IndexIntroductionPayPalSpaceXTeslaConclusionIntroductionElon Musk is a South African serial entrepreneur and is the founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX and PayPal. All three are valued at well over a billion dollars, for an astonishing Elon net worth of $20.8 billion (“Elon Musk Biography.”, 2005). Musk showed an interest in programming from an early age. In fact, his extensive knowledge of programming ultimately led to his decision to drop out of Stanford University and start his first business during the peak of the Internet boom (“Elon Musk Biography. ”, 2005). Furthermore, Musk has always had a passion for physics and graduated in physics in 1992. Both of Musk's interests have translated directly into his business ventures and are likely the reason for his enormous success. His primary motivation when creating SpaceX was to gain greater knowledge of space and initiate deeper exploration of life on Mars. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In contrast, his motivation for founding Tesla was to create environmentally friendly automobiles that would lead to a more sustainable future. One of his greatest achievements was the successful launch of a Tesla Roadster into space via the Falcon Heavy rocket (“Elon Musk Biography,” 2005). This marked the first time in history that a car had been transported into space. Elon Musk is an extremely well-known entrepreneur who has introduced the world to multiple innovations that will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the future of humanity. PayPal One of Elon Musk's first business ventures was the purchase of PayPal in 2000. Essentially, PayPal is a online platform that allows users to store their financial information securely in a personal account. This makes it simple and safe to complete transactions online without revealing any financial details directly to the beneficiary. The company has been extremely successful since its inception and can be classified as a gazelle as it grew almost 10% every day and acquired 4 million new customers within a year ("The History of PayPal (Infographic Included", 2017). Furthermore, PayPal held a huge competitive advantage as transferring money online was a difficult process at the time. However, Elon Musk had discovered a method to transfer money with little risk using only the recipient's email address (“Elon Musk Biography.”, 2005.) PayPal filled an unmet need in the world of technology as sending funds from person to person was nearly impossible before its creation (“Elon Musk Biography,” 2005). Additionally, PayPal leveraged the solution 10x as its method of moving funds was 10 times faster than traditional wire transfer and 10 times more secure than providing financial information to send money. Later in 2001, PayPal witnessed a gigantic growth spurt when it was adopted by eBay, the online auction site (“Elon Musk Biography. ”, 2005). Basically, eBay allowed its users to complete their online purchases with PayPal, eliminating much of the payment fraud that was a problem in the past. That same year, eBay purchased all of PayPal for $1. 5 billion (“Elon Musk Biography. ”, 2005). Elon was the largest shareholder of the company with an 11.5% stake, making his share in the deal worth $165 million (“Elon Musk Biography,” 2005). PayPal proved to be a huge win for Elon and the funds acquired from its sale allowed him to continue new venturesinitiatives. SpaceX After the sale of PayPal, Elon Musk quickly invested his new capital in the creation of SpaceX. SpaceX was founded in June 2002 with the intent to further explore the possibilities of life on Mars and transport large objects into space (“Elon Musk Biography. ”, 2005). Similar to PayPal, Elon had the vision to build a business that wasn't possible before. He has dedicated much of his time and resources to ensuring that SpaceX achieves great feats. The company's main purpose was to help NASA deliver supplies to astronauts stationed in space and the company received a large contract from NASA to do so (“Elon Musk. ”, 2018). On May 22, SpaceX launched a rocket into space that contained over 1,000 pounds of supplies critical to the astronaut's space mission (“Elon Musk. ”, 2018). This marked the first time an independent company had sent a rocket into space, it was a huge personal achievement for Elon. Unfortunately, a major setback occurred when a rocket equipped with a new engine exploded during a test flight (“Elon Musk. ”, 2018). This forced Elon to contribute much of his own money to keep the company financially viable and nearly drove him into bankruptcy. However, the response to Elon's adversity proved to be high as shortly thereafter SpaceX was able to launch a Tesla Roadster into space and once again made history. This was the first machine to enter space. Overall, Elon managed to accomplish a multitude of incredible accomplishments through SpaceX.TeslaWhile still running SpaceX, Elon had shifted his focus to the automotive industry. In 2004, he became the main investor of Tesla Motors with a contribution of 70 million dollars (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator. ”, 2017). Elon helped design an all-electric car called the Tesla Roadster that ran solely on battery power (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator.”, 2017). Elon took advantage of the industry's good timing as gas prices were steadily rising, which made an electric car much more attractive than before. Furthermore, his concept was generally feasible as it allowed consumers to power their cars with common power outlets already found in every home and garage. The first Tesla featured cutting-edge technology and mechanics that attracted the attention of local newspapers (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator. ”, 2017). Later in 2006, Elon received a Global Green award for his outstanding product design (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator. ”, 2017). Unfortunately, Tesla's capital ran out but Elon invested his last $20 million into the company. to keep it afloat. This highlights his dedication to the company by making it clear that he loves what he does. After significantly cutting costs by laying off many of its staff and closing several offices, Tesla Motors began operating smoothly. However, the company's major success came with the launch of the Model S, considered the safest vehicle on the road. It also featured longer battery life and a more practical design (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator. ”, 2017). It is clear that Tesla Motors follows an S-curve as the start of business was superficial with little profit; however, with the introduction of the Model S it has seen rapid growth and continues to operate at a premium level. Elon has continued to produce electric vehicles with more different features and functionality than they have.