At the age of 12, Elon Musk learned, self-taught, to program computers. Then began a very successful story, as at that age he was already able to sell video game codes for 500 dollars. With a degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania, he is known worldwide for his entrepreneurial spirit in founding several innovative companies.
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Zip2 Corporation In 1995, Musk founded Zip2 Corporation, a company that produced urban mapping software that was available to newspapers to serve their readers. The businessman sold the company to Compaq in 1999 for US$307 million.
PayPal Initially called X.com, PayPal was another innovation that Elon Musk contributed to. Founded in 1999, it allowed payments via email, which was revolutionary at the time. In 2000, the company merged with Confinity and was sold to eBay in 2002 for US$1.5 billion in exchange for shares.
SpaceX Elon Musk is also in the aerospace business. In 2002 he founded SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.), a company specializing in the development of aerospace technology and space transportation services.
The SpaceX launch base in South Texas, seen from above. Image: SpaceX/Disclosure The company has a partnership with NASA and operates the Starlink satellite, responsible for providing internet to the planet. One of Musk's main goals is the colonization of Mars, if that is ever considered possible.
Tesla Musk was an early investor in Tesla, a company that produces electric cars and solar energy products. Despite not having founded the company, the businessman has held the role of CEO since 2008.
The OpenAI entrepreneur is one of the brilliant minds responsible for creating OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT. It emerged as a non-profit organization in 2015, operating exclusively as an artificial intelligence (AI) research organization. He currently has no affiliation with the company.
Although Solar City was founded in 2006, Musk only became owner of the company in 2016, when he acquired the company through Tesla, which offers solar energy products.
Neuralink was founded by Elon Musk in 2016, the company develops technologies to connect the human brain to computers and treat neurological diseases.
Description of Telepathy, Neuralink's brain chip. Image: Neuralink/Disclosure Focused on building underwater tunnels using drilling technology, the company was founded in 2016 by an entrepreneur.
One of Elon Musk's technological projects was not one of the most successful. This is Thud, a media outlet that creates satirical and humorous content. The company closed in 2019.
X Corp formerly Twitter, the social network was acquired by businesspeople in 2022. After taking charge of the company, Musk undertook a complete overhaul, which has been in the news due to massive layoffs at the company.
xAI Elon Musk's most recent venture is xAI, an artificial intelligence startup founded in March 2024. The company is the creator of the Grok chatbot and intends to compete with major rivals in the area, such as OpenAI.
xAI is an artificial intelligence startup designed to compete with OpenAI. Image: Inglis Parasitia/Shutterstock What are Elon Musk’s interests in Brazil? Elon Musk's main interests in Brazil are nickel, lithium and satellites. For example, Tesla, a Brazilian mining company, signed an agreement with Vale to obtain nickel, a substance necessary for the production of batteries that power electric cars.
Furthermore, Brazil is already speculating about billions of possible interests in lithium, an input known as 'white gold', essential for energy transmission and production of electric car batteries. According to the United States Geological Survey, Brazil has the 15th largest lithium reserves in the world, with 800 thousand tons.
Another interest of Musk is the exploration of satellites in Brazil through SpaceX. Anatel has already authorized the use of the company's Starlinks satellites, which allow greater access to communications in the Amazon region.
According to information from Anatel itself, Starlink Brasil already has 149 thousand of the current 398 thousand satellite Internet broadband subscriptions in the country, that is, 37% of all satellite Internet contracts in Brazilian territory.
What is Elon Musk's richest company? Tesla is Elon Musk's richest company. The company's market value, for example, is currently US$1.07 trillion (around R$6.22 trillion).
What was the first company founded by Elon Musk? The first company founded by the billionaire was Zip2 Corporation, in 1995. According to the Remesa Online website, it grew to more than US$300 million in less than 5 years.