Why wouldn’t you try to make the future better if you are going to be a part of it. — Elon Musk
When I look at my Evernote notes the first entry with Elon Musk was in November 2014. It was this german article with the translated title “Mr. 100.000 volt — Elon Musk the next Steve Jobs”. I think at this time I don’t realize which impact he will have to me.
Then the next time on December 31st the day before New Year’s Eve 2014/2015 I see one of this cars in Amsterdam, driving as an Uber driver who drive a Tesla.
A friend of mine told me “This is a Tesla”. I said “The best design of a car, I’ve ever seen”. At this moment I also didn’t know that Elon Musk was the man behind this car.
Then the more I’ve read about startups and which books are recommended to build your own business I get in touch with Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. In this book he wrote about the The PayPal Mafia. Elon Musk was one of the co-founders. After I’ve read the part with the PayPal Mafia, I’ve done some research, who is this guy. I found this video on youtube. It shows his story in 45 minutes.
This man is crazy, I thought after I’ve watched the video.
I also recommend this book about him.
So in short some facts about his career:
- He founded 1995 Zip2, a web software company. Compaq acquired Zip2 for US$307 million in cash. Musk received US$22 million from the sale.
- 1999 he co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company. In 2000 it merged with Confinity, which had a money transfer service called PayPal. In 2002, PayPal was aquired by eBay for US$1.5 billion in stock. US$165 million was given to Musk.
- In 2002 he founded SpaceX. His goal with SpaceX is to reduce the cost of human spaceflight by a factor of 10. In a 2011 interview, he said he hopes to send humans to Mars’ surface within 10–20 years. n Ashlee Vance’s biography on Musk, Musk reveals that he wishes to establish a Mars colony by 2040, with a population of 80,000.
- In 2004 Musk joined Tesla’s board of directors as its chairman. The goal of Tesla is, to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.
- Musk provided the initial concept, and financial capitals for SolarCity which was then co-founded by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. SolarCity is America’s largest solar power provider. SolarCity make clean energy available to homeowners, businesses, schools, non-profits and government organizations at a lower cost than they pay for energy generated by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.
- On August 12, 2013, Musk unveiled a proposal for new form of transportation between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area, after being disappointed with the approved California High-Speed Rail system. Musk named it “hyperloop”. On January 15, 2015 Elon Musk announced via Twitter that he would be building a 5-mile long Hyperloop track most likely in Texas for students and companies to work with.
Looking to a sustainable future
On April 30th, 2015 Musk presented at the Tesla Powerwall Keynote “The Missing Piece”, the Powerwall. It’s a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers the home in the evening.
Elon Musk and Y Combinator President Sam Altman on Thinking for the Future
AI and genetics…
He showed me that really nothing is impossible, if you’re believe and focus on your dreams.
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