Key facts
- Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire following SpaceX's Nasdaq debut in June 2026.
- Musk founded Zip2 in the 1990s and later co-founded X.com, which merged to form PayPal.
- SpaceX, founded in 2002, achieved its first successful orbital launch in 2008 and received a $1.5 billion NASA contract.
- SpaceX acquired AI startup xAI in February 2026, consolidating Musk's AI ventures.
- xAI's chatbot, Grok, was launched in March 2023 and trained on X user data.
- Musk spent over $291 million supporting President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign.
Elon Musk has ascended to become a dominant figure in American culture and business, achieving the status of the world's richest person and potentially the first trillionaire following SpaceX's Nasdaq debut in June 2026. His career trajectory began in the 1990s with the founding of Zip2 alongside his brother, Kimbal. He further solidified his presence in Silicon Valley with his online banking venture, X.com, which merged with Peter Thiel's company to form PayPal. The sale of PayPal to eBay in 2002 netted Musk $165 million, marking him as a member of the influential 'PayPal Mafia.'
SpaceX, founded by Musk in 2002 with capital from the PayPal sale, has become a leader in space exploration with the ambitious goal of colonizing Mars. The company achieved its first successful orbital launch in 2008, overcoming initial setbacks, and later secured a significant $1.5 billion contract with NASA. SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet system has expanded globally, with plans for up to 42,000 satellites. In February 2026, SpaceX acquired xAI, consolidating Musk's AI interests and positioning the combined entity for ambitious projects like space data centers. SpaceX's IPO in June 2026 created an estimated 4,400 new millionaires.
Musk's AI endeavors include founding xAI in March 2023, which launched the Grok chatbot. This move followed a dispute with OpenAI, leading Musk to sue OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, though a California jury ruled against him in May 2026. Grok, named after a term from Robert Heinlein's novel 'Stranger in a Strange Land,' can generate images, summarize conversations, and code, leveraging data from X. A controversy arose in December 2025 when users prompted Grok to digitally undress individuals in photos, drawing outrage from regulators.
Musk's influence extends to politics, where he spent over $291 million supporting President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. SpaceX's Starlink has also been a factor in geopolitical conflicts, notably in Ukraine, though Musk has denied allegations of Russian use of the satellites. Musk's long-term vision for SpaceX includes establishing a self-sustaining city on the Moon, prioritizing it over Mars colonization in the near term, though Mars remains a passion.