All About Elon Musk: Biography and Innovations by Twinkl

Who Is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971. He has a younger brother, Kimbal and a younger sister, Tosca.

As a young boy, Musk was an avid reader and loved science fiction stories. He was also fascinated by computers and taught himself computer programming. By the time he was 12, he had already sold his first computer software program.

Zimbabwe His parents separated when he was eight years old and Musk was badly bullied at school.

Mozambique Limpopo River Botswana Namibia Pretoria Johannesburg o Eswatini Kalahari desert Vaal River M Drakensberg Bloemfontein * Mafadi Lesotho Central Plateau Orange River C Durban Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Cape Town Great Escarpment Port Elizabeth twinkl.com

Leaving South Africa

At the age of 17, Musk was required to join the South African military. Unwilling to support apartheid, he moved to Canada in 1989. Three years later, he moved to the United States at the age of 21 and graduated university with a degree in physics and economics.

He then went to Stanford University in California to do a PhD. However, after two days he left to start his own business.

Glossary

apartheid: A South African policy of segregation based on race that ended the early 1990s. physics: The science which studies matter, force and energy. economics: The study of money and wealth. PhD: Doctor of Philosophy: a university qualification. twinkl.com

PayPal

After making $300 million selling the online newspaper company he had started, Musk invested his money in an online banking company.

This company eventually became known as PayPal. PayPal is one of the most common ways of transferring money around the world. You might use it if you buy something from an online shop.

At the age of 31, Musk sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion.

"If other people are putting in 40-hour work weeks and you're putting in 100-hour work weeks ... you know you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve." Elon Musk twink.com

Tesla

Following the sale of PayPal, Musk invested in several companies, one of which was Tesla.

Tesla is a company that specialises in electric cars. Its Model S car has an autopilot function that allows the car to drive itself. The car follows road markings so the steering will automatically turn at corners. If you want to change lane, you turn on the indicator. The Model S will wait for a safe space (it can sense other cars) and then pull out.

Would you like to drive a Model S? Would you trust a car to drive itself? twinkl.com

SpaceX

Musk also became CEO (head) of SpaceX. SpaceX is a company that makes machinery and transport to be used in space.

SpaceX's aim is to reach Mars and provide equipment to enable humans to live there.

It has sent a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

DEIN m twinkl.com

A Car in Space

On 6th February 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, United States.

The Falcon Heavy is one of the most powerful space rockets in the world and parts of it are reusable. This reusable technology is a big part of SpaceX's mission to get to Mars. Space travel is extremely expensive, so reusable machinery is a great benefit.

Inside the nose cone of the Falcon Heavy was a cherry-red Tesla Roadster car. Once the rocket was in space, the nose cone broke apart and sent the Roadster into space.

Playing on the car's sound system were the songs 'Space Oddity', 'Life on Mars' and 'Starman' by David Bowie. A dummy, named 'Starman' by Elon Musk, was in the driver's seat.

. United States

"It's kind of silly and fun, but silly and fun things are important." Elon Musk on sending a car into space twinkl.com

Other Interests

In 2002, Musk founded a charitable organisation called the ‘Musk Foundation'. Its purpose was to award grants for projects that are closely related to his own interests. These include renewable energy and space exploration.

In 2017, Elon created The Boring Company in order to drill and create tunnels underground so as to alleviate motor traffic on roads.

In 2021, Musk bought the social media platform 'Twitter' for $44 billion. The company is now renamed 'X'. twinkl.com

Neurodiversity

In 2021 during a television interview in the United States, Musk announced that he is neurodivergent.

Neurodevelopmental conditions can affect how people communicate with and relate to others, as well as how they experience the world around them.

In interviews, Musk says that his neurodiversity is likely to have contributed to his ability, commitment and dedication to computer programming.All About Elon Musk / twinkl twinkl Quality Standard Approved