[go: nahoru, domu]

Elon Reeve Musk FRS (/ˈlɒn/; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and investor known for his key roles in the space company SpaceX and the automotive company Tesla, Inc. Other involvements include ownership of X Corp., the company that operates the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), and his role in the founding of the Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, and OpenAI. He is the wealthiest individual in the world; as of November 2024 Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$304 billion.[3]

Elon Musk
Musk in 2018
Born
Elon Reeve Musk

(1971-06-28) June 28, 1971 (age 53)
Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
Citizenship
  • South Africa
  • Canada
  • United States (from 2002)
Education
Title
Spouses
  • (m. 2000; div. 2008)
  • (m. 2010; div. 2012)
    (m. 2013; div. 2016)
Partners
Children12[2]
Parents
Relatives
AwardsFull list
Signature

Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, to Maye (née Haldeman), a model, and Errol Musk, a businessman and engineer. Musk briefly attended the University of Pretoria before immigrating to Canada at the age of 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. Two years later he matriculated at Queen's University at Kingston in Canada. Musk later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania and received bachelor's degrees in economics and physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University but never enrolled in classes, and with his brother Kimbal co-founded the online city guide software company Zip2. The startup was acquired by Compaq for $307 million in 1999. That same year, Musk co-founded X.com, a direct bank. X.com merged with Confinity in 2000 to form PayPal. In 2002, Musk acquired US citizenship, and that October eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion. Using $100 million of the money he made from the sale of PayPal, Musk founded SpaceX, a spaceflight services company, in 2002.

In 2004, Musk was an early investor in electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (later Tesla, Inc.), providing most of the initial financing and assuming the position of the company's chairman. He later became the product architect and, in 2008, the CEO. In 2006, Musk helped create SolarCity, a solar energy company that was acquired by Tesla in 2016 and became Tesla Energy. In 2013, he proposed a hyperloop high-speed vactrain transportation system. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit artificial intelligence research company. The following year Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company developing brain–computer interfaces, and The Boring Company, a tunnel construction company. In 2018 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk, alleging that he had falsely announced that he had secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. To settle the case Musk stepped down as the chairman of Tesla and paid a $20 million fine. In 2022, he acquired Twitter for $44 billion, merged the company into the newly-created X Corp. and rebranded the service as X the following year. In March 2023, Musk founded xAI, an artificial-intelligence company.

Musk's actions and expressed views have made him a polarizing figure. He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including COVID-19 misinformation, promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, and endorsing an antisemitic trope; he has since apologized for the latter. His ownership of Twitter has been controversial because of the layoffs of large numbers of employees, an increase in hate speech, misinformation and disinformation posts on the website, and changes to website features, including verification. In early 2024, Musk became active in American politics as a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump, becoming Trump's second-largest individual donor in October 2024.

Early life and education

Childhood and family

Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital.[4][5] He is of British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.[6][7] His mother, Maye (née Haldeman), is a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in South Africa.[8][9][10] His father, Errol Musk, is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, emerald dealer, and property developer, who partly owned a rental lodge at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.[11][12][13][14] Elon has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a younger sister, Tosca.[10][15] Elon has four paternal half-siblings.[16][17][18]

The family was wealthy during Elon's youth.[14] Despite both Musk and Errol previously stating that Errol was a part owner of a Zambian emerald mine,[14] in 2023, Errol recounted that the deal he made was to receive "a portion of the emeralds produced at three small mines".[19][20] Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party and has said that his children shared their father's dislike of apartheid.[4]

Elon's maternal grandfather, Joshua N. Haldeman, was an American-born Canadian who took his family on record-breaking journeys to Africa and Australia in a single-engine Bellanca airplane; Haldeman died when Elon was still a toddler.[17][21][22][23] Elon has recounted trips to a wilderness school that he described as a "paramilitary Lord of the Flies" where "bullying was a virtue" and children were encouraged to fight over rations.[24]

After his parents divorced in 1980, Elon chose to live primarily with his father.[6][11] Elon later regretted his decision and became estranged from his father.[25] Elon attended Bryanston High School.[26] In one incident, after an altercation with a fellow pupil, Elon was thrown down concrete steps and beaten severely by the boy and his friends, leading to him being hospitalized for his injuries.[27] Elon described his father berating him after he was discharged from the hospital, saying, "I had to stand for an hour as he yelled at me and called me an idiot and told me that I was just worthless."[27] Errol denied berating Elon but claimed, "The boy had just lost his father to suicide and Elon had called him stupid. Elon had a tendency to call people stupid. How could I possibly blame that child?".[28] After the incident, Elon was enrolled in private school.[27][28]

Elon was an enthusiastic reader of books, later attributing his success in part to having read The Lord of the Rings, the Foundation series, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[13][29] At age ten, he developed an interest in computing and video games, teaching himself how to program from the VIC-20 user manual.[30] At age twelve, Elon sold his BASIC-based game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500.[31][32]

Education

An ornate school building 
Musk graduated from Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa.

Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School, and then Pretoria Boys High School, where he graduated.[33] Musk was a good but not exceptional student, earning a 61 in Afrikaans and a B on his senior math certification.[34] Musk applied for a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother to avoid South Africa’s mandatory military service,[35][36] which would have forced him to participate in the apartheid regime,[4] and to ease his path to immigration to the United States.[37] While waiting for his application to be processed, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months.[38]

Musk arrived in Canada in June 1989, connected with a second cousin in Saskatchewan,[39] and worked odd jobs including at a farm and a lumber mill.[40] In 1990, he entered Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.[41][42] Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied until 1995.[43] Although Musk has said that he earned his degrees in 1995, the University of Pennsylvania did not award them until 1997 – a Bachelor of Arts in physics and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the university's Wharton School.[44][45][46][47][48][49] He reportedly hosted large, ticketed house parties to help pay for tuition, and wrote a business plan for an electronic book-scanning service similar to Google Books.[50]

In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley: one at energy storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which investigated electrolytic ultracapacitors for energy storage, and another at Palo Alto–based startup Rocket Science Games.[51][52] In 1995, he was accepted to a graduate program in materials science at Stanford University, but did not enroll.[47][44][53] Musk decided to join the Internet boom, applying for a job at Netscape, to which he reportedly never received a response.[54][35] The Washington Post reported that Musk lacked legal authorization to remain and work in the United States after dropping out of Stanford.[53] In response, Musk claimed he was allowed to work at that time and that his student visa transitioned to an H1-B. According to numerous former business associates and shareholders, Musk claimed he was on a student visa at the time.[55]

Business career

Elon Musk has started a number of businesses since 1995, with initial business success and liquidity gained from sales of equity in one business providing the capital for him to start subsequent business enterprises. Musk is widely considered a serial entrepreneur. By the 2020s, several Musk businesses had formed strategic partnerships with some employees playing roles simultaneously in more than one of Musk's companies.[56][57]

Zip2

External videos
video icon  Musk speaks of his early business experience during a 2014 commencement speech at University of Southern California on YouTube

In 1995, Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded Global Link Information Network, later renamed to Zip2.[58][59] The company developed an Internet city guide with maps, directions, and yellow pages, and marketed it to newspapers.[60] They worked at a small rented office in Palo Alto,[61] with Musk coding the website every night.[61] Musk and his brother's immigration statuses during this period was described by Musk as a "gray area", although Kimbal maintained they were working as illegal immigrants.[62][63] A Washington Post exposé from October 2024 reported Musk worked illegally while building the company, citing an email from Musk submitted as evidence during a 2005 defamation trial and the funding agreement from venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures.[53]

Eventually, Zip2 obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.[50] The brothers persuaded the board of directors to abandon a merger with CitySearch;[64] however, Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted.[65] Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999,[66][67] and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.[68]

X.com and PayPal

In March 1999,[69] Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company with $12 million of the money he made from the Compaq acquisition.[70] X.com was one of the first online banks that was federally insured, and over 200,000 customers joined in its initial months of operation.[71]

Musk's friends expressed skepticism about the naming of the online bank, fearing it might have been mistaken for a pornographic site. Musk brushed off their concerns, emphasizing that the name was meant to be straightforward, memorable, and easy to type. Additionally, he was fond of the email addresses derived from it, such as "e@x.com".[69] Although Musk founded the company, investors regarded him as inexperienced and replaced him with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year.[72]

In 2000, X.com merged with the online bank Confinity to avoid competition,[61][72][73] as the latter's money-transfer service PayPal was more popular than X.com's service.[74] Musk then returned as CEO of the merged company. His preference for Microsoft- over Unix-based software caused a rift among the company's employees, and eventually led Confinity co-founder Peter Thiel to resign.[75] With the company suffering from compounding technological issues and the lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him with Thiel in September 2000.[76][a] Under Thiel, the company focused on the money-transfer service and was renamed PayPal in 2001.[78][79]

In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk—PayPal's largest shareholder with 11.7% of shares—received $176 million.[80][81] In 2017, more than 15 years later, Musk purchased the X.com domain from PayPal for its "sentimental value".[82][83] In 2022, Musk discussed a goal of creating "X, the everything app".[84]

SpaceX

Musk shakes hands with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden before a SpaceX Dragon capsule 
Then-NASA Administrator Charles Bolden congratulating Musk by the SpaceX Dragon following its 2012 mission

In early 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society and discussed funding plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars.[85] In October of the same year, he traveled to Moscow, Russia with Jim Cantrell and Adeo Ressi to buy refurbished intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could send the greenhouse payloads into space. He met with the companies NPO Lavochkin and Kosmotras; however, Musk was seen as a novice[86] and the group returned to the United States without an agreement to purchase Russian launch services. In February 2002, the group returned to Russia to look for three ICBMs. They had another meeting with Kosmotras and were offered one rocket for $8 million, which Musk rejected. He instead decided to start a company that could build affordable rockets.[86] With $100 million of his own money,[87] Musk founded SpaceX in May 2002 and became the company's CEO and chief engineer.[88][89]

SpaceX attempted its first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket in 2006.[90] Although the rocket failed to reach Earth orbit, it was awarded a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program contract from NASA.[91][92] After two more failed attempts that nearly caused Musk and his companies to go bankrupt,[90] SpaceX succeeded in launching the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008.[93] Later that year, SpaceX received a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract from NASA for 12 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), replacing the Space Shuttle after its 2011 retirement.[94] In 2012, the Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, a first for a commercial spacecraft.[95]

 
Musk examining F9R Dev1 debris in 2014

Working towards its goal of reusable rockets, in 2015 SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 on a land platform.[96] Later landings were achieved on autonomous spaceport drone ships, an ocean-based recovery platform.[97] In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy; the inaugural mission carried Musk's personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.[98][99] Since 2019,[100] SpaceX has been developing Starship, a fully-reusable, super-heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to replace the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy.[101] In 2020, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight, the Demo-2, becoming the first private company to place astronauts into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS.[102] In 2024, NASA awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to deorbit the ISS at the end of its lifespan.[103]

 
50 Starlink satellites shortly before deployment to low Earth orbit, 2019

In 2015, SpaceX began development of the Starlink constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites to provide satellite Internet access,[104] with the first two prototype satellites launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites, and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation, occurred in May 2019, when the first 60 operational satellites were launched.[105] The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in 2020 to be $10 billion.[106][b] Some critics, including the International Astronomical Union, have alleged that Starlink blocks the view of the sky and poses a collision threat to spacecraft.[109][110][111]

During the March 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine to provide Internet access and communication.[112] In October 2022, Musk stated that about 20,000 satellite terminals had been donated to Ukraine, together with free data transfer subscriptions, which cost SpaceX $80 million. After asking the United States Department of Defense to pay for further units and future subscriptions on behalf of Ukraine,[113] Musk publicly stated that SpaceX would continue to provide Starlink to Ukraine for free, at a yearly cost to itself of $400 million.[114][115][116] At the same time, Musk refused to block Russian state media on Starlink, declaring himself "a free speech absolutist".[117][118]

In September 2023, Ukraine asked for the activation of Starlink satellites over Crimea to attack Russian naval vessels located at the port Sevastopol; Musk denied the request, citing concerns that Russia would respond with a nuclear attack.[119][120][121]

Tesla

Musks stands, arms crossed and grinning, before a Tesla Model S 
Musk next to a Tesla Model S, 2011

Tesla, Inc., originally Tesla Motors, was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Both men played active roles in the company's early development prior to Musk's involvement.[122] Musk led the Series A round of investment in February 2004; he invested $6.35 million, became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla's board of directors as chairman.[123][124] Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster product design, but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations.[125]

Following a series of escalating conflicts in 2007, and the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Eberhard was ousted from the firm.[126][page needed][127] Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect in 2008.[128] A 2009 lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two others.[129][130] As of 2019, Musk was the longest-tenured CEO of any automotive manufacturer globally.[131] In 2021, Musk nominally changed his title to "Technoking" while retaining his position as CEO.[132]

Musk speaking with a microphone, a projected image of a Tesla is behind him 
Musk before a Model X at the 2014 Tesla Inc. annual shareholder meeting

Tesla began delivery of the Roadster, an electric sports car, in 2008. With sales of about 2,500 vehicles, it was the first serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells.[133] Tesla began delivery of its four-door Model S sedan in 2012.[134] A crossover, the Model X was launched in 2015.[135] A mass-market sedan, the Model 3, was released in 2017.[136] In 2020, the Model 3 became the all-time bestselling plug-in electric car worldwide, and in June 2021 it became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally.[137][138] A fifth vehicle, the Model Y crossover, was launched in 2020, and in December 2023, became the best-selling vehicle of any type,[139] as well as the all-time best-selling electric car.[140] The Cybertruck, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019,[141] and delivered in November 2023.[142] Under Musk, Tesla has also constructed multiple lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle factories, named Gigafactories.[143]

Since its initial public offering in 2010,[144] Tesla stock has risen significantly; it became the most valuable carmaker in summer 2020,[145][146] and it entered the S&P 500 later that year.[147][148] In October 2021, it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, the sixth company in US history to do so.[149] In November 2021, Musk proposed on Twitter to sell some of his Tesla stock.[150] After more than 3.5 million Twitter accounts supported the sale, Musk sold $6.9 billion of Tesla stock within a week,[150] and a total of $16.4 billion by year end, reaching the 10% target.[151] In February 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Musk and his brother Kimbal were under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for possible insider trading related to the sale.[152] In 2022, Musk unveiled Optimus, a robot being developed by Tesla.[153] In June 2023, Musk met with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in New York City, stating he was interested in investing in India "as soon as humanly possible".[154]

SEC and shareholder lawsuits regarding tweets

In 2018, Musk was sued by the SEC for a tweet stating that funding had been secured for potentially taking Tesla private.[155][c] The lawsuit characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of publicly traded companies.[155][159][160] Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla chairman but was able to remain as CEO.[161] Shareholders filed a lawsuit over the tweet,[162] and in February 2023, a jury found Musk and Tesla not liable.[163] Musk has stated in interviews that he does not regret posting the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation.[164][165]

In 2019, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla would build half a million cars that year.[166] The SEC reacted by asking a court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of the 2018 settlement agreement. A joint agreement between Musk and the SEC eventually clarified the previous agreement details,[167] including a list of topics about which Musk needed preclearance.[168] In 2020, a judge blocked a lawsuit that claimed a tweet by Musk regarding Tesla stock price ("too high imo") violated the agreement.[169][170] Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)-released records showed that the SEC concluded Musk had subsequently violated the agreement twice by tweeting regarding "Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price".[171]

SolarCity and Tesla Energy

Two green vans sporting the SolarCity logo 
SolarCity solar-panel installation vans in 2009

Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive founded in 2006.[172] By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.[173] In 2014, Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States.[174] Construction of the factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It operated as a joint venture with Panasonic until early 2020.[175][176]

Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2 billion in 2016 and merged it with its battery unit to create Tesla Energy. The deal's announcement resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla's stock price; at the time, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues.[177] Multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla's directors, stating that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholders.[178][179] Tesla directors settled the lawsuit in January 2020, leaving Musk the sole remaining defendant.[180][181] Two years later, the court ruled in Musk's favor.[182]

Musk standing next to bulky medical equipment on a stage 
Musk discussing a Neuralink device during a live demonstration in 2020

In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup company, with an investment of $100 million.[183][184] Neuralink aims to integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by creating devices that are embedded in the brain. Such technology could enhance memory or allow the devices to communicate with software.[184][185] The company also hopes to develop devices with which to treat neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and spinal cord injuries.[186]

In 2019, Musk announced work on a device akin to a sewing machine that could embed threads into a human brain.[183] In an October 2019 paper that detailed some of Neuralink's research,[187] Musk was listed as the sole author, which rankled Neuralink researchers.[188] At a 2020 live demonstration, Musk described one of their early devices as "a Fitbit in your skull" that could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other disabilities. Many neuroscientists and publications criticized these claims,[189][190][191] with MIT Technology Review describing them as "highly speculative" and "neuroscience theater".[189] During the demonstration, Musk revealed a pig with a Neuralink implant that tracked neural activity related to smell.[186] In 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials would begin by the end of the year.[192]

Neuralink has conducted further animal testing on macaque monkeys at the University of California, Davis' Primate Research Center. In 2021, the company released a video in which a Macaque played the video game Pong via a Neuralink implant. The company's animal trials—which have caused the deaths of some monkeys—have led to claims of animal cruelty. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has alleged that Neuralink's animal trials have violated the Animal Welfare Act.[193] Employees have complained that pressure from Musk to accelerate development has led to botched experiments and unnecessary animal deaths. In 2022, a federal probe was launched into possible animal welfare violations by Neuralink.[194] In September 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved Neuralink to initiate human trials, and it plans to conduct a six-year study.[195]

The Boring Company

Musk speaks to a crowd of journalists. Behind him is a lighted tunnel. 
Musk during the 2018 inauguration of the Boring Test Tunnel in Hawthorne, California

In 2017, Musk founded The Boring Company to construct tunnels, and revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles that could travel up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) and thus circumvent above-ground traffic in major cities.[196][197] Early in 2017, the company began discussions with regulatory bodies and initiated construction of a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on the premises of SpaceX's offices, as that required no permits.[198] The Los Angeles tunnel, less than two miles (3.2 km) in length, debuted to journalists in 2018. It used Tesla Model Xs and was reported to be a rough ride while traveling at suboptimal speeds.[199]

Two tunnel projects announced in 2018, in Chicago and West Los Angeles, have been canceled.[200][201] However, a tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2021.[202] Local officials have approved further expansions of the tunnel system.[203]

Twitter / X

Avatar of Elon Musk 
Avatar of Elon Musk
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
Twitter logo, a stylized blue bird 
April 14, 2022[204]

Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter as early as 2017,[205] and had questioned the platform's commitment to freedom of speech.[206][207] Additionally, his ex-wife Talulah Riley had urged him to buy Twitter to stop the "woke-ism".[208] In January 2022, Musk started purchasing Twitter shares, reaching a 9.2% stake by April,[209] making him the largest shareholder.[210][d] When this was publicly disclosed, Twitter shares experienced the largest intraday price surge since the company's 2013 initial public offering.[212] On April 4, Musk agreed to a deal that would appoint him to Twitter's board of directors and prohibit him from acquiring more than 14.9% of the company.[213][214] However, on April 13, Musk made a $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, launching a takeover bid to buy 100% of Twitter's stock at $54.20 per share.[210][215] In response, Twitter's board adopted a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan to make it more expensive for any single investor to own more than 15% of the company without board approval.[216] Nevertheless, by the end of the month Musk had successfully concluded his bid for approximately $44 billion.[217] This included about $12.5 billion in loans against his Tesla stock and $21 billion in equity financing.[218][219]

Tesla's stock market value sank by over $100 billion the next day in reaction to the deal.[220][221] He subsequently tweeted to his 86 million followers criticism of Twitter executive Vijaya Gadde's policies, which led to some of them engaging in sexist and racist harassment against her.[222] Exactly a month after announcing the takeover, Musk stated that the deal was "on hold" following a report that 5% of Twitter's daily active users were spam accounts.[223] Although he initially affirmed his commitment to the acquisition,[224] he sent notification of his termination of the deal in July; Twitter's board of directors responded that they were committed to holding him to the transaction.[225] On July 12, 2022, Twitter formally sued Musk in the Chancery Court of Delaware for breaching a legally binding agreement to purchase Twitter.[226] In October 2022, Musk reversed again, offering to purchase Twitter at $54.20 per share.[227] The acquisition was officially completed on October 27.[228]

Immediately after the acquisition, Musk fired several top Twitter executives including CEO Parag Agrawal;[228][229] Musk became the CEO instead.[230] He instituted a $7.99 monthly subscription for a "blue check",[231][232][233] and laid off a significant portion of the company's staff.[234][235] Musk lessened content moderation, including reinstating accounts like The Babylon Bee.[236][237] The Southern Poverty Law Center noted that Twitter has verified numerous extremists;[238] hate speech also increased on the platform after his takeover.[239][240]

In December 2022, Musk released internal documents relating to Twitter's moderation of Hunter Biden's laptop controversy in the leadup to the 2020 presidential election.[241] Comments on these internal documents by journalists Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss, Michael Shellenberger and others were posted on Twitter as the Twitter Files. Musk and many Republicans alleged the documents showed the FBI had engaged in government censorship by ordering Twitter to suppress a New York Post story about the laptop. Upon review of the documents, Taibbi said he had found no evidence to support the allegation, and Twitter attorneys denied the allegation in a subsequent court filing.[242][243] The United States House Committee on the Judiciary held hearings on the Twitter Files on March 9, 2023, at which Taibbi and Shellenberger gave testimony.[244]

In late 2022, Musk promised to step down as CEO after a Twitter poll posted by Musk found that a majority of users wanted him to do so.[245][246] Five months later, Musk stepped down from CEO and placed former NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino in the position and transitioned his role to executive chairman and chief technology officer.[247]

On November 20, 2023, in a U.S. District Court in Texas, X filed a lawsuit stating that Media Matters "manipulated" the X platform, in that it used accounts that followed major brands, and "resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing" the feed until it found ads next to extremist posts.[248]

The Wall Street Journal reported in August 2024 that the $13 billion Musk borrowed to buy Twitter "is now considered the worst deal in merger finance that banks have participated in since the 2008 to '09 financial crisis", adding that "the allure of banking Elon Musk, providing capital for him to buy a company, not only would reward them handsomely if things went according to plan" but "you can certainly say things have not gone according to plan".[249] The Washington Post reported in September 2024 that the company had lost $24 billion in equity value, "a vaporization of wealth that has little parallel outside the realm of economic or industry-specific crashes, or devastating corporate scandals".[250] Two years after the acquisition, Fidelity Investments estimated the value of its stake in X that implied the company had lost 79% of its value.[251]

Leadership style

Musk is pictrued delivering a speech to SpaceX employees while standing at a podium besides a capsule in 2012 
Musk giving a speech to SpaceX employees in 2012

Musk is often described as a micromanager and has called himself a "nano-manager".[252] The New York Times has characterized his approach as absolutist.[253] Musk does not make formal business plans.[253] He has forced employees to adopt the company's own jargon and launched ambitious, risky, and costly projects against his advisors' recommendations, such as removing front-facing radar from Tesla Autopilot. His insistence on vertical integration causes his companies to move most production in-house. While this resulted in saved costs for SpaceX's rocket,[254] vertical integration (as of 2018) has caused many usability problems for Tesla's internal corporate software.[252][needs update]

Musk's handling of employees—whom he communicates with directly through mass emails—has been characterized as "carrot and stick", rewarding those "who offer constructive criticism" while also being known to impulsively threaten, swear at, and fire his employees.[255][256][257] Musk said he expects his employees to work for long hours, sometimes 80 hours per week.[258] He has his new employees sign strict non-disclosure agreements and often fires in sprees,[259][257] such as during the Model 3 "production hell" in 2018.[257] In 2022, Musk revealed plans to fire 10 percent of Tesla's workforce, due to his concerns about the economy.[260] That same month, he suspended remote work at SpaceX and Tesla and threatened to fire employees who do not work 40 hours per week in the office.[261] He laid off more than 10 percent of the Tesla workforce in early 2024.

Musk's leadership has been praised by some, who credit it with the success of Tesla and his other endeavors,[252] and criticized by others, who see him as callous and his managerial decisions as "show[ing] a lack of human understanding".[257][262] The 2021 book Power Play contains anecdotes of Musk berating employees.[263] The Wall Street Journal reported that, after Musk insisted on branding his vehicles as "self-driving", he faced criticism from his engineers for putting customer "lives at risk", with some employees resigning in consequence.[264]

Other activities

Musk Foundation

Musk is president of the Musk Foundation he founded in 2001,[265][266] whose stated purpose is to: provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas; support research, development, and advocacy (for interests including human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy and "safe artificial intelligence"); and support science and engineering educational efforts.[267]

As of 2020, the foundation has made 350 donations. Around half of them were made to scientific research or education nonprofits. Notable beneficiaries include the Wikimedia Foundation, his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania, and his brother Kimbal's nonprofit Big Green.[268] From 2002 to 2018, the foundation gave $25 million directly to nonprofit organizations, nearly half of which went to Musk's OpenAI,[269] which was a nonprofit at the time.[270] The Foundation also allocated $100 million of donations to be used to establish a new higher education university in Texas.[271]

In 2012, Musk took the Giving Pledge, thereby committing to give the majority of his wealth to charitable causes either during his lifetime or in his will.[272] He has endowed prizes at the X Prize Foundation, including $100 million to reward improved carbon capture technology.[273]

Vox said in February 2021, "the Musk Foundation is almost entertaining in its simplicity and yet is strikingly opaque", noting that its website was only 33 words in plain-text.[269] In 2020, Forbes gave Musk a philanthropy score of 1, because he had given away less than 1% of his net worth.[268] In November 2021, Musk donated $5.7 billion of Tesla's shares to charity, according to regulatory filings.[274] However, Bloomberg News noted that all of it went to his own foundation, bringing Musk Foundation's assets up to $9.4 billion at the end of 2021. The foundation disbursed $160 million to nonprofits that year.[275] Reporting by The New York Times found that in 2022, the Musk Foundation gave away $230 million less than the minimum required by law to maintain tax-deductible status, and that in 2021 and 2022 over half the foundation's funds went to causes connected to Musk, his family, or his businesses.[276]

Hyperloop

A long white tube about 10 feet in diameter 
A tube part of the 2017 Hyperloop pod competition sponsored by SpaceX

In August 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a vacuum tube train and assigned a dozen engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to establish the conceptual foundations and create initial designs.[277] Later that year, Musk unveiled the concept, which he dubbed the Hyperloop.[278] The alpha design for the system was published in a whitepaper posted to the Tesla and SpaceX blogs.[279] The document scoped out the technology and outlined a notional route where such a transport system could be built between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area, at an estimated cost of $6 billion.[280] The proposal, if technologically feasible at the costs cited, would make Hyperloop travel cheaper than any other mode of transport for such long distances.[281] Biographer Ashlee Vance noted that Musk hoped Hyperloop would "make the public and legislators rethink the high-speed train" proposal current in California at the time and consider more "creative" ideas.[282]

In 2015, Musk announced a design competition for students and others to build Hyperloop pods, to operate on a SpaceX-sponsored mile-long track, for a 2015–2017 Hyperloop pod competition. The track was used in January 2017, and Musk also announced that the company had started a tunnel project, with Hawthorne Municipal Airport as its destination.[283] In July 2017, Musk said that he had received "verbal government approval" to build a Hyperloop from New York City to Washington, D.C., with stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore.[284] Mention of the projected DC-to-Baltimore leg was removed from The Boring Company website in 2021.[285] The tunnel project to Hawthorne was discontinued in 2022 and is planned to be converted into parking spots for SpaceX workers.[286]

Mobility experts have criticized the Hyperloop concept for potential safety issues, planning complexity, low passenger capacity, and extremely high costs.[287][288] Jose Gomez-Ibanez, a professor of urban planning and public policy at Harvard, said, "It gives me pause to think that otherwise intelligent people are buying into this kind of utopian vision."[289]

OpenAI and xAI

In December 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company aiming to develop artificial general intelligence intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity.[290] A particular focus of the company was to democratize artificial superintelligence systems, against governments and corporations.[25] Musk pledged $1 billion of funding to OpenAI.[291] In 2023, Musk tweeted that he had ended up giving a total of $100 million to OpenAI. TechCrunch later reported that, according to its own investigation of public records, "only $15 million" of OpenAI's funding could be definitively traced to Musk. Musk subsequently stated that he had donated about $50 million.[292]

In 2018, Musk left the OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as Tesla increasingly became involved in AI through Tesla Autopilot.[293] Since then, OpenAI has made significant advances in machine learning, producing neural networks such as ChatGPT (producing human-like text),[294] and DALL-E (generating digital images from natural language descriptions).[295]

On July 12, 2023, Elon Musk launched an artificial intelligence company called xAI, which aims to develop a generative AI program that competes with existing offerings like ChatGPT. The company hired engineers from Google and OpenAI.[296] Musk obtained funding from investors in SpaceX and Tesla.[297]

Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case

In July 2018, Musk arranged for his employees to build a mini-submarine to assist the rescue of children trapped in a flooded cavern in Thailand.[298] Richard Stanton, leader of the international rescue diving team, encouraged Musk to facilitate the construction of the vehicle as a backup in case flooding worsened. However, Stanton later concluded that the mini-submarine would not work and said that Musk's involvement "distracted from the rescue effort".[299] Engineers at SpaceX and The Boring Company built the mini-submarine from a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen transfer tube in eight hours and personally delivered it to Thailand.[300][301] Thai authorities ultimately declined to use the submarine, stating that it wasn't practical for the rescue mission.[298][302] In March 2019, Musk was one of the 187 people who received various honors conferred by the King of Thailand for involvement in the rescue effort.[303]

Soon after the rescue, Vernon Unsworth, a British recreational caver who had been exploring the cave for the previous six years and played a key advisory role in the operation, criticized the submarine on CNN as amounting to nothing more than a public relations effort with no chance of success, maintaining that Musk "had no conception of what the cave passage was like" and "can stick his submarine where it hurts". Musk asserted on Twitter that the device would have worked and referred to Unsworth as a "pedo guy".[304] He then deleted the tweets,[304] apologized,[305] and deleted his responses to critical tweets from Cher Scarlett, a software engineer, which had caused his followers to harass her.[306] In an email to BuzzFeed News, Musk later called Unsworth a "child rapist" and said that he had married a child.[307][308]

In September, Unsworth filed a defamation suit seeking $190 million in damages.[309][310][311] In his defense, Musk argued that, "'pedo guy' was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up ... synonymous with 'creepy old man' and is used to insult a person's appearance and demeanor."[33] During the trial Musk apologized to Unsworth again for the tweet. In December 2019, the jury found in favor of Musk and ruled he was not liable.[312][313]

2018 cannabis incident

In September 2018, Musk was interviewed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, during which he appeared to smoke a joint.[314] In 2022, Musk said that he and other SpaceX employees had subsequently been required to undergo random drug tests for about a year following the incident, as required by the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 for Federal contractors.[315] In a 2019 60 Minutes interview, Musk had said, "I do not smoke pot. As anybody who watched that podcast could tell, I have no idea how to smoke pot."[316]

Music

In March 2019, Musk, through his own label Emo G Records, released a rap track, "RIP Harambe", on SoundCloud.[317][318] The track refers to the killing of Harambe the gorilla and the subsequent Internet sensationalism surrounding the event.[319] The following year, Musk released an EDM track, "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe", featuring his own lyrics and vocals.[320] While Guardian critic Alexi Petridis described it as "indistinguishable... from umpteen competent but unthrilling bits of bedroom electronica posted elsewhere on SoundCloud",[321] TechCrunch said it was "not a bad representation of the genre".[320]

Private jet

Musk uses a private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company, and acquired a second jet in August 2020.[322][323] His heavy use of the jets—which flew over 150,000 miles in 2018 alone—and the consequent fossil fuel usage has received criticism.[322][324]

Musk's flight usage is tracked on social media through ElonJet. After Musk said that his son X AE A-XII had been harassed by a stalker after the account posted the airport at which his jet had landed,[325][326][327] Musk banned the ElonJet account on Twitter, as well as the accounts of journalists that posted stories regarding the incident, including Donie O'Sullivan, Keith Olbermann, and journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Intercept.[328] Musk equated the reporting to doxxing.[329] Police do not believe there is a link between the account and alleged stalker.[330] Musk later took a Twitter poll on whether the journalists' accounts should be reinstated, which resulted in reinstating the accounts.[331]

Company towns

After 2020, thousands of acres of land just outside Austin, Texas, were acquired by Musk and his companies with a total value of $2.5 billion.[332][333] The project to build the company town named Snailbrook in Bastrop County, Texas began in 2021 according to reports by The Wall Street Journal.[334] Musk's then-girlfriend Grimes and Kanye West were involved in the planning.[334] The name "Snailbrook" alludes to The Boring Company's stated goal of building a machine that can bore tunnels faster than a snail can move.[334] In 2023 the town had a reported population of 12 people.[335] There are plans to establish a school and a university there.[332]

Wealth

Musk made $175.8 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in October 2002.[336] He was first listed on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.[337]

Personal actions, views, and social media usage

Musk credits science fiction writers, particularly Robert A. Heinlein, for inspiring many of his personal views and business ventures, including SpaceX, Grok, and his libertarian inclinations.[338][339] Since joining Twitter (now known as X) in 2009,[340] Musk has been an active user and has over 163 million followers as of November 2023.[341] He posts memes, promotes business interests, and comments on contemporary political and cultural issues.[342] Musk's statements have provoked controversy, such as for mocking preferred gender pronouns[343][344] and comparing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler.[345]

The New York Times describes his contributions to international relations as "chaotic", and critics of Musk argue that there is a lack of separation between his opinions and his business interests.[346] As CEO of Twitter, Musk emerged as a source of misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories, for example by suggesting online details about mass murderer Mauricio Garcia's apparent interest in Nazism could have been planted as part of a psyop.[347] Allegations of him being transphobic appeared as well in response to actions taken by Twitter under his guidance.[348][349]

Finance

Musk said that the US government should not provide subsidies to companies, but impose a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[350][351] The free market, in his view, would achieve the best solution, and producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should have consequences.[352]

Tesla has received billions of dollars in subsidies.[353] As of February 2024, Tesla has made $9 billion from government-initiated systems of zero-emissions credits.[354] Tax credits offered in California, at the United States federal level, and by other governments have enabled Tesla's battery electric vehicles to be price-competitive in comparison with internal combustion engine vehicles and facilitated initial consumer adoption of Tesla vehicles.[355]

Musk, a longtime opponent of short-selling, has repeatedly criticized the practice and argued it should be illegal.[356][357] Wired magazine speculated that Musk's opposition to short-selling stems from how short sellers have an incentive to find and promote unfavorable information about his companies.[358] In early 2021, he encouraged the GameStop short squeeze.[359][360]

In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion of his stock in Tesla, equal to 22 million shares in the company,[361] despite pledging earlier in the year that he would not sell any additional shares.[362]

Technology

Musk has promoted cryptocurrencies and supports them over traditional government-issued fiat currencies.[363] Given the influence of Musk's tweets in moving cryptocurrency markets,[364] his statements about cryptocurrencies have been viewed as market manipulation by some, such as economist Nouriel Roubini.[365] Musk's social media praising of Bitcoin and Dogecoin was credited for increasing their prices. Consequently, Tesla's 2021 announcement, against the backdrop of Musk's social media behavior, that it bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, raised questions.[366] Tesla's announcement that it would accept Bitcoin for payment was criticized by environmentalists and investors, due to the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. A few months later, in response to the criticism, Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would no longer accept payments in Bitcoin and would not engage in any Bitcoin transactions until the environmental issues are solved.[367][368]

Despite The Boring Company's involvement in building mass transit infrastructure, Musk has criticized public transport and promoted individualized transport (private vehicles).[369][370][371] His comments have been called "elitist" and have sparked widespread criticism from both transportation and urban planning experts, who have pointed out that public transportation in dense urban areas is more economical, more energy efficient, and requires much less space than private cars.[370][372][371]

Existential threats

Musk standing at a wooden podium talking at the 2006 Mars Society Conference 
Musk giving details about Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft at the 2006 Mars Society Conference

Musk has been described as believing in longtermism, emphasizing the needs of future populations.[373] Accordingly, Musk has stated that artificial intelligence poses the greatest existential threat to humanity.[374][375] He has warned of a "Terminator-like" AI apocalypse and suggested that the government should regulate its safe development.[376][377] In 2015, Musk was a cosignatory, along with Stephen Hawking and hundreds of others, of the Open Letter on Artificial Intelligence, which called for the ban of autonomous weapons.[378] Musk's AI stances have been called alarmist and sensationalist by critics such as computer scientist Yann LeCun and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg,[379][380] and led the think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to award Musk its Annual Luddite Award in 2016.[381]

Musk has described climate change as the greatest threat to humanity after AI,[382] and has advocated for a carbon tax.[383] Musk was a critic of President Donald Trump's stance on climate change,[384][385] and resigned from two presidential business advisory councils following Trump's 2017 decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.[386]

Musk has long promoted the colonization of Mars and argues that humanity should become a "multiplanetary species".[387] He has suggested the use of nuclear weapons to terraform Mars.[388][389] He envisioned establishing a direct democracy on Mars, with a system in which more votes would be required to create laws than remove them.[390] Musk has also voiced concerns about human population decline,[391][392] saying that, "Mars has zero human population. We need a lot of people to become a multiplanet civilization."[393] Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council session in 2021, Musk claimed that the supposedly declining birth rate, and consequent population decline, is one of the biggest risks to human civilization.[394] According to anonymous sources inside SpaceX speaking with The New York Times, Musk has repeatedly volunteered his sperm to help colonize Mars.[395] He later denied the claim.[396]

