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Many of you have heard the name Elon Musk, after all, he’s famous. Elon Musk is the CEO of many companies and the largest shareholder of many more. But who is he really, and how did he become the figure we know today?

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X.com is a company you probably didn’t hear about until now. X.com was an online banking company. It expanded the idea of the internet and people’s trust in it. Musk put 12 million of the 22 million dollars he received after Zip2’s sale into this new banking idea. Right at the start, Musk tried some crazy new banking ideas. For example, just by signing up, a customer would get a $20 card, and for every random person they mentioned the company to, they would get a $10 card. However, fraud and a rapidly growing customer base were tough on employees and Musk. Eventually, the company merged with PayPal, and new workers replaced Musk with Peter Theil on a plane ride with his wife. Theil then renamed the company PayPal.

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One of Musk’s most famous companies is SpaceX. As an early rocket company, it looked hopeless at first, failing its first launches, due to fuel sloshing around and salty conditions. But eventually, they got a rocket up! With growing experience and making almost all of their rockets in the main SpaceX research facility, gave them an edge that other competitors such as Boeing and Lockheed didn’t have. The price differences were really coming out. For example, ULA charges $380 million per flight and SpaceX charges $90 million. This made them a favored choice for many people. By making it easier and cheaper to go to outer space, Elon Musk hopes more people will chose to explore space more. Also, if people explore outer space, astronauts, astrophysicists, and astronomers will gain knowledge of nearby galaxies and more!

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Practically everyone drives, and Musk sought how to improve it with Tesla. Everyone knows that climate change is affecting our planet, and fossil fuels don't help our cause. But thankfully, electric cars don't run on fossil fuels (hence the name.) Originally called Tesla Motors, it was Musk’s grand plan for the automobile. Tesla Motor’s first car was the Roadster, which was based on the Lotus, an early sports car. Tesla had a financial low in 2008 but since then have risen to the top. The Roadster was a thrill ride of an automobile, but it was hard to make with early Tesla Motors having companies far away in Europe did not hasten the shipping. Eventually, Tesla moved on. The batteries that Tesla first used were lithium-ion batteries, and later, in the model S, the entire base of the car was a giant battery. Technology, in the world of automobiles, seems to be rapidly improving with electric cars.

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Jacques Cartier is very different from Elon Musk, like maybe Jacques died a few centuries before Musk was born. Or maybe, Jacques was using astrolabes, and Musk was using rockets. The differences go on and on, but there are some similarities, such as the fact that they both were hindered in their goals by bad weather (Elon- salt corrosion, Cartier- harsh winters.) And both in general serve their country, whether partly or completely. Both had to have loyal comrades to fully achieve their goals, and both had similar challenges in their path. In the large picture, they don’t have much in common, but it’s the tiny details that matter.

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Elon Musk entered this world on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, Southern Africa. Elon’s childhood was hard, as his parents divorced when he was nine. When he went to live with his dad, he found that his dad was impressed with his intellect but was very hard on him. One of his brothers, Kimbal, described their dad as ultra-present and intense.

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Zip2 was an early start-up company that Elon and his brother, Kimbal founded. It was an early company to combine maps with businesses with online software (like early GPS). After a hard starting customer base, Zip2 became what Kimbal and Elon wanted it to be! It was a successful company, but with online business growing, the company had more competitors. Eventually, another business offered to buy Zip2 (PC maker Compaq for $307 million).

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Elon Musk became the person we know today with the help of many engineers and scientists. But even those people would be in the dark if not for Elon’s big plans, his devotion, and his ideas. He founded SpaceX, he is the CEO of Tesla, and the things that he did provide a bright future for us.

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With the rise of these new companies and technologies, Musk changed and continues to change the world. For example, he forwarded electric batteries and cars, made it easier to go to space, and helped others along. He once said, “I would like to die knowing that humanity has a bright future” From X.com (PayPal) to Tesla, his impact truly transformed the world's future and beyond (thanks SpaceX!).

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