6 notable achievements of Elon Musk you should know about
On 25th April, Elon Musk, the most talked about tech pioneer of the world, purchased and took over one of the most popular social media platforms, Twitter for 44 billion US dollars. CEO of Tesla, American automotive and clean energy enterprise, and SpaceX, American aerospace manufacturer, Musk is a man of multiple talents and has always been in the news for his long list of achievements and notable ventures. Let us explore some of his all-time great accomplishments.
Musk finished reading Encyclopaedia Britannica at 9
Being an avid reader since boyhood, Musk would read everything starting from literary fictions to scientific non-fictions for almost 10 hours per day. As a matter of fact, when he had finished reading all the books in his school library, he ended up the entire volume of Encyclopaedia Britannica. He was only 9 at that time!
He is a self-taught programmer
Coding and programming are now evolved fields in technology, but it wasn’t all that popular when Musk was growing up. In the absence of proper learning resources, Musk determined to learn about programming took up the job of self-tutoring. In fact, as a 10-year-old boy, he managed to learn the BASIC programming language in just three days that usually took 6 months. Moreover, within two years, he had also successfully created his own video game and even sold codes for 500 dollars.
Musk has a double major
Musk had enrolled himself in the Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada to study business administration. However, he lost interest in this field and shifted to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States where he pursued a double major in business and physics on a full scholarship.
He became a millionaire at the age of 27
At the age of 25, Musk partnered with his brother Kimbal and started their own innovative internet company called Zip2. The venture was so successful that within two years, the Musk brothers managed to sell their start-up for 307 million dollars. Musk was himself left with 22 million dollars and the tag of an accomplished entrepreneur.
Musk revolutionised the electric car sector
When Musk assumed the role of CEO in Tesla in 2007, his vision to build electric cars and revolutionise the car industry was also a way forward to advocate for sustainable energy. This is how world’s first electric car called Roadster was developed by Tesla in 2008 It has ever since been a stepping stone for the automotive manufacturing industry. Today, Tesla continues to lead the electric car sector and is currently developing an electric car battery with a million-mile lifespan.
He pioneered the space launch vehicle industry
Musk founded his own aerospace manufacturing firm called SpaceX in 2002. This was a result of his ambition to colonise other planets and make space travel more accessible and affordable. By 2006, the company had made a name for itself, so much so that it landed a contract with NASA in 2008. In 2012, SpaceX also became the first ever private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). Named as Falcon 9, this customised rocket developed by Musk was able to carry 1000 pounds of cargo for the astronauts stationed in ISS. Today, SpaceX is the leading private company to develop space launch vehicles.