THE MUSK REVOLUTION
By Viraj Mehta
Elon Musk is an inspiring entrepreneur with three major businesses and pushes the envelope on the frontier of automotive technology, space exploration and currency transaction. Musk and his companies have been growing, and this is a story of the past, the present and the future. Turning back to 1999, when Musk started X.com which eventually merged to become PayPal. His entrepreneurial spirits fizzed when he received his first multi-million deal from the sale of a previous company. PayPal was revolutionary and changed the way how money was sold, and it is still used today, all around the world, from paying for school meals or big transactions in online stores. Then, when PayPal was acquired by Ebay for $1.5 billion, Musk received over $150 million, making him a true multimillionaire. The impacts of PayPal have sent ripples through the financial world and put Musk in the spotlight as an inventor.
Musk explored the sector of cars later, in 2003 when he started Tesla. His first vehicle created was the Tesla roadster, an all-electric car which was hailed as an invention from the future. Musk’s aims for the company were to make all cars electric in order to make the environment and world a better place. In 2012, he created the Model S, and later the Model X. In these ways, step by step, Elon Musk was able to complete his goals for the company. Now, he had just one last task to complete – making an affordable electric car for the masses, something all other companies have tried, but failed. Last year, Musk released the Model 3, the answer to this, under $35000, with a simplistic interior and exterior. With Tesla, Musk has definitely made outstanding progress ahead in the industry, especially in autonomous driving. The Autopilot system has greatly improved, and fully autonomous functions are available. Also, Musk announced the future of the company, when he announced the Roadster and the Tesla Truck, along with Tesla Energy. The Energy division of Tesla has made great headway with the Tesla Powerwall to power homes using renewable solar energy. Commercially, they have made the grid more efficient with solar farms in California to power small islands! Tesla has really had a big impact, as they have changed cars, energy and homes.
Finally Musk has made leaps and bounds in space, with SpaceX. Although the path to space exploration has not been kind to his company, they conquered a massive milestone in the form of the launch of Falcon Heavy, their biggest rocket which was launched successfully. Its payload was jokingly an old Tesla roadster and this displayed their potential in space. However, in the past, they faced problems with lift off as their payload exploded and did not reach back to Earth. This all changed. Perhaps, Musk wants the future of space to be tourism, with small trips to space and back.
So, the future is changing, with Musk at the forefront. Elon Musk has changed the way we interact with our environment and ourselves. Therefore, we need more people like Musk to help shape our future. But, then again, who knows what the future has to hold? Musk has now become a philanthropist, and helps people to invest and raise capital. Overall, Musk has a great personality and has invested in three great companies, and has had a great impact on our world.