Politics

By early 2024, Musk had become a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump,[397] and by October 2024 was Trump's second-largest individual 2024 presidential campaign donor.[398] Musk's views are generally described as right-wing and conservative.[399][400][401][402][403] While previously considered relatively apolitical and moderate, he has since shifted to the right and become more vocal about his views, notably since acquiring Twitter in 2022.[404] He is an outlier among social media executives who typically avoid partisan political advocacy. Musk has shared far-right misinformation[405][406][407] and numerous conspiracy theories.[408][409] Despite this, Musk still describes himself as politically moderate, rejecting the conservative label.[410]

Musk was a registered independent voter when he lived in California. Historically, he has donated to both Democrats and Republicans,[411] many of whom are in states in which he has a vested interest;[412] however, beginning in the late 2010s, his political contributions have shifted almost entirely to supporting Republicans.[413]

Musk voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election.[414] In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Musk endorsed candidate Andrew Yang and expressed support for his proposed universal basic income.[415] He also endorsed Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign.[416] He said he voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential election.[417] In May 2022, Musk said that he could "no longer support" the Democrats because they are the "party of division & hate",[418][419] and wrote a tweet encouraging "independent-minded voters" to vote Republican in the 2022 US elections.[420][421] That fall he gave over $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee that ran advertisements in swing states attacking Democrats on issues such as transgender care and illegal immigration.[422] He has supported Republican Ron DeSantis for the 2024 US presidential election, giving $10 million to the campaign in 2023,[422] and hosted DeSantis's campaign announcement on a Twitter Spaces event.[423][424][425] In August 2023, Musk suggested Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy should be the vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.[426]

After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Musk wished Trump a speedy recovery and endorsed him for president.[427][428] In a July 2024 post on X, Musk shared a deepfake video of Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's opponent in the 2024 presidential election, which appeared to show Harris saying she was the "ultimate diversity hire" and did not know how to manage the United States.[429] Musk wrote that the video was "amazing" and did not reveal that it was edited, despite X prohibiting "synthetic, manipulated" content "that may deceive".[429] In August 2024, Musk and Trump spoke for over two hours on a livestream on X, in which Musk suggested that Trump create a government efficiency commission which he offered to serve on.[430] Trump said he would "love" to have Musk involved and later said he needed Musk's help to eliminate the Department of Education.[430] On September 15, 2024, after the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Musk wrote on X that it was odd that nobody had tried to kill Biden or Kamala Harris. He then deleted the post following widespread condemnation.[431] On September 19, the United States Secret Service announced that the agency was probing the post.[432] In October 2024, Musk joined Trump on stage at a campaign rally.[433] He has used his X account in support of Trump to repeatedly push falsehoods about immigration and voter fraud.[434][435]

Musk opposes a "billionaire tax",[436] and has argued on Twitter with more left-leaning Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders,[437][438] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,[439] and Elizabeth Warren.[440] He has raised questions about the Black Lives Matter protests, partially based on the fact that the phrase "Hands up, don't shoot" was made up.[441][442] Musk promoted a baseless theory relating to the attack of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, but Musk deleted his tweet.[443] He also used X to spread disinformation and "election conspiracy theories" about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts for Hurricane Helene.[444]

During an October 2024 conversation with Tucker Carlson, Musk said, "If [Trump] loses, I’m fucked. How long do you think my prison sentence is going to be?" as the men laughed.[445]

Conservative PAC activities

In July 2024, Bloomberg reported that Musk donated an unknown sum to the pro-Donald Trump America PAC, a super PAC;[446] in a later interview, Musk clarified that he created America PAC.[447] In October 2024, a Federal Election Commission filing showed that Musk contributed almost $75 million to his America PAC during the previous three months, and during that time, the PAC spent approximately $72 million to support Trump's campaign.[448][449]

In October 2024, Musk promoted a sweepstakes conducted by his America PAC, offering to pay $1 million per day to randomly selected registered voters in battleground states who signed a petition pledging support of the First and Second Amendments. Within days the U.S. Justice Department wrote America PAC warning that the sweepstakes might be illegal. Compensating people to register to vote violates federal law, and although registering to vote was not a condition to signing the petition, some legal analysts said the sweepstakes might induce people to register in order to participate. Musk's defenders said signing the petition did not specifically induce people to register, although he had previously said registering voters was one of his goals in Pennsylvania and had begun describing prize winners as America PAC "spokespeople".[450][451] After receiving the Justice Department's warning, Musk awarded two people $1 million each.[452] On October 28, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, sued Musk and America PAC.[453] Although Musk had originally said that the prize would be "randomly" awarded, his lawyer argued that recipients "earn" the money after being "selected based on their suitability to serve as spokesperson for America PAC". After an all-day hearing on November 4, the day before Election Day, the judge ruled that Musk could continue his daily giveaway.[454]

Musk provided over $50 million in 2022 to fund Citizens for Sanity, a group created by former Trump senior advisor Steven Miller to finance $93 million in advertisements related to culture war issues. The New York Times and OpenSecrets reported in October 2024 that some of Musk's donations were routed through Building America's Future, a hub of a dark money network supporting Trump. Building America's Future created "Progress 2028", presented as the left's response to Project 2025, that promoted misinformation about the agenda of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Musk has promoted the Fair Election Fund, which is heavily funded by Building America's Future, and offers rewards for evidence of election fraud. That group is heavily involved in America PAC, founded and funded exclusively by Musk.[455][456][457][458]

In October 2024, OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, reported that Musk and other donors had reportedly funneled over $100 million into Building America’s Future, a dark money network backing Donald Trump. This network operates Progress 2028, a campaign posing as a pro-Kamala Harris initiative but aimed at undermining her support by spreading divisive and misleading information.[459][460]

International politics

Musk has praised China and has been described as having a close relationship with the Chinese government, allowing access to its markets for Tesla.[461] After Gigafactory Shanghai produced its first batch of vehicles, Musk thanked the Chinese government and Chinese people while criticizing the United States and its people.[462]: 207–208  In 2022, Musk wrote an article for China Cyberspace, the official publication of Cyberspace Administration of China, which enforces Internet censorship in China. His writing the article was described as conflicting with his advocacy for free speech.[463][464] Musk later advocated for Taiwan to become a "special administrative zone" of China which drew cross-party criticism from Taiwanese lawmakers.[465][466][467]

In October 2022, Musk posted a Twitter poll and "peace plan" to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine by allowing Russia to keep the Crimea Peninsula, while Ukraine would adopt a neutral status and drop the bid to join NATO.[468][469] It was reported that Musk allegedly spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin prior to the proposal, which Musk denied.[470][471][472] Musk has repeatedly expressed concern that a protracted war between Russia and Ukraine could lead to the use of nuclear weapons and the outbreak of World War III.[473][474][475][476]

 
Musk with Israeli president Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, November 27, 2023

In a YouTube podcast interview on November 10, 2023, Musk criticized Israel's retaliatory actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war, saying that Hamas "wanted to commit the worst atrocities that they could in order to provoke the most aggressive response possible from Israel". He added that, "if you kill somebody's child in Gaza, you have made at least a few Hamas members who will die just to kill an Israeli."[477] On November 17, 2023, Musk announced a policy change on the X platform, stating that X users who use terms such as "decolonization" and "from the river to the sea", or similar expressions that "necessarily imply genocide" of the Jewish people in Israel, will be suspended.[478] Several weeks later, Musk traveled to Israel where he toured with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu the kibbutz Kfar Aza, site of one of the worst atrocities during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. He described the experience as "jarring".[479]

In August 2024, Musk criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid the riots taking place in that country, saying, "Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?".[480] Responding to a tweet with footage of the disorder that said the riots were due to the "effects of mass migration and open borders", Musk tweeted, "Civil war is inevitable." His comments were condemned by Starmer's official spokesman. Musk had previously restored far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson's account (after Robinson had been banned under Twitter's previous owners) and interacted with him on the platform.[481][482][483][484] Musk went on to refer to Starmer as "two-tier Keir" and ask, "Why aren't all communities protected in Britain?".[485][486] Musk promoted a conspiracy theory that the UK government was planning to build detainments camps in the Falkland Islands to hold rioters.[487][488]

The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2024 that Musk had been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin, Sergey Kiriyenko, and other high ranking Russian government officials since late 2022, discussing personal topics, business and geopolitical matters. The Kremlin denied the report, stating Musk and Putin had spoken only once.[489][490] The Journal reported that in one instance Putin had asked Musk to avoid activating his Starlink satellite system over Taiwan, to appease Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the situation.[491] Bloomberg and others had also previously reported in July 2023 that communications between Taiwan and SpaceX had broken down over the ownership of Starlink's subsidiary in the country.[492][493] The communications with Putin were reported to be a closely held secret in government, given Musk's involvement in promoting the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump. One person said no alerts were raised by the US government, noting the dilemma of the government being dependent on Musk's technologies.[491] Democrat lawmakers and NASA administrator Bill Nelson stated that it should be investigated to find out if the report was accurate. "We should investigate what Elon Musk is up to to make sure that it is not to the detriment of the national security of the United States", elaborated Representative Adam Smith.[494] SpaceX officially responded via their X account stating, "Starlink is not available [in Taiwan] because Taiwan has not given us a license to operate, and regulators declined to remove a requirement that a foreign entity own 51% of Starlink to operate there. SpaceX has not accepted such a condition for any market in which it operates."[495]

Accusations of antisemitism

The Israeli government and several media outlets accused Musk of sowing antisemitism due to his promotion of George Soros conspiracy theories,[496] although some Israeli officials defended Musk and denied that his criticism of Soros constituted antisemitism.[497]

On November 15, 2023, Twitter user Charles Weber, who identifies as a Jewish conservative, posted a video from StopJewishHate.org condemning the phrase "Hitler was right"; Weber captioned the video: "To the cowards hiding behind the anonymity of the internet and posting 'Hitler was right': You got something you want to say? Why don't you say it to our faces."[498][499] In response, a second user posted "Okay. Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. I'm deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don't exactly like them too much. You want truth said to your face, there it is." To this second user, Musk replied, "You have said the actual truth."[498][499] Musk further clarified that he doesn't believe that "all Jewish communities" hate white people, but specifically took aim at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).[500] He added, "You [sic] right that this does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL."[501]

The first tweet was widely regarded as echoing white nationalist sentiments[502] and affirmed another antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews push "hatred against Whites".[503][504] The following day, Musk made a tweet which critics regarded as supporting white pride.[505][506] Advertisers distanced themselves from his tweets.[507]

At the DealBook Summit on November 29, 2023, after comments from Disney CEO Bob Iger explaining his decision to stop advertising on X after Musk's recent post, journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin questioned Musk about the withdrawal of advertisers. Musk responded, "I hope they stop. Don't advertise" and "If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is"; Musk singled out Iger, saying, "Hey Bob, if you're in the audience."[508][509] Musk acknowledged to Sorkin that one of his tweets—the one affirming an antisemitic conspiracy theory—was a mistake, saying, "I handed a loaded gun to those who hate me and to those who are antisemitic and for that I am quite sorry."[510] Musk described his tweet as "one of the most foolish, if not the most foolish, thing I've done".[511][512]

In January 2024, Musk visited the Auschwitz concentration camp with European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi, conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro and Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev.[513] He also spoke on a conference about rising antisemitism.[514] The New York Times described the trip as a part of an image "rehabilitation tour".[515]

COVID-19

Musk wearing a face mask 
Musk wearing a bandana as a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic

Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[516][517] He spread misinformation about the virus, including promoting a widely discredited paper on the benefits of chloroquine and claiming that COVID-19 death statistics were inflated.[518]

In March 2020, Musk stated, "The coronavirus panic is dumb."[519][520] In an email to Tesla employees, Musk referred to COVID-19 as a "specific form of the common cold" and predicted that confirmed COVID-19 cases would not exceed 0.1% of the US population.[516] On March 19, 2020, Musk predicted that there would be "probably close to zero" new cases in the US by end of April.[517] Politico labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident, and spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]".[521] Musk also falsely stated that children "are essentially immune" to COVID-19.[522][523]

Musk condemned COVID-19 lockdowns and initially refused to close the Tesla Fremont Factory in March 2020, defying the local shelter-in-place order.[516][524][525] In May 2020, he reopened the Tesla factory, defying the local stay-at-home order,[526][527] and warned workers that they would be unpaid, and their unemployment benefits might be jeopardized, if they did not report to work.[527] In December 2022, Musk called for prosecution of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.[528][529]

In March 2020, Musk promised that Tesla would make ventilators for COVID-19 patients if there were a shortage.[530] After figures such as New York City mayor Bill de Blasio responded to Musk's offer,[531] Musk offered to donate ventilators which Tesla would build or buy from a third party.[530] However, Musk ended up buying and donating BiPAP and CPAP machines, which are devices that support respirations of someone able to breathe on their own, rather than the much more expensive and sought-after mechanical ventilator machines that are able to breathe for a patient entirely.[532][533]

In September 2020, Musk stated that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, because he and his children were "not at risk for COVID".[534][535] Two months later, Musk contracted COVID-19 but suggested his COVID-19 rapid antigen test results were dubious, as he had been tested four times on the same device with the same nurse but had received equal numbers of positive and negative results.[536] Following this, a postdoctoral fellow at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto explained in a Tweet why this result does not undermine the value of the test, referring to Musk as "Space Karen", which then trended on Twitter.[536][537] In December 2021, Musk said that he and his eligible children had received the vaccine, saying that the science behind the COVID vaccines was "unequivocal" but expressing his opposition to COVID vaccine mandates.[538]

Personal life

Musk became a US citizen in 2002.[539] From the early 2000s until late 2020, Musk resided in California, where both Tesla and SpaceX were founded.[540] He then relocated to Austin, Texas, saying that California had become "complacent" about its economic success.[540][541][542] While hosting Saturday Night Live in 2021, Musk stated that he has Asperger syndrome, although he has never been medically diagnosed.[543][544]

During a South African safari in late 2000, he contracted malaria and was then hospitalized in an intensive care unit back in California.[545]

Musk trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while preparing for a proposed fight with Mark Zuckerberg.[546] In his leisure time, he plays video games including Quake, Diablo IV, Elden Ring, and Polytopia.[547][548] Musk has stated he uses doctor-prescribed ketamine for occasional depression and that he uses it "once every other week",[549] while The Wall Street Journal has repeatedly alleged he uses it and other drugs recreationally.[550][551][552]

Relationships and children

Musk has at least 12 children, one of whom is deceased.[2] He met his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, while attending Queen's University in Ontario, Canada; they married in 2000.[553] In 2002, their first child died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks.[554] After his death, the couple used in vitro fertilization (IVF) to continue their family;[555] they had twins in 2004 followed by triplets in 2006.[555] The couple divorced in 2008 and shared custody of their children.[556][557]

In 2022, the elder twin officially changed her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson,[558] reflecting her gender identity as a trans woman and using her mother's surname because she no longer wished to be associated with Musk.[558] Musk blamed the estrangement of his daughter on what the Financial Times characterized as "the supposed takeover of elite schools and universities by neo-Marxists", and has said that her gender transition is primarily what sparked his drive to "destroy the woke mind virus".[559][560] In a July 2024 episode of Jordan Peterson's podcast, Musk said regarding Vivian that he had "lost [his] son [sic], essentially" because of gender-affirming care. He commented: "You know, they call it deadnaming for a reason. The reason it's called deadnaming is because your son [sic] is dead", and went on to state that the eldest twin "is dead, killed by the woke mind virus".[561] Vivian responded publicly, criticizing Musk for lying about her and the circumstances of her transition; saying that Musk was "cold", "quick to anger", "uncaring and narcissistic”, whose infrequent visits commonly involved him berating her for being feminine.[562] On November 7, 2024, in response to a news article about his daughter's reaction to Trump's win, Elon Musk once again misgendered her – writing "the woke mind virus killed my son [sic]."[563]

In 2008, Musk began dating English actress Talulah Riley.[564] They married two years later at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland.[565][566] In 2012, the couple divorced, before remarrying the following year.[567] After briefly filing for divorce in 2014,[567] Musk finalized a second divorce from Riley in 2016.[568] Musk then dated Amber Heard for several months in 2017;[569] he had reportedly been pursuing her since 2012.[570]

In 2018, Musk and Canadian musician Grimes said that they were dating.[571] Grimes gave birth to their son in May 2020.[572][573] Musk and Grimes originally gave the baby the name "X Æ A-12", which would have violated California regulations as it contained characters that are not in the modern English alphabet,[574][575] which they then changed to "X Æ A-Xii".[576][577] They have received criticism for choosing such an impractical and difficult to pronounce name.[578]

In December 2021, Grimes and Musk had a second child, a daughter born via surrogacy.[1] Despite the pregnancy, Musk confirmed reports that the couple were "semi-separated" in September 2021; in an interview with Time in December 2021, he said he was single.[579][580] In March 2022, Grimes said of her relationship with Musk: "I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we're very fluid."[1] Later that month, Grimes tweeted that she and Musk had broken up again.[581] In September 2023 it was reported that the pair had a third child, a son.[582] In October 2023, Grimes sued Musk over parental rights and custody of their eldest son.[583][584][585]

In July 2022, Insider published court documents revealing that Musk had had twins via IVF with Shivon Zilis, director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, in November 2021.[586] They were born weeks before Musk and Grimes had their second child via surrogate in December. The news "raise[d] questions about workplace ethics", given that Zilis directly reported to Musk.[587] Their third child together was born in early 2024 via surrogacy.[588][2] Also in July 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in 2021, leading to their divorce the following year.[589] Musk denied the report.[590] Musk also had a relationship with Australian actress Natasha Bassett, who has been described as "an occasional girlfriend".[591] In October 2024, The New York Times reported Musk bought a Texas compound for his children and the mothers of his children.[592]

In May 2022, Business Insider cited an anonymous friend of an unnamed SpaceX contract flight attendant, alleging that Musk engaged in sexual misconduct in 2016. The source stated that in November 2018, Musk, SpaceX, and the former flight attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the attendant a $250,000 payment in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims.[593] Musk responded, "If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light." He accused the article from Business Insider of being a "politically motivated hit piece".[594][595] After the release of the article, Tesla's stock fell by more than 6%,[596] and Barron's wrote, "...some investors considered key-man risk – the danger that a company could be badly hurt by the loss of one individual."[597]

In April 2023, the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands sought to subpoena Musk for documents in a lawsuit alleging that JPMorgan Chase profited from Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation.[598] The efforts to subpoena Musk for documents do not implicate him in any wrongdoing and do not seek to have Musk testify under oath.[598]

Musk's former girlfriend Grimes filed a parental relationship petition in late September 2023 as part of a custody dispute. The petition came a month after Grimes openly accused him in a social media post of blocking her access to the youngest of their three children.[599][600] On July 27, 2024, Grimes' mother accused Musk of withholding the passports of her grandchildren.[601]

