12 Things You Didn't Know About Elon Musk
Most of us have heard of the billionaire entrepreneur
and inventor, Elon Musk.
But there are a lot of things you’ve probably
never heard about this multifaceted man.
From his early start to an impressive education
to his plans for futuristic travel, here are
12 things you didn’t know about Elon Musk.
12.
Views on Artificial Intelligence - Although
Elon Musk is a very accomplished scientist
who’s been working with technology from
a very young age, he says it could produce
a negative outcome in the future.
In many ways, he believes deeply in the progress
of the technological world as a way to preserve
humanity.
As CEO of Tesla, Inc., it’s been Musk’s
aim to produce an energy efficient vehicle
and eventually replace the oil-run cars society
has used for decades.
However, part of his thought-process revolves
around the fear that one day the world will
face its end due to Artificial Intelligence,
or AI.
He is the owner of Space Exploration Technologies,
or SpaceX, a company that designs state-of-the-art
rockets.
Musk’s goal for his company is to allow
humankind to inhabit places outside of Earth
and plans to construct a self-sufficient metropolis
on Mars, just in case the advancement of Artificial
Intelligence goes awry.
He even founded a company called OpenAI to
do in-depth research on the subject.
Some may not agree with Musk’s viewpoint
on this matter, but if you watch the movie
I, Robot from 2004, you might think twice.
11.
Tesla’s Mission - Everyone knows that Musk’s
aim for his company, Tesla, Inc., is to produce
electric-powered cars and eventually get rid
of fossil-fuel use entirely.
However, there are hybrid cars capable of
running on electricity such as Toyota’s
Prius models and the Chevrolet Volt.
So what makes Tesla different than these?
Elon’s goal is to make fully electric cars
that run as well or better than the models
we have already.
He doesn’t believe we should compromise
the efficiency of the vehicle to stop relying
on unsustainable sources.
One of the most recent cars from Tesla is
the Model X.
The SUV uses no gas or oil, but instead a
rechargeable set of batteries, and can travel
over 290 miles on a single charge.
Not only is Musk making vast improvements
to the driving industry regarding the pollution
prevention, but has made even more advancements
for the long-distance traveler by adding a
self-driving component to these automobiles.
He hopes to create cars that operate themselves
in the future so that people can sit back
and relax while awaiting their destinations.
10.
Early Education - A lot of us know how knowledgeable
he is but, many aren’t sure where Elon Musk
got his brains from.
He has proven his intelligence numerous times
through his work in corporations like Tesla
and SpaceX, but how did he become such an
important part of the scientific world?
When he was 12 years old, he decided to educate
himself in the art of computer programming.
After he learned the basics of coding, he
even developed the video game Blastar.
Musk then made his first business deal by
selling the code for the game to a magazine.
A few years later at just 17 years old, he
began attending Queen’s University in Ontario,
Canada, as a way to bypass South Africa’s
required military service.
In 1992 he moved to the United States after
transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree
5 years later and was even accepted by Stanford
University to continue his post-secondary
education.
After only a couple days at Stanford, Musk
dropped out to start the software company,
Zip2, with his brother which has clearly benefited
him in the grand scheme of things.
9.
Ran a Nightclub - We recognize that Elon Musk
was very serious about his education and business
aspirations when he was younger, and he needed
money in order to live comfortably while fulfilling
these passions.
So, he put his mind to work and used his determination,
and some creative thinking, to pay for his
college housing.
During his time at the University of Pennsylvania,
he, along with his roommate and fellow entrepreneur,
Adeo Ressi, rented a house that had upwards
of 10 rooms.
They turned their new home into a social hub,
throwing outrageous parties thought to have
hosted as many as 500 people, whom they charged
a small cover fee in return for unlimited
drinks.
However, Musk remained focused on his schooling
and is said to have stayed in his room throughout
the majority of these festivities where he
would continue his scholarly studies, all
the while collecting the profits.
8.
Siblings - Elon Musk has gained a lot of notoriety
over recent years, especially because of his
latest project in which he sent a Tesla into
space.
But he isn’t the only Musk who’s made
major advancements in the world.
He has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a little
sister, Tosca.
Kimbal Musk is a very successful entrepreneur
himself.
After selling the Zip2 company he and Elon
were partnered in managing, he moved to New
York where he studied at the French Culinary
Institute.
Kimbal eventually opened several restaurants
including The Kitchen Boulder, The Kitchen
Denver, and Next Door.
He is also intent on helping America’s children
strive, which his non-profit organization,
The Kitchen Community, has established.
Tosca Musk has proven herself a successful
filmmaker by producing many movies including
Simple Things in 2007 and Afterburn/ Aftershock
in 2017.
There’s no denying that this family is blessed
with a multitude of talents and their accomplishments
aren’t surprising considering their parental
origin.
Their mother was a dietician and model and
their father an electromechanical engineer.
We could say the apple doesn’t fall far
from the tree.
7.
Children - Another thing you probably didn’t
know about Elon Musk is that he has five children.
He was married to his first wife, Justine
Wilson, in 2000.
Unfortunately, the couple’s first son passed
away at only 10 weeks old.
However, the couple pulled through this difficult
time and decided to try in vitro fertilization.
Through this method, they went on to have
twin boys, Xavier and Griffin, in 2004.
Then just two years later, Elon and Justine
went through in vitro fertilization again,
and in 2006 she gave birth to triplet sons,
Kai, Damian, and Saxon.
Sadly, two years after their boys were born,
in 2008, the couple decided to separate.
