Elon Musk

PAYPAL, ROCKETS, CARS, X: ONE MAN'S EMPIRE OF EVERYTHING

Musk's empire is a pile-up: internet startups, PayPal money, rockets, electric cars, a social network bought on impulse, and a new AI lab called xAI. His signature AI line is 'summoning the demon' — his 2014 MIT warning — and his signature AI fight is with OpenAI itself: he sued the company he co-chaired over its for-profit turn; OpenAI's reply is that Musk wanted that turn first. Grok is his answer: deliberately less restrained, wired into X's real-time firehose.

1. 1995

   HE DROPS THE GRAD-SCHOOL PLAN AND BUILDS ZIP2

   Musk abandoned plans for graduate study and co-founded Zip2 with his brother Kimbal, building an online city-guide business before the first internet-company exit funded his next bets.

   SOURCES: Biography.comreported

2. 1999

   ZIP2 CASHES OUT. PAYPAL COMES NEXT.

   Musk co-founded Zip2, which Compaq acquired in 1999, and later co-founded the payments company that became PayPal and was acquired by eBay in 2002.

   SOURCES: Teslafirst-party

3. May 2002

   NOW HE BUILDS ROCKETS

   Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 and became its chief executive and chief technology officer, moving from internet businesses into launch systems and spacecraft.

   SOURCES: Teslafirst-party

4. Apr 2004

   THE ROCKET GUY GETS INTO ELECTRIC CARS

   Musk joined Tesla’s board in 2004 and later became chief executive in October 2008.

   SOURCES: Teslafirst-party

5. Dec 11, 2015

   MUSK CO-CHAIRS A NEW NONPROFIT CALLED OPENAI

   OpenAI launched with Musk and Sam Altman as co-chairs and a stated mission to advance digital intelligence for broad human benefit.

   SOURCES: OpenAIfirst-party

6. Feb 2018

   HE QUITS OPENAI'S BOARD

   Musk resigned as OpenAI co-chair in February 2018 after disputes over the organization’s direction and control, according to OpenAI’s later published timeline.

   SOURCES: OpenAIclaimed

7. Oct 2022

   THE SOCIAL NETWORK JOINS THE EMPIRE

   Musk took control of Twitter in October 2022, adding a giant real-time information network to his portfolio.

   SOURCES: Teslafirst-party

8. Jul 12, 2023

   HE LAUNCHES xAI TO UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE

   xAI announced itself in July 2023 with a mission centered on understanding the universe and rapidly building frontier AI systems.

   SOURCES: xAIfirst-party

9. Nov 3, 2023

   GROK GETS A REBELLIOUS STREAK

   xAI introduced Grok, a conversational model designed around real-time information from X and a deliberately less restrained personality.

   SOURCES: xAIfirst-party