Ben Brody, a 22-year-old Los Angeles-based college graduate, initiated a defamation lawsuit in October 2023 against Musk for over $1 million. He alleged Musk had falsely identified him as a participant "in a violent street brawl on behalf of a neo-Nazi extremist group" near Portland, Oregon.[602][603][604] According to Brody's complaint, one of Musk's X posts promoted conspiracy theories that "Ben Brody's alleged participation in the extremist brawl meant the incident was probably a 'false flag' operation to deceive the American public".[602] The complaint also alleged that Musk's accusations led to Brody and his family being subjected to harassment and threats.[602][603][605] In February 2024, Musk was ordered to testify in a deposition for the lawsuit.[606] In the deposition, Musk denied knowing who was suing him and admitted to doing no research on whether his claims were true. Musk attempted to keep the deposition from being made public.[607][608]

In October 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk over his refusal to testify a third time in an investigation into whether he violated federal law by purchasing Twitter stock in 2022.[609][610][611] Musk claimed the SEC was harassing him.[609][611] In February 2024, Judge Laurel Beeler ruled that Musk must testify again.[612]

In January 2024, Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled in a 2018 lawsuit that Musk's $55 billion pay package from Tesla be rescinded.[613] McCormick called the compensation granted by the company's board "an unfathomable sum" that was unfair to shareholders. In response to the ruling, Musk posted on X: "Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware."[614] A re-ratification shareholders' vote passed in mid-June 2024, although much follow-up litigation is expected, including a lawsuit filed by a Tesla investor beforehand that alleged Musk employed "coercive tactics" to move the vote in his favor.[615]

In June 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported Musk had a "romantic relationship" with a former intern at SpaceX, confirmed with affidavits supplied by the intern's lawyers who also represent Musk, and alleged that he had sexual relations with a woman who directly reported to him there. The article further alleges he also pursued sex with other SpaceX employees, and repeatedly asked an employee who reported directly to him to "have his babies".[616] In the same month, eight ex-employees, the same eight who were previously fired for penning an anti-Musk letter at SpaceX, filed a lawsuit against Musk alleging sexual harassment.[617]

Also in June 2024, a former Twitter executive sued Musk for "cheating" him and other ousted executives out of $200 million in severance pay.[618]

In August 2024, Musk sued advertisers for a boycott of X (formerly Twitter).[619][620][621] Later that month, Olympic boxer Imane Khelif filed a lawsuit for cyber harassment against X over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment", in which Musk was named.[622]

In October 2024, Musk and his America PAC were sued in Pennsylvania for allegedly operating an unlawful lottery before the 2024 US presidential election.[623] Musk's lawyer argued the giveaway wasn't a lottery since the recipients weren't chosen by chance, leading one prosecuting attorney to call the effort a "scam" designed to influence the election.[624]

Public perception

 
Musk (right) and then-President Barack Obama at the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40, launch site of the SpaceX Falcon 9, 2010

Although his ventures have been highly influential within their separate industries up to current day, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s. He has been described as an eccentric who makes spontaneous and impactful decisions, while also often making controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses. Musk's actions and expressed views have made him a polarizing figure.[625] Biographer Ashlee Vance described people's opinions of Musk as polarized due to his "part philosopher, part troll" role on Twitter.[626]

Musk was a partial inspiration for the characterization of Tony Stark in the Marvel film Iron Man (2008).[627] Musk also had a cameo appearance in the film's 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2.[628] Musk has made cameos and appearances in other films such as Machete Kills (2013),[629] Why Him? (2016),[630] and Men in Black: International (2019).[631] Television series in which he has appeared include The Simpsons ("The Musk Who Fell to Earth", 2015),[632] The Big Bang Theory ("The Platonic Permutation", 2015),[633] South Park ("Members Only", 2016),[634][635] Young Sheldon ("A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac®", 2017),[636] Rick and Morty ("One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty", 2019),[637][638] and Saturday Night Live (2021).[639] He contributed interviews to the documentaries Racing Extinction (2015) and the Werner Herzog-directed Lo and Behold (2016).[640][641]

Awards for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award in 2008,[642] the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal in 2010,[643] and the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2012.[644] In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from Yale University[645] and an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Honorary Membership.[646] Musk was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018.[647] In February 2022, Musk was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.[648]

