Elon Reeve Musk, born June 28, 1971, is an engineer, industrial designer and technology entrepreneur. He is a citizen of South Africa, the United States, and Canada and is the son of Maye Musk, a model, and Errol Musk, an electromechanical engineer. Musk was a studious and awkward kid, interested in computers and science fiction, and taught himself computer programming at the age of 10. Born and raised in Pretoria, Musk had a difficult childhood. Musk was severely bullied throughout his childhood, and on top of that, his father was emotionally abusive. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Musk briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving to Canada at age 17 to attend Queen's University. Two years later he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned degrees in economics and physics. He began a Ph.D. in applied physics and materials science from Stanford University in 1995, but dropped out after two days to pursue an entrepreneurial career. In 1995 he founded Zip2, a company that provides maps and business directories to online newspapers. Zip2 was developed and in 1999 was purchased by computer manufacturer Compaq for $307 million. Musk then founded an online financial services company, X.com, which later became PayPal, specializing in online money transfers. From an online auction, eBay bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion. After founding SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars. Space Furthermore, in 2003, Musk founded Tesla Motors to accelerate the world's transition to a sustainable energy future with electric cars. Elon Musk's estimated net worth is AUD51.1 billion. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Musk became successful because of his way of thinking. One of his most successful thinking tools is first-principles thinking (the act of reducing things to their most fundamental truths). Musk takes seeking criticism seriously because he thinks few things are more important to a successful company. As he explains, "A well-thought-out critique of whatever you're doing is as good as gold." Musk has additional experience in a wide variety of fields. Despite all this knowledge, he is still aware that he doesn't have all the answers and regularly receives advice from the people around him. Even if you don't agree with their input, Musk recommends "at least listening very carefully to what they're saying." While he is very candid about the pain of starting a business, he also recognizes the light at the end of the tunnel. Musk says he didn't become an entrepreneur to be financially successful. He wanted to radically change the world for the better. Works Cited Vance, A. (2015). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the search for a fantastic future. HarperCollins Publishers.Musk, E. (2017). Elon Musk's TED talk: The future we are building with hyperloops, rockets and electric cars. TED Conferences LLC. https://www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_future_we_re_building_and_boringVance, A. (2020). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the search for a fantastic future. Here.O'Connell, M. (2021). Becoming Elon Musk: How to Build a Tech Giant from Scratch. Scribe Publications.Vance, A. (2013). Elon Musk: the..