Elon Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur and business magnate. He is the founder, CEO, and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX; early investor, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; and founder of The Boring Company. He was also co-founder and initial co-chairman of OpenAI, a nonprofit research company that promotes friendly artificial intelligence.

Born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971, Musk had an early interest in computers and technology. He taught himself computer programming at the age of 12 and sold his first computer game at the age of 14. He later attended the University of Pretoria and the University of Pennsylvania before moving to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University. However, he decided instead to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions in the tech industry.

In 1995, Musk co-founded the web software company Zip2, which provided online business directories and maps to newspapers. The company was sold to Compaq for almost $300 million in 1999. With the proceeds, Musk founded X.com, an online payment company, which later became PayPal and was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. In 2008, SpaceX became the first privately-funded company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, and it has since launched multiple successful missions, including the deployment of satellites and the transport of NASA astronauts to the ISS.

In 2004, Musk joined the board of directors of Tesla, Inc., an electric vehicle and clean energy company, and became CEO in 2008. Under his leadership, the company has developed and produced several electric cars, including the Model S, Model X, and Model 3, and has become a leader in the clean energy industry.

Musk has also been involved in several other ventures, including the development of the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system, and the Boring Company, which aims to reduce traffic congestion by building underground transportation tunnels. He is known for his ambitious goals and innovative approach to technology and business.