Time has listed Musk as one of the most influential people in the world on four occasions: in 2010,[649] 2013,[650] 2018,[651] and 2021.[652] Musk was selected as Time's "Person of the Year" for 2021. Then Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote that, "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too."[653][654]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Musk remained on the board and served as an advisor.[77][78]
  2. ^ SpaceX received nearly $900 million in Federal Communications Commission subsidies for Starlink.[107][108]
  3. ^ Musk stated he was considering taking Tesla private at a price of $420 a share, an alleged reference to marijuana.[156] Members of Tesla's board and rapper Azealia Banks alleged that Musk may have been under the influence of recreational drugs when he wrote the tweet.[157][158]
  4. ^ He did not file the necessary SEC paperwork within 10 days of his stake passing 5%, a violation of US securities laws.[211]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Gordon, Devin (March 10, 2022). ""Infamy Is Kind Of Fun": Grimes on Music, Mars, and—Surprise!—Her Secret New Baby With Elon Musk". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Alexander, Sophie; Hull, Dana (June 21, 2024). "ELON WANTS YOU TO HAVE MORE BABIES". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Forbes Real Time Billionaires List - The World's Richest People". Forbes. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Eligon, John; Chutel, Lynsey (May 5, 2022). "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 25, 31.
  6. ^ a b Hall, Dana (April 11, 2014). "Rocket Man: The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  7. ^ Elliott, Hannah (March 26, 2012). "At Home With Elon Musk: The (Soon-to-Be) Bachelor Billionaire". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  8. ^ His biography author Ashlee Vance interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network, discussion of his family starts around the 15th minute
  9. ^ Vargas, Chanel (March 6, 2018). "11 Things to Know About Stunning 69-Year-Old Model Maye Musk". Town & Country. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Usborne, Simon (February 21, 2018). "Meet the Musks: who's who in Elon's extended family?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Isaacson (2023), p. 23.
  12. ^ Hull, Dana; May, Patrick. "Exploring the otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Friend, Tad (August 17, 2009). "Plugged In". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Smith, Adam (June 28, 2021). "50 years of Elon Musk's huge wealth, from emeralds to SpaceX and Tesla". The Independent. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021. teenage Elon Musk once walked the streets of New York with emeralds in his pocket. His father said: "We were very wealthy. We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe," adding that one person would have to hold the money in place with another closing the door. "And then there'd still be all these notes sticking out and we'd sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets."
  15. ^ Lieberman, Hallie. "The Musk of Romance". Wired. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  16. ^ Kay, Grace (September 30, 2023). "Elon Musk's dad, 77, says he'd have more kids — but only if he could find a woman under 35". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Hull, Dana; May, Patrick (April 10, 2014). "2014: Rocket Man: The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on September 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  18. ^ Crilly, Rob (March 25, 2018). "Elon Musk's father has baby with step-daughter he has known since she was four". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021.
  19. ^ Mann, Jyoti (September 11, 2023). "Elon Musk really was telling the truth by saying his father Errol never owned an emerald mine, biographer says". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Crellin, Zac (September 22, 2023). "Elon Musk's Dad Shares Deadly Secrets of Fabled Emerald Mine". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  21. ^ Keating, Joseph C. Jr. (September 1995). "Joshua N Haldeman, DC: the Canadian Years, 1926–1950". The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. PMC 2485067.
  22. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 26–30.
  23. ^ Isaacson (2023), p. 16.
  24. ^ "Does Elon Musk have PTSD? Biographer Walter Isaacson says the billionaire's turbulent childhood with an abusive father left him scarred".
  25. ^ a b Strauss, Neil (November 15, 2017). "Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  26. ^ "Hoërskool Bryanston se hoof hartseer oor Elon Musk geboelie is".
  27. ^ a b c Isaacson (2023), pp. 2–3.
  28. ^ a b Bhaimiya, Sawdah. "Errol Musk denies berating his son after an attack at school put Elon Musk in hospital". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  29. ^ "Elon Musk shares the science fiction book series that inspired him to start SpaceX". CNBC. February 22, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  30. ^ Vance (2017), p. 38.
  31. ^ O'Kane, Sean (June 9, 2015). "Play the PC game Elon Musk wrote as a pre-teen". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  32. ^ Belfiore (2007), pp. 166–195.
  33. ^ a b Mak, Aaron (December 4, 2019). "Elon Musk Says 'Pedo Guy' Was a Common Insult in His Youth. We Checked With His Schoolmates". Slate. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  34. ^ Isaacson (2023), p. 26.
  35. ^ a b Clifford, Catherine (June 12, 2018). "Multi-billionaire Elon Musk: 'I arrived in North America at 17 with $2,000'". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  36. ^ Vance (2017), p. 44. Musk's opportunity to flee arrived with a change in the law that allowed Maye to pass her Canadian citizenship to her children.
  37. ^ Junod, Tom (November 15, 2012). "Elon Musk: Triumph of His Will". Esquire. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  38. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 43–44. What rarely gets mentions is that Musk attended the University of Pretoria for five months before heading off on his grand adventure. ... Musk characterized the time at university as just something to do while he awaited his Canadian documentation.
  39. ^ Vance (2017), p. 45. After a 1,900-mile bus ride, he ended up in Swift Current, a town of fifteen thousands people. Musk called a second cousin out of the blue from the bus station and hitched a ride to his house.
  40. ^ Vance (2017), p. 46. Musk spent the next year working a series of odd jobs around Canada. He tended vegetables and shoved out grain bins at a cousin's farm located in the tiny town of Waldeck. ... He inquired about the job with the best wage, which turned out to be a gig cleaning the boiler room of a lumber mill for eighteen dollars an hour.
  41. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 46–47. Elon ended up enrolling at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1989.
  42. ^ Locke, Taylor (December 20, 2019). "Elon Musk's college pal: This is what 'differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity'". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  43. ^ Shoichet, Catherine E. (September 29, 2024). "Elon Musk once described his past immigration status as a 'gray area'". CNN. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  44. ^ a b Vance (2017), p. 368. Musk produced a document for me dated June 22, 2009, that came from Judith Haccou, the director of graduate admissions in the office of the registrar at Stanford University. It read, "As per special request from my colleagues in the School of Engineering, I have searched Stanford's admission data base and acknowledge that you applied and were admitted to the graduate program in Material Science Engineering in 1995. Since you did not enroll, Stanford is not able to issue you an official certification document." Musk also had an explanation for the weird timing on his degrees from Penn. "I had a History and an English credit that I agreed with Penn that I would do at Stanford," he said. "The I put Stanford on deferment. Later, Penn's requirements changed so that you don't need the English and History credit. So they awarded me the degree in '97 when it was clear I was not going to go to grad school, and their requirement was no longer there."
  45. ^ Kasprak, Alex (December 21, 2022). "Does Elon Musk Have an Undergraduate Degree in Physics?". Snopes. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  46. ^ "Encyclopedia Britannica Elon Musk". Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  47. ^ a b Vance (2017), Appendix 1. I called Penn's registrar and verified these findings. Copies of Musk's records show that he received a dual degree in economics and physics in May 1997. O'Reilly also subpoenaed the registrar's office at Stanford to verify Musk's admittance in 1995 for his doctorate work in physics. "Based on the information you provided, we are unable to locate a record in our office for Elon Musk," wrote the director of graduate admissions.
  48. ^ Meisenzahl, Elizabeth. "SpaceX, founded by Penn graduate Elon Musk, launches U.S. astronauts into space". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  49. ^ McCray, Patrick W. (June 11, 2012). "A pioneer in space and on Earth". CNN. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  50. ^ a b Hern, Alex (February 9, 2018). "Elon Musk: the real-life Iron Man". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  51. ^ "How internships helped Elon Musk figure out his future". CNBC. July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  52. ^ Soni, Jimmi (February 22, 2022). "The little-known story about Elon Musk's first post-grad internship". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022.
  53. ^ a b c Sacchetti, Maria; Siddiqui, Faiz; Miroff, Nick (October 26, 2024). "Elon Musk, enemy of 'open borders', launched his career working illegally". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  54. ^ Maidment, Paul (March 15, 2016). "7 college dropouts who made millions". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  55. ^ Faiz Siddiqui; Nick Miroff. "Elon Musk claims student visa permitted him to work in U.S." The Washington Post.
  56. ^ Hull, Dana; Wagner, Kurt (May 29, 2024). "Elon's Orbit : Musk's galaxy of compies is under threat as Tesla spirals". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  57. ^ "Elon's AI venture being sold as part of a "Muskonomy"". Axios. May 18, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  58. ^ Delevett, Peter; Hull, Dana (August 13, 2012). "Greg Kouri, early investor in PayPal, dies in New York". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  59. ^ Huddleston, Tom Jr. (June 19, 2018). "How Elon Musk founded Zip2 with his brother Kimbal". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  60. ^ Chafkin, Max (December 1, 2007). "Entrepreneur of the Year, 2007: Elon Musk". Inc. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  61. ^ a b c Huddleston, Tom Jr. (June 19, 2018). "Elon Musk slept on his office couch and 'showered at the YMCA' while starting his first company". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  62. ^ Novak, Matt (April 1, 2024). "Watch Elon Musk Talk About Being an 'Illegal Immigrant' in Video From 2013". Gizmodo. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  63. ^ Shoichet, Catherine E. (September 29, 2024). "Elon Musk once described his past immigration status as a 'gray area'". CNN. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  64. ^ Kidder (2013), pp. 224–228.
  65. ^ Vance (2017), p. 67.
  66. ^ Vance (2017), p. 14.
  67. ^ Junnarkar, Sandeep (February 16, 1999). "Compaq buys Zip2". CNET. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  68. ^ Vance (2017), p. 109.
  69. ^ a b Isaacson, Walter (2023). Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-76142-261-4.
  70. ^ Vance (2017), p. 78.
  71. ^ Vance (2017), p. 84.
  72. ^ a b Vance (2017), p. 86.
  73. ^ Jackson (2004), pp. 40, 69, 130, 163.
  74. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 85–86.
  75. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 85–87.
  76. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 87–88.
  77. ^ "The PayPal Mafia". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  78. ^ a b Vance (2017), p. 89.
  79. ^ Odell, Mark (September 30, 2014). "Timeline: The rise of PayPal". Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  80. ^ "SEC 10-K". PayPal. December 31, 2001. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020.
  81. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 116.
  82. ^ Huang, Echo. "Elon Musk bought a web domain worth millions with 'sentimental value' to him". Quartz. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  83. ^ Statt, Nick (July 10, 2017). "Elon Musk now owns X.com, the defunct domain of his second startup". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  84. ^ Kleinman, Zoe (October 5, 2022). "Elon Musk, Twitter and the mysterious X app". BBC. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  85. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 99, 102–103.
  86. ^ a b Vance, Ashlee (May 14, 2015). "Elon Musk's space dream almost killed Tesla". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  87. ^ Wayne, Leslie (February 5, 2006). "A Bold Plan to Go Where Men Have Gone Before". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  88. ^ California Business Search (C2414622 – Space Exploration Technologies Corp), archived from the original on February 23, 2018, retrieved December 13, 2020
  89. ^ Koren, Marina (May 6, 2021). "Elon Musk Is Maybe, Actually, Strangely, Going to Do This Mars Thing". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  90. ^ a b Berger (2021), pp. 178–182.
  91. ^ Malik, Tariq (November 21, 2005). "Griffin Reiterates NASA's Commitment to Commercial Cargo, Space News". Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  92. ^ Dunbar, Brian. "NASA Invests in Private Sector Space Flight with SpaceX, Rocketplane-Kistler". nasa.gov (Press release). Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  93. ^ Ledur, Júlia (May 1, 2019). "Falcon Flights". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  94. ^ Chang, Kenneth (May 22, 2012). "Big Day for a Space Entrepreneur Promising More". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  95. ^ Harwood, William (May 31, 2012). "SpaceX Dragon returns to Earth, ends historic trip". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  96. ^ "SpaceX rocket in historic upright landing". BBC News. December 22, 2015. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  97. ^ O'Kane, Sean (May 27, 2016). "SpaceX successfully lands a Falcon 9 rocket at sea for the third time". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  98. ^ Drake, Nadia (February 25, 2018). "Elon Musk's Tesla in Space Could Crash into Earth". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  99. ^ Chow, Denise (November 6, 2019). "'Starman' and the Tesla Roadster that SpaceX launched into orbit have now cruised beyond Mars". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  100. ^ Berger, Eric (August 28, 2019). "Starhopper aces test, sets up full-scale prototype flights this year". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  101. ^ Roulette, Joey (March 28, 2022). "SpaceX ending production of flagship crew capsule". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  102. ^ Wattles, Jackie (May 30, 2020). "SpaceX and NASA launch Crew Dragon in Florida: Live updates". CNN. Archived from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  103. ^ "NASA taps Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring International Space Station out of orbit in a few more years". Associated Press News. June 26, 2024.
  104. ^ Johnson, Eric M.; Roulette, Joey (October 31, 2018). "Musk shakes up SpaceX in race to make satellite launch window: sources". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  105. ^ Hall, Shannon (June 1, 2019). "After SpaceX Starlink Launch, a Fear of Satellites That Outnumber All Visible Stars – Images of the Starlink constellation in orbit have rattled astronomers around the world". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  106. ^ Shepardson, David; Roulette, Joey (July 30, 2020). "Taking on SpaceX, Amazon to invest $10 billion in satellite broadband plan". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  107. ^ Sheetz, Michael (December 7, 2020). "SpaceX's Starlink wins nearly $900 million in FCC subsidies to bring internet to rural areas". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  108. ^ Wattles, Jackie (December 8, 2020). "SpaceX gets almost $900 million in federal subsidies to deliver broadband to rural America". CNN. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  109. ^ Griffin, Andrew (December 30, 2021). "Elon Musk rejects criticism that his satellite fleet is dangerous". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  110. ^ "Elon Musk rejects claims that his satellites are hogging space". BBC News. December 30, 2021. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  111. ^ Smith, Adam (February 7, 2021). "Astronomers create new global force to stop Elon Musk's internet satellites hiding killer asteroids". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  112. ^ Sheetz, Michael (March 22, 2022). "Elon Musk's SpaceX sent thousands of Starlink satellite internet dishes to Ukraine, company's president says". CNBC. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  113. ^ Marquardt, Alex (October 13, 2022). "Exclusive: Musk's SpaceX says it can no longer pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine, asks Pentagon to pick up the tab". CNN. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  114. ^ Capoot, Ashley (October 15, 2022). "'The hell with it': Elon Musk tweets SpaceX will 'keep funding Ukraine govt for free' amid Starlink controversy". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  115. ^ Hern, Alex (October 15, 2022). "Musk says SpaceX will keep funding Ukraine Starlink internet". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  116. ^ "Elon Musk says SpaceX will keep funding Starlink internet in Ukraine". The Guardian. October 16, 2022. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  117. ^ "SpaceX's Musk says Starlink has been told by some governments to block Russian news". Reuters. March 6, 2022. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  118. ^ Porter, Jon (April 4, 2022). "Elon Musk buys 9.2 percent of Twitter amid complaints about free speech". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  119. ^ Copp, Tara (September 11, 2023). "Elon Musk's refusal to have Starlink support Ukraine attack in Crimea raises questions for Pentagon". AP News. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  120. ^ "Elon Musk sabotaged Ukrainian attack on Russian fleet in Crimea by turning off Starlink, new book says". POLITICO. September 8, 2023. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  121. ^ Platt, Kevin Holden. "Space Experts Debate How To De-Escalate Russian Threats Of Orbital War". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  122. ^ Reed, Eric (February 4, 2020). "History of Tesla: Timeline and Facts". TheStreet.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  123. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 153–154.
  124. ^ "Electric vehicle pioneer hits more bumps". NBC News. July 28, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  125. ^ Vance (2017), p. 159.
  126. ^ Schilling, Melissa (2018). Quirky: The remarkable story of the traits, foibles, and genius of breakthrough innovators who changed the world. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-61039-792-6.
  127. ^ Morrison, Chris (October 15, 2008). "Musk steps in as CEO". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  128. ^ "Elon Musk: The Story of a Maverick". interestingengineering.com. August 13, 2020. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  129. ^ LaMonica, Martin (September 2009). "Tesla Motors founders: Now there are five". CNET. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020. Tesla Motors and co-founder Martin Eberhard announced an agreement over who can claim to be a founder of the company on Monday.
  130. ^ Schwartz, Ariel (September 21, 2009). "Tesla Lawsuit Drama Ends as Five Company Founders Emerge". Fast Company. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2020. Eberhard and Musk have reached a rather unexpected resolution–instead of agreeing to share the title of "founder", the pair has designated five people as company founders, including Musk, Eberhard, JB Straubel, Mark Tarpenning, and Ian Wright.
  131. ^ Royse, Dave (July 8, 2019). "Industry Shift: With Four Departures This Year, Who Is The Longest-Tenured Automotive CEO?". Yahoo. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  132. ^ Shead, Sam (March 15, 2021). "Elon Musk has officially been made the 'Technoking of Tesla'". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  133. ^ Wilson, Kevin A. (March 15, 2018). "Worth the Watt: A Brief History of the Electric Car, 1830 to Present". Car and Driver. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  134. ^ Boudreau, John (June 22, 2012). "In a Silicon Valley milestone, Tesla Motors begins delivering Model S electric cars". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  135. ^ Ruddick, Graham (September 30, 2015). "Tesla's Model X electric car spreads falcon wings at U.S. launch". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  136. ^ Vlasic, Bill (July 29, 2017). "In Pivotal Moment, Tesla Unveils Its First Mass-Market Sedan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  137. ^ Shahan, Zachary (August 26, 2021). "Tesla Model 3 Has Passed 1 Million Sales". CleanTechnica. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  138. ^ Holland, Maximilian (March 10, 2020). "Tesla Passes 1 Million EV Milestone & Model 3 Becomes All Time Best Seller". CleanTechnica. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  139. ^ Munoz, Juan Felipe; Smith, Christopher (January 26, 2024). "Tesla Model Y Is The World's Best-Selling Vehicle For 2023". Motor1.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  140. ^ O'Kane, Sean (March 16, 2020). "Tesla Model Y deliveries begin in the US". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  141. ^ Huddleston, Tom Jr. (November 22, 2019). "This is the James Bond sports car Elon Musk bought for nearly $1 million that inspired Tesla Cybertruck". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  142. ^ Krisher, Tom (November 30, 2023). "Tesla delivers about a dozen stainless steel Cybertruck pickups as it tries to fix production woes". AP News. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  143. ^ Eddy, Melissa (March 4, 2022). "Tesla Wins Approval to Open European Assembly Plant". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  144. ^ "With First Share Offering, Tesla Bets on Electric Car's Future". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 28, 2010. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  145. ^ "Tesla overtakes Toyota to become world's most valuable carmaker". BBC News. July 1, 2020. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  146. ^ Boudette, Neal E. (July 2, 2020). "Tesla Shines During the Pandemic as Other Automakers Struggle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  147. ^ Li, Yun (December 20, 2021). "Tesla shares fall 6% as it enters the S&P 500 with 1.69% weighting, fifth largest". CNBC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  148. ^ "Tesla Stock Joins the S&P 500: A Game Changer". The Wall Street Journal. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  149. ^ Isidore, Chris (October 26, 2021). "Tesla is now worth more than $1 trillion". CNN. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  150. ^ a b Haselton, Todd (November 13, 2021). "Elon Musk sold about $6.9 billion in Tesla stock this week". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  151. ^ Jin, Hyunjoo (December 30, 2021). "Tesla's Musk exercises all of his stock options expiring next year". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  152. ^ Michaels, Dave (February 24, 2022). "SEC Probes Trading by Elon Musk and Brother in Wake of Tesla CEO's Sales". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  153. ^ Siddiqui, Faiz (September 30, 2022). "Elon Musk debuts Tesla robot, Optimus, calling it a 'fundamental transformation'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022.
  154. ^ "'I am a fan of Modi': Tesla CEO Elon Musk after meeting PM in New York". Hindustan Times. June 21, 2023. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  155. ^ a b Goldstein, Matthew (September 27, 2018). "S.E.C. Sues Tesla's Elon Musk for Fraud and Seeks to Bar Him From Running a Public Company". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  156. ^ Choudhury, Saheli Roy (September 28, 2018). "SEC says Musk chose $420 price for Tesla shares because it's a pot reference". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  157. ^ Swisher, Kara (August 23, 2018). "How and Why Silicon Valley Gets High". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  158. ^ Woodyard, Chris (August 30, 2018). "Elon Musk's tweet on taking Tesla private now dogged by drugs claim from rapper Azealia Banks". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  159. ^ Patnaik, Subrat; Kalia, Shubham (September 28, 2018). "Factbox – 'Funding secured': SEC gives timeline surrounding tweet from Tesla's Musk". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  160. ^ O'Kane, Sean; Lopatto, Elizabeth (September 27, 2018). "Elon Musk sued by SEC for securities fraud". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  161. ^ "Elon Musk forced to step down as chairman of Tesla, remains CEO". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  162. ^ Brodkin, Jon (April 18, 2022). "Musk keeps falsely claiming 'Funding secured' tweet was accurate, judge is told". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  163. ^ Godoy, Jody; Jin, Hyunjoo (February 3, 2023). "Tesla's Elon Musk found not liable in trial over 2018 'funding secured' tweets". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  164. ^ "Tesla's Elon Musk says tweet that led to $20 million fine 'Worth It'". Reuters. October 27, 2018. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  165. ^ Youn, Soo; Katersky, Aaron (October 11, 2018). "Elon Musk commits to SEC settlement despite mocking tweets". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  166. ^ Ohnsman, Alan (February 25, 2019). "Elon Musk's Tesla Tweet Puts CEO Role at Risk Again". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  167. ^ Wattles, Jackie (April 27, 2019). "Elon Musk and SEC reach an agreement over tweeting". CNN Business. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  168. ^ Marino-Nachison, David (April 26, 2019). "Tesla CEO Elon Musk Gets a Long Do-Not-Tweet List From the SEC". Barrons. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  169. ^ Bursztynsky, Jessica (May 1, 2020). "Tesla shares tank after Elon Musk tweets the stock price is 'too high'". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  170. ^ "Court Rules That No One Can Stop Elon Musk From Tweeting Tesla News—For Now". Observer. May 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  171. ^ Elliott, Dave; Michaels, Rebecca (June 2, 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive: Tesla Failed to Oversee Elon Musk's Tweets, SEC Argued in Letters". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  172. ^ Kanellos, Michael (February 15, 2008). "Elon Musk on rockets, sports cars, and solar power". CNET. Archived from the original on January 29, 2014.
