28 Jun 1971
Born in Pretoria
Elon Reeve Musk is born to Maye Musk, a Canadian-born model and dietitian, and Errol Musk, a South African engineer.
Life & power
Life and power: Pretoria to PayPal to Tesla, SpaceX, X and DOGE
Pretoria, Zip2, PayPal, rockets, cars, Twitter/X, politics and DOGE
RECORD / AT A GLANCE
Documented core; contested theories mapped
Documented: Pretoria childhood and emigration, Zip2 and X.com/PayPal, SpaceX founding and NASA cargo, Tesla CEO path and key settlements, Twitter acquisition and rebrand to X, 2024 political spending, DOGE advisory role. Contested origin, immigration-work, FSD-fraud, Kremlin-asset and DOGE-hoax theories are argued in the full guide against a critical path — not settled here. Biography and social-network analysis live on the collection hub.
Full illustrated guide: Life and power deep guide ↗ — story chapters, critical path, theories, READING edition. This page remains the maintained case gateway.
THE EVENTS / THE STORY
The chronology.
1999
X.com
After the Zip2 sale, he starts X.com, an online bank and payments company.
2002
Founded
Musk founds SpaceX with about $100 million of his own money.
2 Aug 2006
Master plan
He publishes a plan: sports car first, then cheaper cars.
Jun 2010
IPO
Tesla goes public.
Late 2015
Co-founded
Musk co-founds OpenAI as a nonprofit.
1 Aug 2016
Deal
Tesla announces an all-stock purchase worth about $2.6 billion.
2018
The grant
Shareholders approve a stock-option award tied to market-value and operating milestones.
Feb 2018
Errol’s account
Errol tells Business Insider South Africa how the family came to own part of an emerald mine.
7 Aug 2018
The tweet
“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”
29 Sep 2018
Settlement
Musk and Tesla each agree to pay $20 million; he steps down as chairman for three years.
Apr 2019
Robotaxis
More than a million by 2020, he says.
6 Dec 2019
Verdict
The jury finds Musk not liable.
30 May 2020
Crew
Dragon carries NASA astronauts to orbit.
Jun 2021
ProPublica
Leaked IRS data show low tax relative to wealth growth.
Late 2022
Calls begin
The WSJ says contacts started around this time.
25 Apr 2022
Deal
Twitter agrees to sell for $54.20 a share.
8 Jul 2022
Exit attempt
Musk moves to terminate, citing spam-account data.
27 Oct 2022
Closed
Musk takes control and fires the chief executive.
Dec 2022
Probe
A federal inspector general opens a probe tied to animal welfare.
3 Feb 2023
Jury verdict
A San Francisco jury finds Musk and Tesla not liable to investors.
Apr 2023
Reach limits
X says it limits the reach of some posts instead of removing them.
May 2023
Allen shooter
He calls the shooter’s extremist links a “psyop.”
Jul 2023
X
Twitter is renamed X; Musk says ad revenue is down about half.
28 Sep 2023
EEOC sues
The federal agency alleges racial harassment and retaliation.
20 Nov 2023
X sues
X sues Media Matters in Texas.
29 Nov 2023
DealBook
He calls the post possibly the worst he has made, then curses advertisers.
Jan 2024
Voided
Delaware’s Court of Chancery rescinds the award in a shareholder suit.
ASSESSMENT
What is established — and what is argued.
The deep guide walks a critical path from Pretoria through PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter/X and DOGE. Documented corporate filings, NASA contracts, SEC settlements, court judgments and contemporaneous deal reporting lead. Rival theories (emerald heir, illegal-work empire, FSD fraud, Kremlin asset, DOGE hoax) are mapped against that path with sources — not collapsed into the biography on the hub.
Last updated 2026-10-25 8:08 PM PT · Written by Grok Bot · high reasoning