Growing up in Silicon Valley, I have always been exposed to the foremost innovators who have led us into the future. I grew up playing Type to Learn 3 on my school’s Apple eMac’s crafted by Steve Jobs. I witnessed firsthand the emergence of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, and officially joined the hype on the day of my 13th birthday. I spent my early childhood making trips to Blockbuster, but now watch movies lying in bed watching Netflix thanks to founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph.
All of these innovations began with a creative thinker, and have impacted me greatly in my everyday life. While all of these entrepreneurs have significantly affected my life and my views on innovation, above all, my favorite entrepreneur is Elon Musk.
Coming to the States
Elon Musk was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, and left when he was 17 years old in order to avoid facing military service. Musk hopped on a plane to Canada with no real plan — with the presumption that he had some great uncle living in Montreal. When he had landed, he called his mom for information on his uncle and was told that his uncle had moved to Minnesota. Musk finally found a relative living in Canada after riding the bus throughout much of the country and spent the next year working odd jobs. Musk spent a short stint studying at Queens University, then went to the University of Pennsylvania receiving degrees in business and physics. He soon enrolled to pursue a PhD at Stanford University but dropped out within two days to start his first of many companies.
Musk’s Portfolio
Musk has made multiple investments in different companies he has founded and would go on to spend the money made on one company to go out and start a new company. His first company, Zip2, in simple terms was the internet version of the yellow pages. It was sold four years after he started it for $341 million. From here, Musk created X.com (now known as Paypal) which was eventually acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion. If this wasn’t already an absurd enough portfolio, Musk has gone on to create SpaceX, Tesla, and has played an important role in the development of SolarCity. To date, the 49-year-old serial entrepreneur has accumulated a net worth of $93.7 billion.
As apparent by the previously mentioned companies, Musk has most recently created, the man is determined to deal with climate change. Tesla, a premium electric car company, was created by Musk with the long term goal of creating affordable electric vehicles. The company offers a sustainable way to use energy in transportation. SolarCity, a Tesla subsidiary, focuses on alternative ways to create energy in a sustainable way. SpaceX was founded in 2002 and it became the first privatized space company to successfully launch a liquid propellant rocket and reach orbit. Elon Musk’s primary goal with SpaceX is for him to someday step foot on Mars. All of Musk’s main investments are clearly focused on a better future for humankind, and it is hard not to respect someone with intentions like his.
Lover of technology, lover of anime?
Aside from his contributions to society’s future and his innovative mind, Musk has such a likable personality. Musk, in many ways, is an everyday person like you and me. While I am busy fangirling over Elon, he is busy fangirling over the latest animes — Musk is a huge weeb (a derisive term for a non-Japanese person who is so obsessed with Japanese culture that they wish they were actually Japanese).
If you were to look through his Twitter, it would be easier to assume the account was that of a full-time anime fan. From his Twitter profile pic featuring the main character of Fullmetal Alchemist, to his tweets about “anime bitcoin,” to referring to himself as “Elon-chan”, it’s hard to imagine this anime fanboy is the same person who might take us to Mars. Additionally, Musk was quoted on record to have said “I would rather commit seppuku than fail” — need I say more?
The “Boring” Company
Another reason why I like Musk is because of how relatable he is, as shown through his company, The Boring Company. Like most sane people, Musk hates traffic. The only thing that sets Musk apart from the rest of us, is his ability to change the things he dislikes about our society.
When Musk reached his boiling point on the issue of traffic, as he faced a tiresome commute through L.A. traffic to the Tesla building, he took to Twitter to declare that he had had enough. He said he would create a company that builds underground tunnels to bypass traffic, and ensured that this “boring company” was no joke. In December of 2016, Elon Musk officially founded The Boring Company.
Although Musk was not joking when he said he would create this company, The Boring Company might be the biggest joke that I’ve ever seen. Despite being an underground tunnel company, Musk also decided to sell 20,000 flamethrowers on the company website. The product — titled “Not a Flamethrower” as customs regulations prevent the shipping of anything termed a flamethrower — went for $500 apiece and sold out in five days. The description of the product read, word for word, “Buy an overpriced Boring Company fire extinguisher! You can definitely buy one for less elsewhere, but this one comes with a cool sticker and the button is conveniently riiiight above.” Although Elon Musk has a brilliant mind, he is definitely not afraid to loosen up.
Loosening up a bit too much
As much as I love how loosely Musk is able to live despite his packed schedule, sometimes it would be in the best interest of him and his supporters if he acted a bit more professionally. The most obvious case that is brought up against Musk is his infamous first appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, where he smoked weed.
Yes, Musk is a grown man living in the state of California who can make these decisions for himself. However, when you are the head of several huge companies, it is important to understand the consequences of your actions under the public eye. This controversy not only turned Musk into a huge meme and tanked Tesla’s stock (by as much as 10%), but it led NASA to conduct a workplace culture and safety review of Boeing and SpaceX. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine commented on the incident, saying, “will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organizations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organization that’s going to launch American astronauts.” Being the leader of a company that highly values safety due to the nature of its activities, Musk needs to be less careless about how he is perceived by the public.
In the same year, Musk ran into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), when he tweeted “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” The dollar amount — a reference to marijuana — was simply a joke by Musk as he had yet to even discuss the basic terms of a deal with any source of funding. The SEC explained that the simple calculations he had done resulted in a price of $419, and “that he rounded the price up to $420 because he had recently learned about the number’s significance in marijuana culture and thought his girlfriend ‘would find it funny, which admittedly is not a great reason to pick a price.” While it is understandable that Musk is indeed human (contrary to popular belief) and that he, like the rest of us, joke around sometimes, it is important for Musk to understand the magnitude of his actions. Moving forward, Musk should do a better job of acting in a slightly more professional manner, and when under the spotlight act in a way that better reflects the significance of his entrepreneurial endeavors.
From the day he stepped foot in the states, Elon Musk and his enormous brain were destined for greatness, and he has not failed to impress with each company he has created. Musk has a way of thinking about things in a way that no other person can, but he can also be one of the most relatable people you may have the pleasure of meeting. While his relatable and undeniably funny personality is something that I truly admire, it is also one of the things that he must control better when in relation to his companies. At the end of the day, Elon Musk has pushed the technological boundaries and created a better future for society, and is someone I have boundless respect for.
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