  173. ^ "2013 Top 250 Solar Contractors". Solar Power World. September 13, 2013. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  174. ^ Smith, Aaron (June 17, 2014). "Elon Musk's sunny plans for Buffalo". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  175. ^ Kolodny, Lora (February 26, 2020). "Tesla, Panasonic will reportedly stop joint solar cell production at Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  176. ^ "The highs, lows and legacy of Panasonic's doomed project in Buffalo". The Business Journals. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  177. ^ Kolodny, Lora; Bursztynsky, Jessica (April 27, 2022). "Elon Musk wins shareholder lawsuit over Tesla's $2.6 billion SolarCity acquisition". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022. According to emails that were part of evidence in the trial, Musk wrote an e-mail to SolarCity CFO Brad Buss on Sept. 18, 2016, saying that to get Tesla investors on board with the deal, SolarCity needed to get a handle on its liquidity problem and sign a letter of intent for a contract with Panasonic.
  178. ^ Strong, Michael (March 16, 2020). "Shareholder $2.2B Lawsuit Against Tesla CEO Musk Halted After Trial Postponed Due to Coronavirus". The Detroit Bureau. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  179. ^ Mitchell, Russ (September 23, 2019). "Elon Musk knew SolarCity was going broke before merger with Tesla, lawsuit alleges". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  180. ^ Hals, Tom (January 30, 2020). "Tesla directors settle, isolating Musk as SolarCity trial looms". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  181. ^ Chase, Randall (August 17, 2020). "Judge OKs $60M settlement over Tesla buyout of SolarCity". ABC. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  182. ^ Kolodny, Lora; Bursztynsky, Jessica (April 27, 2022). "Elon Musk wins shareholder lawsuit over Tesla's $2.6 billion SolarCity acquisition". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  183. ^ a b Markoff, John (July 16, 2019). "Elon Musk's Neuralink Wants 'Sewing Machine-Like' Robots to Wire Brains to the Internet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  184. ^ a b Statt, Nick (March 27, 2017). "Elon Musk launches Neuralink, a venture to merge the human brain with AI". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  185. ^ Winkler, Rolfe (March 27, 2017). "Elon Musk Launches Neuralink to Connect Brains With Computers". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  186. ^ a b "Elon Musk's Neuralink puts computer chips in pigs' brains in bid to cure diseases". NBC News. Reuters. August 29, 2020. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  187. ^ Zhavoronkov, Alex. "Elon Musk's Big Neuralink Paper: Should We Prepare For The Digital Afterlife?". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  188. ^ Kahn, Jeremy; Vanian, Jonathan (January 27, 2022). "Inside Neuralink, Elon Musk's mysterious brain chip startup: A culture of blame, impossible deadlines, and a missing CEO". Fortune. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  189. ^ a b Regalado, Antonio (August 30, 2020). "Elon Musk's Neuralink is neuroscience theater". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  190. ^ Cellan-Jones, Rory (September 1, 2020). "Is Elon Musk over-hyping his brain-hacking Neuralink tech?". BBC News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  191. ^ Rogers, Adam (September 4, 2020). "Neuralink Is Impressive Tech, Wrapped in Musk Hype". Wired. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  192. ^ Neate, Rupert (January 20, 2022). "Elon Musk's brain chip firm Neuralink lines up clinical trials in humans". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  193. ^ Ryan, Hannah (February 17, 2022). "Elon Musk's Neuralink confirms monkeys died in the project, denies animal cruelty claims". CNN Business. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022.
  194. ^ Levy, Rachel (December 5, 2022). "Musk's Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  195. ^ Singh, Maanvi (September 19, 2023). "Elon Musk's Neuralink approved to recruit humans for brain-implant trial". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  196. ^ Petrova, Magdalena (July 20, 2021). "Why Elon Musk's Boring Company is finding that traffic is tough to fix". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  197. ^ McFarland, Matt (July 6, 2022). "Elon Musk's Boring Company will let you pay for a ride with Dogecoin". CNN. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  198. ^ Heathman, Amelia. "Elon Musk's boring machine has already built a 'test trench' in LA". Wired. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  199. ^ Romero, Dennis (December 19, 2018). "Elon Musk unveils his test car tunnel as a fix for traffic in Los Angeles". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  200. ^ Farivar, Cyrus (June 8, 2021). "Fort Lauderdale officials say Elon Musk's new tunnel to the beach can't come fast enough". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  201. ^ Heater, Brian (November 28, 2018). "Elon Musk's Boring Co. drops LA Westside tunnel plan". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  202. ^ "Boring Co. underground loop to be put to the test". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  203. ^ McBride, Sarah (December 16, 2020). "Elon Musk's Proposed Vegas Strip Transit System Advanced by City Council Vote". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  204. ^ Elon Musk [@elonmusk] (April 14, 2022). "I made an offer
    [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001418091/000110465922045641/tm2212748d1_sc13da.htm https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar...]"
    (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 14, 2022 – via Twitter.
  205. ^ Paul, Kari (April 26, 2022). "Chaotic and crass: a brief timeline of Elon Musk's history with Twitter". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  206. ^ "Elon Musk snaps up $3bn Twitter stake". BBC News. April 4, 2022. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  207. ^ Jones, Callum. "Elon Musk becomes Twitter's biggest shareholder after taking 9.2% stake". The Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  208. ^ Hull, Dana; Fleisher, Lisa (October 4, 2022). "Twitter texts released in court case reveal Elon Musk's ex-wife asked him to 'Please do something to fight woke-ism'". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  209. ^ Elder, Bryce (April 6, 2022). "Musk and Twitter: the timeline". Financial Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  210. ^ a b Adler, Maxwell; Turner, Giles (April 14, 2022). "Elon Musk Makes $43 Billion Unsolicited Bid to Take Twitter Private". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  211. ^ "Elon Musk delayed filing a form and made $156 million". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  212. ^ Imbert, Fred (April 4, 2022). "Twitter shares close up 27% after Elon Musk takes 9% stake in social media company". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022. Twitter shares close up 27% after Elon Musk takes 9% stake in social media company
  213. ^ Corfield, Gareth (April 5, 2022). "Elon Musk to join Twitter board". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  214. ^ McLean, Rob (April 11, 2022). "Twitter CEO: Elon Musk will not join Twitter board". CNN. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  215. ^ "Elon Musk launches hostile takeover bid for Twitter". France 24. Agence France-Presse. April 14, 2022. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  216. ^ Feiner, Lauren (April 15, 2022). "Twitter board adopts 'poison pill' after Musk's $43 billion bid to buy company". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  217. ^ Stahl, George. "Musk-Twitter Deal Values Company at Around $44 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  218. ^ Isaac, Mike; Hirsch, Lauren (April 25, 2022). "With Deal for Twitter, Musk Lands a Prize and Pledges Fewer Limits". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  219. ^ MacMillan, Douglas; Siddiqui, Faiz; Lerman, Rachel; Telford, Taylor (April 25, 2022). "Elon Musk acquires Twitter for roughly $44 billion". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  220. ^ Siddiqui, Faiz (April 26, 2022). "Tesla's value dropped Tuesday by more than double the cost of Twitter". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  221. ^ Gura, David (April 26, 2022). "Tesla shares sink, wipe out over $125 billion in value, as Musk scores Twitter deal". NPR. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  222. ^ Woo, Erin; Isaac, Mike (April 27, 2022). "In tweets, Musk takes aim at Twitter executives, creating outrage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  223. ^ Balu, Nivedita; Li, Kenneth (May 13, 2022). "Musk says $44 bln Twitter deal on hold over fake account data". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  224. ^ Seal, Dean; Needleman, Sarah E.; Lombardo, Cara (May 13, 2022). "Elon Musk Says His $44 Billion Twitter Deal Is 'On Hold'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  225. ^ Feiner, Lauren (July 8, 2022). "Elon Musk notifies Twitter he is terminating deal". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  226. ^ Conger, Kate; Hirsch, Lauren (July 12, 2022). "Twitter Sues Musk After He Tries Backing Out of $44 Billion Deal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  227. ^ Conger, Kate; Hirsch, Lauren; Sorkin, Andrew Ross (October 4, 2022). "Elon Musk Suggests Buying Twitter at His Original Price". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  228. ^ a b Klar, Rebecca (October 27, 2022). "Musk officially closes Twitter deal: reports". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  229. ^ "Musk Said to Begin Firing Twitter's Top Executives". The New York Times. October 27, 2022. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022.
  230. ^ Mehta, Chavi; Dang, Sheila; Ghosh, Sayantani (October 31, 2022). "Elon Musk, who runs four other companies, will now be Twitter CEO". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022.
  231. ^ "Elon Musk says $8 monthly fee for Twitter blue tick". BBC. November 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  232. ^ Korn, Jennifer (November 2, 2022). "Musk says Twitter will charge $8 a month for account verification after criticism for $19.99 plan". CNN. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  233. ^ Binoy, Rhea (November 5, 2022). "Musk's Twitter updates app to start charging $8 for blue checkmark". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  234. ^ Conger, Kate; Mac, Ryan (November 4, 2022). "Elon Musk Begins Layoffs at Twitter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  235. ^ Picchi, Aimee (November 4, 2022). "Elon Musk set to fire roughly half of Twitter's workers". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  236. ^ Zakrewski, Siddiqui; Faiz, Siddiqui; Menn, Joseph (November 22, 2022). "Musk's 'free speech' agenda dismantles safety work at Twitter, insiders say". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  237. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (November 21, 2022). "We're Officially in the Elon Musk Era of Content Moderation". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  238. ^ Wilson, Jason (November 16, 2022). "Twitter Blesses Extremists With Paid 'Blue Checks'". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  239. ^ Knight, Will (November 25, 2022). "Here's Proof Hate Speech Is More Viral on Elon Musk's Twitter". Wired. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  240. ^ "Elon Musk promotes transphobic content as hate speech surges on his far-right platform". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  241. ^ Marshall, Aarian; Hoover, Amanda (December 3, 2022). "The Twitter Files Revealed One Thing: Elon Musk Is Trapped". Wired. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  242. ^ Perez, Evan; O'Sullivan, Donie; Fung, Brian (December 23, 2022). "No directive: FBI agents, tech executives deny government ordered Twitter to suppress Hunter Biden story". CNN. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024. Matt Taibbi, one of the journalists Musk tapped this month to comb through Twitter internal messages for evidence of free speech violations, said himself on December 2 that "there is no evidence – that I've seen – of any government involvement in the laptop story."
  243. ^ Fung, Brian (June 6, 2023). "Twitter's own lawyers refute Elon Musk's claim that the 'Twitter Files' exposed US government censorship". CNN. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023. Now, though, Twitter's own lawyers are disputing those claims in a case involving former President Donald Trump — forcefully rejecting any suggestion that the Twitter Files show what Musk and many Republicans assert they contain. In a court filing last week, Twitter's attorneys contested one of the most central allegations to emerge from the Twitter Files: that regular communications between the FBI and Twitter ahead of the 2020 election amounted to government coercion to censor content or, worse, that Twitter had become an actual arm of the US government.
  244. ^ Brooks, Emily and Rebecca Klar (2023). 'Weaponization' subcommittee members spar over 'Twitter Files Archived November 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine' The Hill (March 9).
  245. ^ Da Silva, Chantal (December 19, 2022). "Twitter users vote for Elon Musk to step down as CEO in poll he launched". NBC News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  246. ^ Allyn, Bobby (December 20, 2022). "Elon Musk says he will resign as Twitter CEO once he finds a replacement". NPR. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  247. ^ Milmo, Dan (May 11, 2023). "Elon Musk announces he has found new Twitter CEO". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  248. ^ Dang, Sheila (2023) "X sues Media Matters after report about ads next to antisemitic content Archived November 21, 2023, at the Wayback Machine." Reuters (November 20).
  249. ^ Saeedy, Alexander (August 27, 2024). "Lending Elon Musk Money Was A Very Bad Bet". The Wall Street Journal.
  250. ^ Siddiqui, Faiz (September 1, 2024). "Musk's Twitter investors have lost billions in value". The Washington Post.
  251. ^ Egan, Matt (October 2, 2024). "Elon Musk's X is worth nearly 80% less than when he bought it, Fidelity estimates". CNN.
  252. ^ a b c Kolodny, Lora (October 19, 2018). "Elon Musk's extreme micromanagement has wasted time and money at Tesla, insiders say". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  253. ^ a b Mac, Ryan; Metz, Cade; Conger, Kate (May 3, 2022). "'I Don't Really Have a Business Plan': How Elon Musk Wings It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  254. ^ Berger (2021), p. 15.
  255. ^ Berger (2021), p. 25.
  256. ^ Kolodny, Lora (November 19, 2021). "Read the emails Elon Musk sent Tesla employees about music on the job and following directions". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  257. ^ a b c d Duhigg, Charles (December 13, 2018). "Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell". Wired. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  258. ^ Berger (2021), p. 18.
  259. ^ "Is the world's richest person the world's worst boss? What it's like working for Elon Musk". Los Angeles Times. November 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  260. ^ "Elon Musk feels 'super bad' about economy, needs to cut 10% of Tesla jobs". CNBC. June 3, 2022. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  261. ^ Mac, Ryan (June 1, 2022). "Elon Musk to Workers: Spend 40 Hours in the Office, or Else". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022.
  262. ^ * Bilton, Nick (November 10, 2020). "Elon Musk's Totally Awful, Batshit-Crazy, Completely Bonkers, Most Excellent Year". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
    • Vance (2017), p. 340. "Elon's worst trait by far, in my opinion, is a complete lack of loyalty or human connection. Many of us worked tirelessly for him for years and were tossed to the curb like a piece of litter without a second thought. Maybe it was calculated to keep the rest of the workforce on their toes and scared; maybe he was just able to detach from human connection to a remarkable degree. What was clear is that people who worked for him were like ammunition: used for a specific purpose until exhausted and discarded."
    • Wong, Julia Carrie (June 13, 2018). "Tesla workers say they pay the price for Elon Musk's big promises". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021. The CEO is known for outsized claims and ambitious goals. But numerous factory workers say he doesn't follow through – and that his leadership sets a troubling tone.
    • Warzel, Charlie (November 7, 2022). "Elon Musk Is Bad at This" Archived 2022-12-31 at the Wayback Machine. The Atlantic.
  263. ^ Mitchell, Charlie. "Sweary tirades and abrupt firings under Elon Musk, new book claims". The Times. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  264. ^ Dugan, Ianthe Jeanne; Spector, Mike (August 24, 2017). "Tesla's Push to Build a Self-Driving Car Sparked Dissent Among Its Engineers". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  265. ^ "Musk Foundation". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022.
  266. ^ Carlson, Kara (December 13, 2022). "Mapping Musklandia: A guide to Elon Musk-related activity in the Austin area". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Musk's private foundation was founded in 2001 and is focused on renewable energy, ...
  267. ^ Harris, Mark (January 23, 2019). "How Elon Musk's secretive foundation hands out his billions". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  268. ^ a b Cuccinello, Hayley C. (September 8, 2020). "Elon Musk Has Promised To Give at Least Half His Fortune To Charity. Here's How Much He's Donated So Far". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  269. ^ a b Schleifer, Theodore (January 11, 2021). "The big decision before Elon Musk, now the richest person in the world". Vox. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  270. ^ "OpenAI shifts from nonprofit to 'capped-profit' to attract capital". March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  271. ^ Salam, Erum (December 14, 2023). "Elon Musk spends $100m to open new university in Texas". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  272. ^ "Pledge Signatories". The Giving Pledge. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  273. ^ Chappell, Bill (February 8, 2021). "Elon Musk Funds $100 Million XPrize For Pursuit Of New Carbon Removal Ideas". NPR. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  274. ^ "Elon Musk Makes Biggest Donation in History". Bloomberg L.P. February 15, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  275. ^ Alexander, Sophie (December 12, 2022). "Musk's $5.7 Billion Mystery Gift Went to His Own Charity". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022.
  276. ^ Fahrenthold, David A.; Mac, Ryan (March 10, 2024). "Elon Musk Has a Giant Charity. Its Money Stays Close to Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  277. ^ "Hyperloop Update: Elon Musk Will Start Developing It Himself". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  278. ^ Kolawole, Emi (August 12, 2013). "Elon Musk Unveils 'Hyperloop' Plans". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  279. ^ Kirschen, Philippe; Burnell, Edward (April 6, 2021). "Hyperloop System Optimization". arXiv:2104.03907 [cs.CE].
  280. ^ Vance, Ashlee (August 12, 2013). "Revealed: Elon Musk Explains the Hyperloop, the Solar-Powered High-Speed Future of Inter-City Transportation". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  281. ^ Ranger, Steve. "What is Hyperloop? Everything you need to know about the race for super-fast travel". ZDNet. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  282. ^ Sorokanich, Bob (August 11, 2022). "Did Musk Propose Hyperloop to Stop California High-Speed Rail?". Jalopnik. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  283. ^ Mazza, Sandy (January 29, 2017). "Hyperloop competition brings new mass-transit technology to life in Hawthorne". Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  284. ^ "Elon Musk Says He Has 'Verbal' OK To Build N.Y.-D.C. Hyperloop". NPR. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  285. ^ "Elon Musk's Boring Company removes D.C.-Baltimore tunnel from list of projects on website". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  286. ^ McBride, Sarah. "Musk's SpaceX Dismantles Hyperloop Prototype, Puts Up a Parking Lot". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  287. ^ Bejerano, Pablo G. (January 17, 2024). "The failure of the 'hyperloop', Elon Musk's dream of traveling at 1,000 km/h by train that is fading". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  288. ^ McFarland, Matt (November 20, 2020). "Hyperloop wants to change the world. Not everyone's convinced | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  289. ^ "The Unbelievable Reality of the Impossible Hyperloop". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  290. ^ Markoff, John (December 11, 2015). "Artificial-Intelligence Research Center Is Founded by Silicon Valley Investors". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  291. ^ Vincent, James (March 24, 2023). "Elon Musk reportedly tried and failed to take over OpenAI in 2018". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  292. ^ "Why Elon Musk's $100 million donation claim to ChatGPT maker OpenAI may be wrong". The Times of India. May 18, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  293. ^ Novet, Jordan (February 2, 2018). "Elon Musk, who has sounded the alarm on AI, leaves the organization he co-founded to make it safer". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  294. ^ Johnson, Steven; Iziev, Nikita (April 15, 2022). "A.I. Is Mastering Language. Should We Trust What It Says?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  295. ^ Metz, Cade (April 6, 2022). "Meet DALL-E, the A.I. That Draws Anything at Your Command". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  296. ^ Zahn, Max. "Elon Musk launches his own AI company to compete with ChatGPT". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  297. ^ Henshall, Will (July 12, 2023). "What to Know About Elon Musk's New AI Company, xAI". Time. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  298. ^ a b Lee, Timothy B. (July 10, 2018). "Thai official: Elon Musk's submarine "not practical for this mission" [Updated]". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  299. ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (December 5, 2019). "Elon Musk trial: Vernon Unsworth says entrepreneur's tweets 'humiliated' him". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  300. ^ Ferris, Robert (July 10, 2018). "Elon Musk says his 'mini-submarine' can be used for other things". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  301. ^ "Tested for Thailand, SpaceX's makeshift mini-sub could serve as space escape pod". GeekWire.com. July 8, 2018. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  302. ^ "Why was Elon Musk at the Thai cave rescue?". July 10, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  303. ^ "Thai king confers awards on two Australian divers for rescue of cave boys". Reuters. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  304. ^ a b Levin, Sam (July 15, 2018). "Elon Musk calls British diver in Thai cave rescue a 'pedo' in baseless attack". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  305. ^ Browne, Ryan (July 18, 2020). "Elon Musk apologizes to British cave diver following baseless 'pedo guy' claim". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  306. ^ Klepper, David (April 27, 2022). "What Elon Musk's own tweets reveal about Twitter's next owner—and his plans for the company". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  307. ^ Smith, Adam (April 4, 2022). "The strangest things Elon Musk has ever done on Twitter". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  308. ^ Paul, Kari (October 9, 2019). "Elon Musk claims his investigator tricked him about diver he called a 'pedo'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  309. ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (December 4, 2019). "Elon Musk: pedo guy insult was 'not classy' but not meant literally". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  310. ^ "Elon Musk sued for libel by British Thai cave rescuer". BBC News. September 17, 2018. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  311. ^ Rawlinson, Kevin (September 17, 2018). "British diver sues Elon Musk for $75,000 over 'pedo' claim". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  312. ^ Kolodny, Lora (December 6, 2019). "Elon Musk found not liable in 'pedo guy' defamation trial". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  313. ^ Groom, Nichola; Parsons, Rachel (December 6, 2019). "Tesla boss Elon Musk wins defamation trial over his 'pedo guy' tweet". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  314. ^ Picchi, Aimee (September 7, 2018). "Tesla's Elon Musk appears to smoke weed in Joe Rogan live interview". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  315. ^ Grace Dean; Huileng Tan (August 2022). "Elon Musk said he and the 'whole of SpaceX' had to be drug tested for a year after he smoked weed on Joe Rogan's podcast". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  316. ^ Gottsegen, Gordon (December 7, 2018). "Despite infamous hit, Elon Musk says he has 'no idea how to smoke pot'". CNET. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  317. ^ Arcand, Rob (March 31, 2019). "Elon Musk Drops Surprise Rap Single 'RIP Harambe'". Spin. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  318. ^ Kreps, Daniel (March 31, 2019). "Hear Elon Musk's Surprise Rap Song 'RIP Harambe'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  319. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (March 31, 2019). "Elon Musk Randomly Shares Rap Song Dedicated to Harambe". XXL. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  320. ^ a b Etherington, Darrell. "Elon Musk just dropped an EDM track on SoundCloud". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  321. ^ Petridis, Alexis (January 31, 2020). "Elon Musk's new EDM single reviewed – 'Bringing erectile dysfunction to the masses!'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  322. ^ a b Geuss, Megan (January 30, 2019). "Elon Musk's private jet appears to make frivolous flights, per Washington Post". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  323. ^ Pierce, David (August 25, 2020). "Elon Musk's new plane". Politico. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  324. ^ Harwell, Drew (January 29, 2019). "Elon Musk's highflying 2018: What 150,000 miles in a private jet reveal about his 'excruciating' year". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  325. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (December 15, 2022). "Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood. Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family" (Tweet). Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  326. ^ "Musk bans Twitter account tracking his jet, threatens to sue creator". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  327. ^ "'Crazy stalker' attacks Elon Musk's car as Twitter boss threatens legal action against account tracking his private jet". Sky News. December 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  328. ^ Taylor, Josh (December 17, 2022). "Elon Musk reinstates Twitter accounts of suspended journalists". