donald Trump and Kanye West. It appears that Musk's ownership of the platform is driven by a desire for political influence. Since taking control, he has touted the return of concepts like free speech and claimed that "comedy is legal again." However, some users argue that Musk is using the platform to promote right-wing ideals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Musk expressed dissatisfaction with California's strict lockdowns and regulations and relocated his operations to Southern Texas. This move coincided with his alignment with conservative ideas and politicians. Musk even tweeted his support for Ron DeSantis, stating that he would back him if he ran for president in Florida. DeSantis has implemented policies such as book bans, shortened abortion term limits, restrictions on gender identity and sexual orientation discussions in schools, and limits on the teaching of racism in American history. It is evident that Elon Musk leans toward conservative politics.

In conclusion, Musk is a complex individual who grew up in unique circumstances. Despite being born into wealth, he resented his father and was driven to create his own success. From a young age, he demonstrated curiosity, determination, and business acumen. Musk has made millions and faced controversy along the way, exhibiting disregard for rules and the well-being of others. He has had multiple marriages and children, which may be linked to his concerns about underpopulation. With his vast wealth, he seems capable of achieving almost anything.