The Mysterious Mr.
Musk - A Profile of Elon Musk, the Man behind Tesla Motors
Elon Musk has become one of the most renowned
entrepreneurs in the world. He is an American citizen famous for his work in
the technology industry, and for his involvement in ventures like PayPal, Zip2,
SpaceX, Tesla Motors and Solar City. As of January 2015, his net worth was an
estimated $11.7 billion. Behind him lies a force of creative scientists and
engineers, who share Musk’s dreams of a more sustainable future. His dreams,
encompassing everything from electric automobiles to reusable rockets and Mars
colonies, are daring in their own right. It’s the audacity to see them through
that sets Musk apart from the rest.
Born in South Africa in 1971, as a child he
taught himself computer programming and created his first video game at age
twelve. He later moved to Canada, and then to the United States where he
attended the University of Pennsylvania. After obtaining two bachelor’s
degrees, one in economics and one in physics, Musk intended to continue in
school at California’s Stanford University. Instead, after two days of classes,
he dropped out and started his first company. Elon
Musk the entrepreneur was born.
Musk has never been afraid of working tirelessly
towards his goals; sustaining his initiative through rounds of failure. At the
age of twenty-eight, after selling his first tech company, he was already a
millionaire. But unlike many who acquire wealth at an early age, he didn't
retire or squander his new fortune. Instead, he plunged ahead and founded
X.com, an online bank that would eventually become PayPal. As such, Musk is credited as being the inventor of a method of
securing transferring money using only the recipient's e-mail.
When eBay purchased PayPal
for $1.5 billion in 2002, Musk’s fortunes
increased again. He quickly co-founded Space Exploration Technologies, or
SpaceX, to pave the way for his next pet project - sending humans to colonize
Mars. The company primarily develops and manufactures space launch vehicles, in
hopes of advancing the state of rocket technology. Musk himself has expressed
interest in living on Mars, going so far as to state an intent to retire on the
planet. But for now, he remains Earth-bound with the rest of us. Not that he
isn’t making waves there as well.
In 2004, Musk went ahead with Martin Eberhard to
work with the young Tesla Motor company. Sustainability lies at the core of its
mission, and Musk has long expressed sentiments that the current proliferation
of gasoline-powered vehicles is unsustainable in the long term. Musk’s
initiatives have inspired energy producers and automobile manufacturers alike,
driving more companies to pursue alternative energy options (see this website for more information). In 2008 following the financial
crisis, Musk took full leadership of the company as CEO, a position he
maintains today.
The first vehicle produced by Tesla, the Roadster, entered general production in 2008 and was priced at $109,000 –
not a comfortable price-point for most consumers. However, the firm's second
offering, the Model S, was released to
customers in 2012 at a more reasonable (though still exorbitant) $57,400. Tesla
gradually seems to be at least trying to deliver on its commitment to bring the
prices of alternative-energy cars down to a point where most customers can
afford them.
Musk is also trying to change the way that
automakers interact with the public. Although Tesla operates showrooms in
dozens of states and internationally, there are no Tesla dealers; customers
purchase their automobiles directly from the manufacturer. This promises to
increase transparency and reduce prices although some jurisdictions have
legislation making this model of selling cars difficult.
Tesla
Motors achieved its first profitable month in July
2009, and generated $226 million in additional funding through an IPO in June
2010. Despite these signs of success in a difficult market, Musk believes that
the true way forward for the company is to expand the electric car industry as
a whole. He therefore took the unusual step to open Tesla Motors' patents
and other intellectual property in July 2014. While such a decision may seem
like corporate suicide, Musk is confident his daring move will incentivize the
development of much-needed infrastructure, like EV charging stations. At the
same time, the standardization of parts and economies of scale that could be
achieved by sharing technologies may allow for cheaper prices and growing
adoption of these vehicles among the public at large.
Teslas Motors' sales of electric vehicles have grown from 0 a decade ago to an estimated 11,000 units in the first
nine months of 2014. While this is a remarkable accomplishment, the numbers
pale in comparison to the figures for traditional cars. Elon Musk's decision to
open up Tesla's patents could speed the growth of the entire market, from which
his enterprise will likely reap immense benefits. However, it's possible that a
lack of supporting
infrastructure and the hostility of
rivals' dealer networks may sink the Tesla brand before it truly makes a big
impact on the automotive industry as a whole. Because it is such a high-profile
and ambitious attempt to make electric vehicles a reasonably priced alternative
to cars that burn fossil fuels, a failure at Tesla Motors could cause other
investors and entrepreneurs to shy away from the idea of environmentally
sustainable transportation technologies in the future.
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