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  329. ^ "Twitter suspends account tracking Elon Musk's jet after 'stalker' follows his child – National". Global News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  330. ^ Harwell, Drew; Lorenz, Taylor (December 18, 2022). "Musk blamed a Twitter account for an alleged stalker. Police see no link". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  331. ^ Darcy, Oliver (December 17, 2022). "Elon Musk offers journalists he banned from Twitter ability to return under certain condition". CNN. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  332. ^ a b Stölzel, Thomas (April 27, 2024). "Wirtschaft von oben: Elon Musks Utopia – Mitarbeiter-Baracken wie im Flüchtlingslager". www.wiwo.de (in German). Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  333. ^ "Inside Snailbrook, the 'utopian town' Elon Musk is building for his employees in Texas". Firstpost. March 10, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  334. ^ a b c Grind, Kirsten; Elliott, Rebecca; Mann, Ted; and Bykowicz, Julie (March 13, 2023). "Elon Musk Is Planning a Texas Utopia—His Own Town". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  335. ^ Rose, Steve (April 18, 2023). "Is Elon Musk creating a utopian city? The hellish, heavenly history of company towns". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  336. ^ Klebnikov, Sergei (August 8, 2017). "8 Innovative Ways Elon Musk Made Money Before He Was a Billionaire". Money. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  337. ^ Melby, Caleb (March 12, 2012). "How Elon Musk Became A Billionaire Twice Over". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  338. ^ Berger, Chloe. "The 3 books and series that most inspired Elon Musk". Fortune. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  339. ^ Marx, Paris (August 8, 2022). "Elon Musk Is Convinced He's the Future. We Need to Look Beyond Him". TIME. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  340. ^ Paul, Kari (April 26, 2022). "Chaotic and crass: a brief timeline of Elon Musk's history with Twitter". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  341. ^ Dwoskin, Elizabeth; Lorenz, Taylor; Nix, Naomi; Menn, Joseph (November 19, 2023). "Antisemitism was rising online. Then Elon Musk's X supercharged it". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  342. ^ Horowitz, Julia (August 7, 2018). "Elon Musk tweets a lot. This time was different". CNN Business. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  343. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (July 25, 2020). "Grimes tells Elon Musk 'turn off your phone' after Tesla CEO's gender pronouns tweet". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  344. ^ Migdon, Brooke (April 25, 2022). "LGBTQ+ Twitter users contemplate exit amid Elon Musk takeover". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  345. ^ "Elon Musk tweets, then deletes, meme comparing Trudeau to Hitler". Reuters. February 17, 2022. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  346. ^ Metz, Cade; Satariano, Adam; Che, Chang (October 26, 2022). "How Elon Musk Became a Geopolitical Chaos Agent". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  347. ^ "Elon Musk's tweets about Texas mall gunman spread misleading claims, question shooter's background". The Associated Press. May 10, 2023. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  348. ^ Garofoli, Joe (December 13, 2022). "Elon Musk is leaning into transphobia". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  349. ^ "Elon Musk's response to anti-trans video sparked day of chaos at Twitter". NBC News. June 2, 2023. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  350. ^ Kolodny, Lora (October 8, 2021). "Elon Musk endorses a carbon tax, downplays concerns about methane". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  351. ^ Clifford, Catherine (February 12, 2021). "Elon Musk: 'My top recommendation' for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a carbon tax". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  352. ^ Werber, Cassie. "Elon Musk says tax-free carbon is "the dumbest experiment in history"". Quartz. Archived from the original on August 26, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  353. ^ "Taxpayer Subsidies Helped Tesla Motors, So Why Does Elon Musk Slam Them?". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  354. ^ "Tesla Rakes In $9 Billion From Carmakers Failing to Sell Enough EVs". Bloomberg.com. February 9, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  355. ^ Plumer, Brad (July 8, 2017). "When Will Electric Cars Go Mainstream? It May Be Sooner Than You Think". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  356. ^ Stewart, Jack (October 6, 2018). "What Are Shorts and Why Does Elon Hate Them?". Wired. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  357. ^ Graziosi, Graig (January 29, 2021). "Elon Musk lashes out at short sellers during GameStop market war". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  358. ^ "What Are Shorts and Why Does Elon Musk Hate Them?". Wired. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  359. ^ Levine, Matt (February 4, 2021). "Who's Winning the GameStop Game?". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  360. ^ Gelles, David (January 29, 2021). "Elon Musk Becomes Unlikely Anti-Establishment Hero in GameStop Saga". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  361. ^ Ponnezhath, Maria; Jin, Hyunjoo (December 15, 2022). "Musk cashes out another $3.6 bln in Tesla stock". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  362. ^ Merced, Michael J. de la; Eavis, Peter (December 15, 2022). "Elon Musk Sells Another Big Chunk of Tesla Stock". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  363. ^ "Musk says he supports crypto in battle with fiat money". Reuters. May 22, 2021. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  364. ^ Ante, Lennart (February 3, 2021). "How Elon Musk's Twitter Activity Moves Cryptocurrency Markets". SSRN 3778844.
  365. ^ "SEC Should Monitor Tesla's Elon Musk for Market Manipulation: Roubini". Yahoo. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  366. ^ Kovach, Steve (February 8, 2021). "Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  367. ^ Hoskins, Peter (May 13, 2021). "Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin over climate concerns, says Musk". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  368. ^ Smith, Adam (May 13, 2021). "Bitcoin crashes as Elon Musk announces Tesla cars can no longer be bought with cryptocurrency". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  369. ^ Marshall, Aarian (December 14, 2017). "Elon Musk Really Doesn't Like Mass Transit Systems He's Trying to Build". Wired. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  370. ^ a b Sampson, Rich (December 26, 2017). "What Elon Musk doesn't understand about public transit hurts everyone". Quartz. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  371. ^ a b Hunt, Elle (December 21, 2017). "'I met my wife on a train platform': Twitter responds to Elon Musk with positive public transport stories". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  372. ^ LeVine, Steve (December 28, 2017). "Elon Musk's mean Twitter persona". Axios. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  373. ^ O'Leary, Lizzie (October 6, 2022). "Can Longtermism Save Us All?". Slate. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  374. ^ Gibbs, Samuel (October 27, 2014). "Elon Musk: artificial intelligence is our biggest existential threat". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  375. ^ "Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking think we should ban killer robots". The Washington Post. July 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  376. ^ Gomez, Brandon (August 24, 2021). "Elon Musk warned of a 'Terminator'-like AI apocalypse – now he's building a Tesla robot". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  377. ^ Kakaes, Konstantin (April 26, 2022). "Elon Musk's biggest worry". Politico. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  378. ^ Victor, Daniel (July 27, 2015). "Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking Among Hundreds to Urge Ban on Military Robots". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  379. ^ Shead, Sam (May 13, 2020). "Elon Musk has a complex relationship with the A.I. community". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  380. ^ Metz, Cade (June 9, 2018). "Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and the Feud Over Killer Robots". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  381. ^ "'Artificial intelligence alarmists' like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking win 'Luddite of the Year' award". The Independent. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  382. ^ Holthaus, Eric (February 9, 2018). "Why Elon Musk's Ambition Is an Antidote to Climate-Pessimism". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  383. ^ Boyle, Louise (February 15, 2021). "Elon Musk says Biden administration called a carbon tax 'too politically difficult'". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  384. ^ Roth, Madeline (September 29, 2020). "Elon Musk says he may vote for Trump, despite climate crisis". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  385. ^ Bhuiyan, Johana (December 14, 2016). "Elon Musk and Travis Kalanick are joining Donald Trump's strategic and policy forum". Vox. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  386. ^ Lee, Timothy B. (June 1, 2017). "Elon Musk has cut ties with Trump over his Paris decision". Vox. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  387. ^ Chang, Kenneth (September 27, 2016). "Elon Musk's Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  388. ^ Chang, Kenneth (March 19, 2021). "The Water on Mars Vanished. This Might Be Where It Went". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  389. ^ Delbert, Caroline (May 19, 2020). "Elon Musk Needs 10,000+ Missiles to Nuke Mars. 'No Problem,' He Says". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  390. ^ Grush, Loren (May 11, 2020). "Elon Musk thinks the best government for Mars is a direct democracy". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  391. ^ Spocchia, Gina (May 27, 2022). "Elon Musk mocked for saying 'Italy will have no people' due to population decline". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  392. ^ "Population decline and smaller families good news for climate, says former head of FSA". The Independent. October 18, 2021. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  393. ^ "Elon Musk claims population collapse 'potentially the greatest risk to the future of civilization'". CambridgeshireLive. July 29, 2021. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  394. ^ "Elon Musk says there aren't 'enough people,' birthrate could threaten human civilization". USA Today. December 7, 2021. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  395. ^ Grind, Kirsten (July 11, 2024). "Elon Musk's Plan to Put a Million Earthlings on Mars in 20 Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  396. ^ Roytburg, Eva. "Elon Musk, father of 12, denies volunteering his own sperm to help seed a colony on Mars". Fortune. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  397. ^ "How Elon Musk came to endorse Donald Trump". Washington Post. July 29, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  398. ^ Durkee, Alison (October 25, 2024). "Elon Musk Is Now Trump's 2nd-Biggest Financial Backer: Donates Nearly $120 Million To Super PAC". Forbes.
  399. ^ "Elon Musk's 'Final Straw' Moment Marks Political Transformation". Bloomberg.com. July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  400. ^ Dorn, Sara. "Elon Musk's Political Shift: How The Billionaire Moved From Backing Obama To Endorsing DeSantis". Forbes. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  401. ^ Warzel, Charlie (December 11, 2022). "Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  402. ^ "elon musk far right wing: Led by Elon Musk, Silicon Valley inches to the right - The Economic Times". m.economictimes.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  403. ^ Siddiqui, Faiz; Merrill, Jeremy B. (August 12, 2024). "Elon Musk's X feed becomes megaphone for his far-right politics". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  404. ^ Lahut, Jake; Goodwin, Grace Eliza; Edmonds, Lauren. "Timeline of Elon Musk's political stances before GOP embrace". Business Insider. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  405. ^ "Elon Musk's misleading election claims have accrued 1.2 billion views on X, new analysis says". NBC News. August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  406. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (August 9, 2024). "Column | Britain's riots put spotlight on far-right misinformation". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  407. ^ "Musk's false X posts on US election viewed 1.2 billion times, says watchdog". France 24. August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  408. ^ Duffy, Clare (November 21, 2023). "Elon Musk is now boosting the 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  409. ^ "Elon Musk: A timeline of his most recent controversial moments". Sky News. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  410. ^ "Elon Musk: 'I am moderate'". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  411. ^ "Elon Musk, SpaceX Founder, Battles Entrenched Rivals Over NASA Contracts". HuffPost. February 20, 2013. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  412. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (April 26, 2022). "The Elusive Politics of Elon Musk". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  413. ^ Robertson, Derek. "Elon Musk Has Become the Villain Liberals Always Imagined Him to Be". Politico. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  414. ^ Gardner, Akayla; Birnbaum, Emily; Frier, Sarah (November 7, 2022). "Elon Musk Tells Twitter Followers to Vote for a Republican Congress". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  415. ^ Valero, Maria Jose (August 10, 2019). "Elon Musk Says He Supports 2020 White House Hopeful Andrew Yang". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  416. ^ Kirkpatrick, Emily. "Elon Musk Supports Kanye West's Run for President...Again". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  417. ^ Feinberg, Andrew (April 18, 2023). "Trump lashes out at Elon Musk after tech mogul says he voted for Biden". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  418. ^ Spocchia, Gino (May 18, 2022). "Elon Musk says he plans to vote Republican for the first time". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  419. ^ "Elon Musk Says Democrats Are No Longer 'the Kindness Party'". Bloomberg L.P. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  420. ^ Hassan, Jennifer; Oremus, Will (November 7, 2022). "Elon Musk recommends voting GOP, suspends Twitter accounts for 'impersonation'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  421. ^ "Elon Musk recommends voting for Republicans in U.S. midterm elections". Reuters. November 7, 2022. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  422. ^ a b Mattioli, Dana; Palazzolo, Joe; Safdar, Khadeeja (October 2, 2024). "Elon Musk Gave Tens of Millions to Republican Causes Far Earlier Than Previously Known". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  423. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (June 15, 2022). "DeSantis on Musk tweet: 'I welcome support from African Americans'". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  424. ^ Siddiqui, Faiz (May 25, 2023). "Twitter repeatedly crashes as DeSantis tries to make presidential announcement". Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  425. ^ "Twitter Spaces Glitches Plague DeSantis's 2024 Announcement". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  426. ^ "Elon Musk says Vivek Ramaswamy should be the GOP's VP pick for the 2024 election". www.businessinsider.com. August 28, 2023. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  427. ^ "Elon Musk says he 'fully' endorses Donald Trump after shots fired during campaign rally". Business Insider.
  428. ^ Rogers, Alex; Morris, Stephen; Inagaki, Kana (2024). "Elon Musk's riskiest bet yet: Donald Trump". ft.com. Financial Times. "If he loses, I'm fucked"
  429. ^ a b Bensinger, Ken (July 27, 2024). "Elon Musk Shares Manipulated Harris Video, in Seeming Violation of X's Policies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  430. ^ a b Hammond, Elise; Forrest, Jack; Duffy, Clare; Maruf, Ramishah; Sangal, Aditi; Radford, Antoinette (August 12, 2024). "August 12, 2024, presidential campaign news". CNN Politics. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  431. ^ "Elon Musk Writes, Then Deletes, a Post Musing About Threats to Biden and Harris". NYT. September 16, 2024.
  432. ^ "Secret Service Probing Musk's Post About Threats to Biden and Harris". Bloomberg.com. September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  433. ^ Kinnard, Meg (October 5, 2024). "Elon Musk makes his first appearance at a Trump rally and casts the election in dire terms". AP News. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  434. ^ Tenbarge, Kat; Goggin, Ben; Barnett, Emma (October 17, 2024). "Musk pushes debunked Dominion voting conspiracy theory at first Pennsylvania appearance". NBC News.
  435. ^ Ingram, Julia; May, Madeleine (October 21, 2024). "The X factor: How Trump ally Elon Musk is using social media to prime voter mistrust ahead of 2024 election - CBS News". CBS News. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  436. ^ Wolf, Zachary B. (October 27, 2021). "Elon Musk used government money to build Tesla. But he fears a tax on billionaires". CNN Politics. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  437. ^ Maruf, Ramishah (November 14, 2021). "'I keep forgetting you're still alive:' Elon Musk trolls Bernie Sanders on Twitter". CNN. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  438. ^ Lenthang, Marlene (November 15, 2021). "Elon Musk targets Sen. Bernie Sanders over tax tweet: 'I keep forgetting that you're still alive'". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  439. ^ Spocchia, Gino (May 1, 2022). "AOC explains why she deleted tweet after Elon Musk accused her of 'hitting' on him". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  440. ^ Isidore, Chris (December 15, 2021). "Elon Musk calls Elizabeth Warren 'Senator Karen' in fight over taxes". CNN Business. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  441. ^ "Elon Musk Makes Fun of Twitter T-Shirts Linked to BLM Protests". Bloomberg.com. November 23, 2022. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. Elon Musk is courting more controversy at Twitter Inc., posting a video making fun of old t-shirts at the social media service that date back to the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement.
  442. ^ Porterfield, Carlie. "Musk Wars With The Left: Suggests 'Activists' Killed Moderation Plan And Baits Black Lives Matter Supporters". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. CEO Elon Musk is raising eyebrows by …raising questions about the Black Lives Matter protests.
  443. ^ "Elon Musk deleted a tweet about Paul Pelosi. Here's why that matters". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  444. ^ Waldman, Anton; Scott, Adam (October 8, 2024). "Elon Musk is piling onto all the hurricane disinformation, hampering relief efforts". Politco.
  445. ^ Novak, Matt (October 8, 2024). "Elon Musk Says He Might Get Thrown in Jail If Trump Doesn't Win". Gizmodo.
  446. ^ "Musk Donates to Trump, Tapping Vast Fortune to Swing 2024 Race". Bloomberg.com. July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  447. ^ Sullivan, Helen (July 24, 2024). "Elon Musk denies report he will donate $45m a month to Trump Super Pac". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  448. ^ Ingram, David (October 16, 2024). "Elon Musk has given nearly $75 million to his pro-Trump super PAC". NBC News. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  449. ^ McDaniel, Eric (October 16, 2024). "Elon Musk has given $75 million, so far, to put Donald Trump back in the White House". NPR. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  450. ^ Perez, Evan; Rabinowitz, Hannah; Cohen, Marshall (October 23, 2024). "Justice Department warns Elon Musk that his $1 million giveaway to registered voters may be illegal". CNN.
  451. ^ Schleifer, Theodore; Thrush, Glenn (October 22, 2024). "Justice Department Warns Musk That His $1 Million Giveaway Might Be Illegal". The New York Times.
  452. ^ Cohen, Marshall (October 25, 2024). "Elon Musk's super PAC awards $1 million prizes to 2 registered voters, despite DOJ warning". CNN. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  453. ^ Cohen, Marshall (October 28, 2024). "Philadelphia DA sues Elon Musk and his super PAC over $1M sweepstakes". CNN. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  454. ^ Cohen, Marshall (November 4, 2024). "Elon Musk's daily $1 million giveaway to voters can continue, Pennsylvania judge rules". CNN. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  455. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Schleifer, Theodore (October 15, 2024). "Republican Operatives Function as Hidden Hand Behind Pro-Trump Efforts". The New York Times.
  456. ^ Massoglia, Anna (October 16, 2024). "Pro-Trump dark money network tied to Elon Musk behind fake pro-Harris campaign scheme". OpenSecrets.
  457. ^ Mattioli, Dana; Palazzolo, Joe; Safdar, Khadeeja (October 2, 2024). "Elon Musk Gave Tens of Millions to Republican Causes Far Earlier Than Previously Known". The Wall Street Journal.
  458. ^ Ulmer, Alexandra; Levy, Rachael (October 16, 2024). "Musk gave $75 million to pro-Trump group, becoming a Republican mega donor". Reuters.
  459. ^ Massoglia, Anna (October 16, 2024). "Pro-Trump dark money network tied to Elon Musk behind fake pro-Harris campaign scheme". OpenSecrets.
  460. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Schleifer, Theodore (October 15, 2024). "Republican Operatives Function as Hidden Hand Behind Pro-Trump Efforts". The New York Times.
  461. ^ He, Laura (March 24, 2021). "Elon Musk is trying to win China back". CNN. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  462. ^ Marquis, Christopher; Qiao, Kunyuan (2022). Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise. New Haven: Yale University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k. ISBN 978-0-300-26883-6. JSTOR j.ctv3006z6k. OCLC 1348572572. S2CID 253067190.
  463. ^ Roth, Emma (August 13, 2022). "Elon Musk pitches lofty goals in a magazine run by China's internet censorship agency". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  464. ^ "Now Elon Musk Is Telling China's Censors About His Vision for the Future". Bloomberg.com. August 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  465. ^ "Taiwan parties slam Musk over 'special administrative zone' suggestion". Focus Taiwan. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  466. ^ "Taiwan politicians dismiss Elon Musk's 'ill-informed and belittling' China comments". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  467. ^ Singh, Kanishka; Jin, Hyunjoo (October 8, 2022). "Musk offers proposal on China-Taiwan tensions, after Russia-Ukraine plan". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  468. ^ "Zelenskiy hits back as Elon Musk sets up Twitter poll on annexed areas of Ukraine". the Guardian. October 3, 2022. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  469. ^ "Elon Musk's peace plan for Ukraine draws condemnation from Zelenskyy". NPR. Associated Press. October 4, 2022. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  470. ^ Champion, Matthew. "Elon Musk Spoke to Putin Before Tweeting Ukraine Peace Plan: Report". Vice. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  471. ^ "Elon Musk denies he spoke to Putin about Ukraine war". BBC News. October 16, 2022. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  472. ^ Bertrand, Natasha; Yeung, Jessie (October 12, 2022). "Elon Musk denies claim he spoke to Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine". CNN Business. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  473. ^ "Elon Musk Sends Dire Warning About Russia-Ukraine War". TheStreet. October 10, 2022. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  474. ^ "Elon Musk Says Nuclear War Probability Is Rising Rapidly; 'Have Been Up All Night To Think Of Any Possible Way To Deescalate This War'". Yahoo Finance. January 30, 2023. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  475. ^ "Fearing a nuclear war, Elon Musk snipped Starlink services to thwart Ukrainian drone offensive on Russia". WION. September 8, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  476. ^ "'Sleepwalking our way into World War III': Elon Musk's weighs in on Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia conflict". Business Today. October 24, 2023. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  477. ^ "Elon Musk finally speaks on Israel-Hamas war, says if you kill children in Gaza then…". India Today. November 10, 2023. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  478. ^ "No use of 'decolonisation', 'from the river to the sea' on X. Musk warns of suspension over calls of genocide". WION. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  479. ^ "Elon Musk Visits Israel Amid Backlash Against His Endorsement of Antisemitic Post". New York Times. November 27, 2023.
  480. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben; Penna, Dominic (August 5, 2024). "Starmer clashes with Musk over UK riot remarks". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  481. ^ Gregory, Andy; Cooke, Millie (August 5, 2024). "Downing Street condemns Elon Musk for claim 'civil war is inevitable'". The Independent.
  482. ^ Cecil, Nicholas (August 5, 2024). "UK riots: No10 slaps down Elon Musk for 'civil war is inevitable' post". Evening Standard.
  483. ^ "What is Elon Musk's game plan?". BBC News.
  484. ^ "Musk shares faked far-right 'detainment camp' for rioters post". BBC News.
  485. ^ "Musk brands Starmer 'two-tier Keir' amid row over riot policing". The Daily Telegraph. August 6, 2024. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  486. ^ "UK disorder: What's Elon Musk's game?". BBC News. August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  487. ^ "Musk shares faked far-right 'detainment camp' for rioters post". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  488. ^ Luce, Edward (August 9, 2024). "Elon Musk and the danger to democracy". Financial Times.
  489. ^ Berger, Eric (October 25, 2024). "Why is Elon Musk talking to Vladimir Putin, and what does it mean for SpaceX?". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  490. ^ "Kremlin denies WSJ report of Elon Musk's contacts with Putin". Voice of America. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  491. ^ a b Grove, Thomas; Strobel, Warren P.; Viswanatha, Aruna; Lubold, Gordon; Schechner, Sam (October 24, 2024). "Elon Musk's Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin". The Wall Street Journal.
  492. ^ "Musk Ultimatum to Taiwan Imperils Its Push to War-Proof Internet". Bloomberg.com. July 6, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2024. The Taiwanese and SpaceX began exploratory talks about the satellite supply chain in 2019, but in early 2022, the cordial tenor of those talks changed. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as SpaceX is formally known, and its representatives in Taiwan began urging government officials to change a law that requires any telecommunications joint venture to have local majority ownership of at least 51%, according to two officials who took part in the meetings.