The boys are all doing well, and both Elon
and Justine play important roles in their
lives.
6.
Private School - Musk is very education-oriented
when it comes to him and his children, and
the billionaire was displeased with the schools
his little ones were attending.
Since these facilities weren’t meeting Musk’s
ideal academic standards, he decided to create
his own, which he named “Ad Astra.”
The name of the school means “to the stars,”
which relates directly to his undertakings
in the realm of space exploration.
He opened the institute in July of 2015 but
didn’t speak much about it publicly.
Musk kept the student population very limited,
as there was no real way to apply for enrollment
and admission was said to have been by invite
only.
In fact, it was reported to have only around
15 students and 3 teachers in attendance.
An ex-employee of SpaceX stated that Musk
originally managed Ad Astra from an office
in the company’s building.
Once people found out about the school, the
administrator, Dan Lakis, was contacted by
parents from all around the area.
The school still appears to be up and running
and is located in Los Angeles, California.
5.
Boring Company - Elon Musk founded The Boring
Company in 2016.
Since he lives in southern California, he
is no stranger to the ever-increasing traffic
issues people face on a daily basis.
Considering his proven problem-solving technique
is to invent cutting-edge solutions, it’s
no surprise that he’s come up with a way
to ease the congestion of busy city life.
Just as its name suggests, The Boring Company’s
goal is to dig tunnel systems underneath cities.
These underground roads would be used to get
people where they want to go more quickly.
The idea is to lower vehicles into this network
of subterranean pathways via parking space
entrances.
The car and driver would then be zipped away
at about 130 miles per hour on a set track,
allowing them to reach their destination at
a much faster rate and, in turn, alleviating
some traffic jams back home.
Musk plans to cut the cost of digging these
tunnels in half by decreasing their size.
He has apparently gotten the green-light to
begin construction on a system linking Philadelphia,
New York City, and Washington DC.
4.
Tesla in Space - Earlier this year, on February
6th, Elon Musk decided to extend his research
on space travel by launching one of his rockets
from the Kennedy Space Center.
He used his SpaceX company’s rocket, Falcon
Heavy, to carry his Tesla Roadster into the
asteroid belt.
Musk meant the gesture to be a foreshadowing
of future intergalactic journeys, even placing
a mannequin “Starman” in the driver’s
seat of the sports car.
He also intended the launch as a test for
bringing larger objects, like bulky satellites,
into the solar system more efficiently.
Although he meant well, he received a lot
of backlash from agencies such as NASA.
Other researchers stated that the vehicle
could be a threat to Mars, in that the bacteria
from the car could contaminate and essentially
wipe out any living substance currently on
the planet if the two ever collided.
However, this concern is purely speculation.
Regrettably, for Musk, his plastic astronaut
didn’t go as far as the asteroid belt, making
it just beyond Mars’ orbit.
3.
Solar Power - Not only is Elon Musk interested
in energy-efficient cars; his concerns expand
to all objects and activities that rely on
non-renewable fuel sources to operate in today’s
society.
His cousins, Peter and Lyndon Rive, began
the company, SolarCity.
The basic concept was proposed by Musk who
then helped tremendously with jump-starting
the business by assisting with funding.
The corporation made its debut in 2006, and
by 2013 it was one of the most prosperous
alternate-energy providers in the United States,
even joining forces in 2010 with the Musk
Foundation to provide solar-power to areas
that had suffered through hurricanes.
A few years later, in 2016, Musk’s Tesla
Motors enterprise, purchased the company.
Some speculate this business deal was due
to SolarCity’s financial hardships, but
other opinions state it is because the combination
of both form an unstoppable force in the mission
for a cleaner world.
Either way, they seem to be making breakthroughs
in the fight against global warming, which
is inarguably a great idea.
2.
Aliens - In December of 2017, Elon Musk sent
one of SpaceX’s rockets, Falcon 9, soaring
toward the stars just above Los Angeles.
He inadvertently caused an uproar from residents
who had no idea the spacecraft was going to
be up and running that day.
People from all over, who could see the rocket
clearly traveling across the night sky, began
questioning the objects intentions.
With no clue what they should think, some
guessed it could be aliens or even a dangerous
foreign projectile.
Although it ended on a positive note, it didn’t
help with Musk’s suspected otherworldly
origins.
Since some believe a man who’s accomplished
so much and introduced so many new concepts
to society just isn’t possible as a human
being, they’ve resorted to believing he’s
an intelligent lifeform from another planet.
Most of these questions have been put to rest,
but Elon Musk continues to stir the pot by
launching more rockets.
1.
Neuralink - We’ve talked about Elon Musk’s
thoughts on artificial intelligence and how
it could jeopardize humanity somewhere down
the line.
We know that he created OpenAI to research
the subject.
However, he’s taken steps to further pursue
his aspirations in preventing this possible
outcome.
Neuralink is a company that Musk co-founded
in 2016.
He plans to fuse the organic human brain with
the continuously-evolving intellect of our
computer counterparts, by using BCIs, or brain-computer
interfaces.
By doing this, the ultimate goal is to keep
us ahead of the game and to make sure technology
doesn’t end up outsmarting us.
But there are other reasons for bringing this
idea into play.
The implants placed inside the brain could
help keep debilitating diseases in check,
thus prolonging lives, and also increasing
human abilities in general.
With the way things are heading, it seems
we might find ourselves in the middle of a
science fiction story, brought to life.
What are your thoughts about Elon Musk’s
Tesla launch into space?
