Tesla Motors luxury electric cars have caught the eye of the general public since the company was incorporated by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003.
The company's current CEO, Elon Musk, with his charismatic, but often ruthless approach to business, is a fascinating person and with a new biography
'Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is shaping our Future' out now, online car buying website,
Sell Your Jamjar has put together a thought-provoking
two-part blog post on its site about the man himself.
Born on June, 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa to a Canadian model and South African engineer, Musk had a tough childhood. A bright child, who taught himself computer programming at age 12, he was also shy and awkward and was bullied constantly at school.
With grand plans and green futuristic ideas, he was not taken seriously until his university years, when his visionary approach and strong work ethic became respected and admired.
Elon Musk's business accolades include setting up a software business Zip2 with his brother's help and his father's investment in 1995, which sold to Compaq in 1999 for $307 million - he personally received $22 million.
In 1999 he co-founded PayPal with half of his proceeds from the sale of Zip2. PayPal sold to eBay for $1.2 billion and Musk, as the company's largest shareholder, received $165 million.
In 2001, Musk founded SpaceX with the goal of building their own affordable space rockets after being offered an overpriced rocket by the Russians. His long-term goal is to create a 'true spacefaring civilization'.
Following the financial crisis in 2008, Musk assumed leadership of Tesla Motors as CEO and product architect, positions he still holds today. Green motoring and alternative ways to store energy have always fascinated him and he is still extremely passionate about electric cars.
As of January 2016, Musk has an estimated net worth of $12.4 billion, making him the 39th wealthiest person in the US. The Tesla Motors model range includes the Model S and Model X.
Promoted article by James Stewart - 1 Mar 2016