  493. ^ Davidson, Helen (October 15, 2024). "Taiwan to have satellite internet service as protection in case of Chinese attack". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 26, 2024. Starlink is not available in Taiwan after negotiations reportedly fell apart over Taiwan's requirement that a local entity have a majority share of any joint venture established.
  494. ^ "Investigate Musk for reported Putin calls, say several Dems". Politico.
  495. ^ @SpaceX (October 25, 2024). "Regarding Taiwan, as even the Taiwan government has confirmed, Starlink is not available there because Taiwan has not given us a license to operate, and regulators declined to remove a requirement that a foreign entity own 51% of Starlink to operate there. SpaceX has not accepted such a condition for any market in which it operates. This has nothing to do with Russia or China" (Tweet). Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Twitter.
  496. ^ Isidore, Chris (May 16, 2023). "Elon Musk claims George Soros 'hates humanity.' The ADL says Musk's attacks 'will embolden extremists'". CNN. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  497. ^ Rubin, Shira (May 19, 2023). "Israel pivots to say Elon Musk attacks on George Soros now not antisemitic". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  498. ^ a b Goldberg, Michelle (November 20, 2023). "Why on Earth Are Jewish Leaders Praising Elon Musk?". The New York Times (Opinion). Archived from the original on December 2, 2023.
  499. ^ a b Wallace, Danielle (November 19, 2023). "Elon Musk says X users advocating for 'genocide of any group' face suspension after antisemitism allegations". FOXBusiness. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  500. ^ "Elon Musk: Genocidal terms like 'from the river to the sea' to result in suspension". The Times of Israel. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  501. ^ "Elon Musk boosts antisemitic tweet, claims ADL and other groups push 'anti-white' messaging". CNBC. November 16, 2023. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  502. ^ Rosenberg, Yair (November 15, 2023). "Elon Musk's Disturbing 'Truth'". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  503. ^ "Elon Musk Calls Antisemitic Post on X the 'Actual Truth'". Bloomberg.com. November 16, 2023. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  504. ^ Goldman, David (November 16, 2023). "Elon Musk agrees with X post that claims Jews 'push hatred' against White people". CNN Business. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  505. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (November 16, 2023). "IBM pulls X ads as Elon Musk endorses white pride". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  506. ^ Swartz, Jon (November 16, 2023). "IBM pulls ads from X after Elon Musk's incendiary comments over white pride". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  507. ^ "Apple and Disney join advertiser exodus from Elon Musk's X". Financial Times. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  508. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob; Sato, Mia (November 29, 2023). "Elon Musk tells advertisers: 'Go fuck yourself'". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  509. ^ Paul, Kari (November 29, 2023). "Elon Musk hurls defiant, profanity-laced retort at fleeing advertisers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  510. ^ Conger, Kate; Tumin, Remy (November 29, 2023). "Elon Musk Uses a Crude Insult to Slam Advertisers for Pulling Back From X." The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  511. ^ Goodkind, Nicole (November 29, 2023). "Elon Musk apologizes for antisemitic tweet but tells advertisers 'go f**k yourself'". CNN Business. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  512. ^ Sato, Mia (November 29, 2023). "DealBook Summit 2023: Elon Musk, Bob Iger, and more". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  513. ^ "Elon Musk visits Auschwitz with Ben Shapiro". The Jerusalem Post. January 22, 2024. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  514. ^ "Elon Musk makes private visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau 22 January 2024". Reuters. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  515. ^ Higgins, Andrew (January 22, 2024). "Elon Musk, on Rehabilitation Tour, Calls Himself 'Aspirationally Jewish'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  516. ^ a b c Kolodny, Lora (March 17, 2020). "Tesla factory is still open for business as Musk tells employees 'I will personally be at work'". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  517. ^ a b Koren, Marina (May 10, 2020). "The Cult of Elon Is Cracking". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  518. ^ Brandom, Russell (April 29, 2020). "Elon Musk is dangerously wrong about the novel coronavirus". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  519. ^ Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (March 6, 2020). "Elon Musk draws ire after calling panic over coronavirus epidemic 'dumb'". CNET. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  520. ^ Bursztynsky, Jessica (March 6, 2020). "Elon Musk says 'the coronavirus panic is dumb' as tech peers shift to remote work". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  521. ^ Stanton, Zack (December 29, 2020). "The Worst Predictions of 2020". Politico. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  522. ^ "Coronavirus: Elon Musk 'child immunity' tweet will stay online". BBC News. March 20, 2020. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  523. ^ Fried, Ina (March 20, 2020). "Twitter lets Musk's coronavirus misinformation stand". Axios. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  524. ^ Boudette, Neal E.; Flitter, Emily (May 9, 2020). "Elon Musk Lashes Out at Officials Keeping Tesla Plant Closed Over Virus". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  525. ^ "Tesla Plan to Keep Factory Open Thrown Up in Air by Sheriff". Bloomberg L.P. March 18, 2020. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  526. ^ Tiku, Nitasha; Siddiqui, Faiz (April 30, 2020). "Elon Musk mobilizes tech elites behind reopening society". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  527. ^ a b Sainato, Michael (May 12, 2020). "Tesla workers' unemployment may be suspended if they don't return, emails show". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020.
  528. ^ "Elon Musk targets Dr Anthony Fauci in viral tweet, sparking backlash". France 24. December 12, 2022. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  529. ^ Saric, Ivana (December 12, 2022). "Lawmakers react to Musk's call to prosecute Fauci". Axios. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  530. ^ a b Siddiqui, Faiz (April 29, 2020). "The return of erratic Elon Musk: During coronavirus, Tesla CEO spreads misinformation and over-promises on ventilators". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  531. ^ Morrison, Sarah (March 31, 2022). "Trump isn't making America's ventilator shortage any easier". Vox. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  532. ^ Johnson, Martin (April 17, 2020). "California hospitals say Elon Musk sent them BiPAP, CPAP machines, not ventilators". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  533. ^ Carville, Olivia; Hull, Dana (April 17, 2020). "Elon Musk's 'Ventilators' Arrived at Hospitals – With Some Assembly Required". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  534. ^ Brooks, Khristopher J. (December 22, 2021). "SpaceX faced COVID-19 outbreak, health records show". CBS News. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  535. ^ Setty, Ganesh. "Elon Musk doubles down on Covid-19 skepticism and says he won't take future vaccine". CNN. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  536. ^ a b Andrews, Travis M. (November 17, 2020). "A scientist's viral tweet called Elon Musk 'Space Karen' – as a way to defend science". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  537. ^ Cuthbertson, Anthony (November 16, 2020). "Elon Musk Forced to Watch Historic SpaceX Launch from Home and Mocked as 'Space Karen' After Catching COVID". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  538. ^ Ball, Molly; Kluger, Jeffrey; De La Garza, Alejandro (December 13, 2021). "Elon Musk: Person of the Year". Time. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  539. ^ Shoichet, Catherine E. (September 29, 2024). "Elon Musk is one of illegal immigration's harshest critics. He once described his past immigration status as a 'gray area'". CNN.
  540. ^ a b "Musk Relocates to Texas, Criticizes 'Complacent' California". Bloomberg L.P. December 8, 2020. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  541. ^ Somerville, Heather (December 8, 2020). "Elon Musk Moves to Texas, Takes Jab at Silicon Valley". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  542. ^ Milmo, Dan (August 31, 2023). "Tesla investigated over funds 'used to build secret Austin house for Elon Musk'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  543. ^ Yahr, Emily (May 8, 2021). "Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger's syndrome during SNL monologue". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  544. ^ Isaacson (2023), p. 18.
  545. ^ McHardy, Martha (September 13, 2023). "Elon Musk was on brink of death after catching malaria on South African safari, book claims". The Independent. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  546. ^ Blackett, Todd (June 29, 2023). "Elon Musk Has BJJ Training Session With Lex Fridman". Jitsmagazine. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  547. ^ "Elon Musk's Intense Obsession With A Video Game Influenced His Business Strategies, Caused Fights In His Relationship And Served As A Reminder Every Move Matters". October 23, 2023. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  548. ^ "Elon Musk loves video games. Here are 10 of his favorites". Business Insider. August 11, 2018. Archived from the original on February 18, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  549. ^ Duffy, Clare (March 18, 2024). "Elon Musk details his prescription ketamine use, says investors should want him to 'keep taking it' | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  550. ^ "Musk defends his ketamine use as beneficial for investors in new video | Reuters". Reuters.
  551. ^ Glazer, Emily; Grind, Kirsten. "Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 2, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  552. ^ Kirsten Grind; Emily Glazer; Rebecca Elliott; Coulter Jones. "WSJ News Exclusive | The Money and Drugs That Tie Elon Musk to Some Tesla Directors". WSJ. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  553. ^ Durand Streisand, Elizabeth. "A Look at Elon Musk's Rocky Romantic History". Yahoo. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  554. ^ Vance (2017), p. 117.
  555. ^ a b Crowley, James (September 14, 2021). "Elon Musk's Kids: Meet His 6 Kids From Oldest To Youngest, & Their Moms". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  556. ^ Musk, Justine (September 10, 2010). ""I Was a Starter Wife": Inside America's Messiest Divorce". Marie Claire. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  557. ^ "Elon Musk's Ex-Wife on What It Takes to Be a Mogul". The New York Times. April 27, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  558. ^ a b "Elon Musk's daughter granted legal name, gender change". Associated Press News. June 23, 2022. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  559. ^ "Musk says estranged child's gender-affirming care sparked fight against 'woke mind virus'". USA TODAY. July 22, 2024.
  560. ^ "Elon Musk: 'Aren't you entertained?'". Financial Times. October 7, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  561. ^ Margaritoff, Marco (July 23, 2024). "Elon Musk Says His Child Is 'Dead' To Him In Disturbing Anti-Trans Tirade". HuffPost. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  562. ^ Ingram, David (July 24, 2024). "Elon Musk's transgender daughter, in first interview, says he berated her for being queer as a child". NBC.
  563. ^ Linder, Brian (November 7, 2024). "Elon Musk has cold response to his daughter's reaction to Trump win". pennlive. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  564. ^ Vance (2017), pp. 193–195.
  565. ^ "Actor Talulah Riley files to divorce billionaire Elon Musk, again". The Guardian. Associated Press. March 21, 2016. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  566. ^ Boyle, Alan (January 18, 2012). "SpaceX's millionaire founder tweets about marital split". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  567. ^ a b "Elon Musk and Talulah Riley divorce for a second time". The Daily Telegraph. October 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  568. ^ Vance (2017), p. 372.
  569. ^ Jensen, Erin (April 24, 2017). "Amber Heard, Elon Musk make 'Cheeky' public debut together". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  570. ^ Sigel, Tatiana (December 6, 2018). "Amber Heard on Her Secret Passion, Elon Musk and a Splashy New Role". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  571. ^ Darville, Jordan (March 20, 2019). "Grimes talks new music, Elon Musk, plans to publicly execute her musical persona". The Fader. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  572. ^ Kiefer, Halle (May 4, 2020). "Grimes and Elon Musk's Baby Has Arrived, Just As Legend Foretold". Vulture. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  573. ^ Trepany, Charles (May 5, 2020). "Elon Musk shares first photo of his and Grimes' new baby boy: 'Mom and baby all good'". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  574. ^ Schwedel, Heather (May 5, 2020). "What Does Elon Musk and Grimes' Baby Name Actually Mean?". Slate. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  575. ^ Lerman, Rachel (May 8, 2020). "Elon Musk's baby name isn't just weird, it may be against California regulations". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  576. ^ Guy, Jack (May 25, 2020). "Elon Musk and Grimes have changed their baby's name. A bit". CNN. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  577. ^ Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (June 16, 2020). "Elon Musk and Grimes saved a surprise for son X Æ A-12's birth certificate". CNET. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  578. ^ "Elon Musk and Grimes' newborn name X Æ A-12 'fails at the basic job of being a name,' says author". CBC Radio. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  579. ^ Ivie, Devon (September 24, 2021). "Elon Musk and Grimes Took the Red Pill and Broke Up". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  580. ^ "Elon Musk says he and partner Grimes are semi-separated". BBC News. September 24, 2021. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  581. ^ D'Zurill, Christie (March 11, 2022). "Never mind that new baby: Grimes and Elon Musk have broken up again, she says". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  582. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (September 9, 2023). "Elon Musk Wants to Save Humanity. The Only Problem: People". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  583. ^ "Grimes Says Elon Musk Evaded Being Served With Child Custody Papers At Least 12 Times". HuffPost. November 11, 2023. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  584. ^ "Elon Musk Drags Grimes' Tweets Into Increasingly Nasty Custody Battle". Futurism. December 7, 2023. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  585. ^ "Musk Sued By Ex-Girlfriend Grimes Over Parental Rights: Report". NDTV. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  586. ^ Ankel, Sophia (August 27, 2022). "Elon Musk and Neuralink exec had twins via IVF, no romance: report". Business Insider. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  587. ^ Safronova, Valeriya (July 7, 2022). "How Many Children Does Elon Musk Have?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  588. ^ "Who Is Shivon Zilis? Meet the Mother of 3 of Elon Musk's 12 Children". E! Online. June 24, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  589. ^ Grind, Kirtsen; Glazer, Emily (July 24, 2022). "Elon Musk's Friendship With Sergey Brin Ruptured by Alleged Affair". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  590. ^ Musil, Steven; Van Boom, Daniel (July 24, 2022). "Elon Musk Reportedly Had Affair With Google Co-Founder's Wife". CNET. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  591. ^ Isaacson (2023), pp. 7, 265.
  592. ^ "Elon Musk Wants Big Families. He Bought a Secret Compound for His". New York Times.
  593. ^ McHugh, Rich (May 19, 2022). "A SpaceX flight attendant said Elon Musk exposed himself and propositioned her for sex, documents show. The company paid $250,000 for her silence". Insider. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  594. ^ Mangan, Dan (May 20, 2022). "Report says SpaceX paid woman over Musk sex misconduct claim – he denies 'wild accusations'". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  595. ^ "Musk denies he sexually harassed flight attendant; Tesla shares sink". Reuters. May 20, 2022. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  596. ^ Assis, Claudia (May 20, 2022). "Tesla stock's very bad week gets worse after the allegations against Musk". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  597. ^ Root, Al (May 20, 2022). "Tesla Stock Falls After Harassment Allegations Against CEO". Barron's. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  598. ^ a b Hals, Tom (May 16, 2023). "Elon Musk documents subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit by US Virgin Islands". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  599. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (October 3, 2023). "Grimes sues Elon Musk over parental rights: 'Utterly ripping my family apart'". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  600. ^ "Grimes sues Elon Musk over parental rights". NBC News. October 3, 2023. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  601. ^ Ingram, David (July 27, 2024). "Grimes' mother says Elon Musk is 'withholding' the couple's 3 children from family trip". NBC News. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  602. ^ a b c Belanger, Ashley (October 2, 2023). "College student sues Musk for falsely calling him a "psyop" in neo-Nazi brawl". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  603. ^ a b Madani, Doha (October 2, 2023). "Elon Musk sued for libel by man falsely identified in neo-Nazi brawl". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  604. ^ Skipworth, William (October 2, 2023). "Elon Musk Sued For Falsely Linking Man To Neo-Nazi Group—And Federal Agency". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  605. ^ O'Sullivan, Donie; Ash, Audrey (November 21, 2023). "Far-right conspiracy theorists accused a 22-year-old Jewish man of being a neo-Nazi. Then Elon Musk got involved". CNN. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  606. ^ Murdock, Sebastian (February 28, 2024). "Elon Musk Ordered To Testify In Lawsuit For Falsely Linking Jewish Man To Neo-Nazi Brawl". HuffPost. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  607. ^ Belanger, Ashley (April 9, 2024). "Elon Musk denies knowing who's suing him to dodge defamation suit". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  608. ^ "Elon Musk Didn't Want His Latest Deposition Released. Here It Is". HuffPost. April 8, 2024. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  609. ^ a b Brodkin, Jon (October 6, 2023). "Musk refused to testify in Twitter stock probe, claimed SEC is harassing him". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  610. ^ Fung, Brian; Duffy, Clare (October 5, 2023). "US regulator seeks court order to compel Elon Musk to testify about his Twitter acquisition". CNN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  611. ^ a b "Regulator sues Musk to force testimony in X probe". BBC News. October 5, 2023. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  612. ^ Godoy, Jody (February 12, 2024). "US judge orders Elon Musk to testify in SEC's Twitter probe". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  613. ^ Mangan, Dan; Lora Kolodny (January 30, 2024). "Elon Musk's $56 billion Tesla compensation voided by judge, shares slide". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  614. ^ Kharpal, Arjun; Lora Kolodny (February 1, 2024). "Elon Musk says Tesla will hold a shareholder vote to incorporate in Texas after Delaware pay snub". CNBC. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  615. ^ Hals, Tom. "Elon Musk convinced Tesla investors to back his pay. Now he must persuade a judge". Reuters. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  616. ^ Safdar, Joe Palazzolo and Khadeeja. "Exclusive | Elon Musk's Boundary-Blurring Relationships With Women at SpaceX". WSJ. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  617. ^ "Former Workers Accuse SpaceX And Elon Musk Of Sexual Harassment, Retaliation In Lawsuit". HuffPost. June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  618. ^ "Elon Musk is sued by another ex-Twitter exec, who says top bosses were 'cheated' out of $200 million in severance". Business Insider.
  619. ^ Conger, Kate (August 6, 2024). "X, Owned by Elon Musk, Brings Antitrust Suit Accusing Advertisers of a Boycott". New York Times.
  620. ^ "Elon Musk slammed by British government after comments on UK riots". CBNC. August 6, 2024.
  621. ^ "Musk's X sues Unilever, Mars and CVS over 'massive advertiser boycott'". The Guardian.
  622. ^ Keslassy, Elsa; Ritman, Alex (August 13, 2024). "J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk Named in Cyberbullying Lawsuit Filed by Algerian Boxer Imane Khelif After Olympic Win (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  623. ^ Wang, Amy (October 28, 2024). "Philadelphia DA sues to stop $1 million giveaway from Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC".
  624. ^ Klee, Miles (November 4, 2024). "Musk Said $1 Million Lottery Would Be Random. His Lawyers Say It's Not". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  625. ^ Ghaffary, Shirin (May 20, 2023). "Elon Musk won't stop tweeting his way into trouble". Vox. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  626. ^ Maloy, Ashley Fetters; Tiku, Nitasha. "How Elon Musk became a new kind of celebrity". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  627. ^ Langman, Brady (August 11, 2022). "You're Going to Have Feelings About Tony Stark's Biggest Real-World Inspiration". Esquire. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  628. ^ Tate, Ryan (September 20, 2012). "10 Awkward Hollywood Cameos by Tech Founders". Wired. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  629. ^ Wurzburger, Andrea (May 8, 2021). "Ahead Elon Musk's Acting Cameos Through the Years". People. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  630. ^ Bova, Dan (December 21, 2016). "'Why Him?' Director on Elon Musk's Amazing 'I Can't Come to Work Today' Excuse". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on August 26, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  631. ^ Alexander, Bryan (June 17, 2019). "Which celebrities are revealed as space aliens in 'Men in Black: International'? (spoilers)". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  632. ^ Cain, Sian (April 26, 2022). "From The Simpsons to Iron Man: Elon Musk's Twitter takeover is just his latest desperate bid for celebrity". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  633. ^ "Tesla CEO Elon Musk To Appear on Upcoming Episode of the Big Bang Theory". CBS. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  634. ^ Hansen, Louis (November 25, 2016). "Elon Musk uses 'South Park' to fire back at trolls". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  635. ^ Kurp, Josh (November 18, 2016). "Elon Musk Joins The Short List Of 'South Park' Guest Stars To Voice Themselves". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  636. ^ "The Young Sheldon Episode You Likely Forgot Starred Elon Musk". MSN. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  637. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (November 25, 2019). "Elon Musk's Rick and Morty Cameo Finally Explains His 'Elon Tusk' Twitter Joke". IGN. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  638. ^ Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (November 25, 2019). "Elon Musk shows up on Rick and Morty as Elon Tusk, head of Tuskla". CNET. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  639. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (May 9, 2021). "Elon Musk Hosts a Mother's Day Episode of 'Saturday Night Live'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  640. ^ Field, Kyle (December 2, 2015). "Tesla Stars In 'Racing Extinction' Documentary". CleanTechnica. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  641. ^ Ladan, Tanja M. (August 24, 2016). "Werner Herzog Hacks the Horrors of Connectivity in 'Lo and Behold'". Vice. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  642. ^ "George M. Low Space Transportation Award". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  643. ^ "Barron Hilton and Elon Musk honoured with the highest FAI awards". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. December 16, 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015.
  644. ^ "2012 RAeS Gold Medal". Archived from the original on November 28, 2012.
  645. ^ "SEAS Celebrates Class of 2015, Honors Innovators Elon Musk and Dean Kamen". Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
  646. ^ "IEEE Honorary Membership Recipients" (PDF). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2011.
  647. ^ "Elon Musk elected as Fellow of the Royal Society". Sky News. May 9, 2018. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  648. ^ "For breakthroughs in the design, engineering, manufacturing, and operation of reusable launch vehicles and sustainable transportation and energy systems". National Academy of Engineering. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  649. ^ Favreau, Jon (April 29, 2010). "Elon Musk". Time. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  650. ^ Branson, Richard (April 18, 2013). "Elon Musk". Time. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  651. ^ Milner, Yuri. "Elon Musk". Time. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  652. ^ "Elon Musk: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021". Time. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  653. ^ Flynn, Kerry (December 13, 2021). "Time Person of the Year: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, named most influential of 2021". CNN. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  654. ^ Felsenthal, Edward (December 13, 2021). "Time 2021 The choice Elon Musk". Time. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.

Works cited

Further reading

  • Tarnoff, Ben, "Ultra Hardcore" (subscription required) (review of Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk, Simon and Schuster, 2023, 670 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXXI, no. 1 (January 18, 2024), pp. 6, 8, 10. "There is an anti-modern impulse to Musk, a craving for lordship that can't be entirely satisfied within the confines of a capitalist economy. A king doesn't have advertisers or shareholders or customers, and Musk, if he continues on his current trajectory, may very well be abandoned by all three. Aristotle says a good ending should be surprising but inevitable. It's possible to imagine multiple finales for Musk that meet these criteria, but the story always begins the same way. Once upon a time in Pretoria, there was a boy who wanted to be a man." (p. 10.)