Career Timeline of Elon Musk: Major Achievements and Milestones
Discover the career path of Elon Musk, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.
Elon Musk is a businessman primarily known for his involvement in Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter. As of 2025, he holds a senior advisory position to US President Donald Trump and effectively leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). With an estimated net worth of $320 billion USD in March 2025, Forbes recognizes him as the wealthiest individual globally.
1994: Internships in Silicon Valley
In 1994, Elon Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley: at Pinnacle Research Institute and Rocket Science Games.
1995: Co-founding of Zip2
In 1995, Elon Musk co-founded Zip2, a software company.
1995: Acceptance to Stanford and Job Application at Netscape
In 1995, Elon Musk was accepted to a graduate program at Stanford University but did not enroll. He also applied for a job at Netscape, reportedly without receiving a response.
February 1999: Acquisition of Zip2 by Compaq
In February 1999, Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash, and Elon Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.
1999: Co-founding of X.com
In 1999, Elon Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company.
2000: Ouster as CEO of X.com
In 2000, Elon Musk was ousted as CEO of X.com due to technological issues and lack of a cohesive business model.
2001: Involvement with the Mars Society
In 2001, Elon Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society and discussed plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars.
2001: Musk founds the Musk Foundation
In 2001, Elon Musk founded the Musk Foundation.
May 2002: Founding of SpaceX
In May 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX and became the company's CEO and Chief Engineer, using $100 million of his early fortune.
2002: Musk foundation donates to OpenAi
From 2002 to 2018, the Musk Foundation donated nearly half of its $25 million directly to Musk's OpenAI.
2002: Founding of SpaceX
In 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX and became its CEO and chief engineer.
2002: Acquisition of PayPal by eBay
In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, with Elon Musk receiving $175.8 million as the largest shareholder.
2002: Acquisition of PayPal by eBay and Musk Becomes a U.S. Citizen
In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion, after X.com merged to form PayPal. That year, Elon Musk also became a U.S. citizen.
July 2003: Incorporation of Tesla Motors
In July 2003, Tesla Motors, originally Tesla, Inc., was incorporated by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.
February 2004: Musk Leads Series A Investment in Tesla
In February 2004, Elon Musk led the Series A round of investment in Tesla, investing $6.35 million and becoming the majority shareholder and chairman of the board.
2004: Joining Tesla as an Early Investor
In 2004, Elon Musk joined Tesla, Inc. as an early investor.
2006: SolarCity Founded
In 2006, Elon Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive.
2008: Musk Assumes Leadership of Tesla
In 2008, Elon Musk assumed leadership of Tesla as CEO and product architect.
2008: Becoming CEO and Product Architect of Tesla
In 2008, Elon Musk became the CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.
2008: Musk receives George Low Transportation Award
In 2008, Elon Musk received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets.
2008: Tesla Begins Delivery of the Roadster
In 2008, Tesla began delivery of the Roadster, an electric sports car and the first mass production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells.
2009: Lawsuit Settlement with Eberhard
In 2009, a lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Elon Musk as a Tesla co-founder.
2010: Musk receives Gold Space Medal
In 2010, Elon Musk received the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets.
2010: Tesla's Initial Public Offering
In 2010, Tesla had its initial public offering.
2012: Musk receives Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal
In 2012, Elon Musk received the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets.
2012: Launch of Tesla Model S
In 2012, Tesla launched the Model S, a four-door sedan.
August 2013: Musk Announces Plans for Vactrain
In August 2013, Elon Musk announced plans for a version of a vactrain and assigned engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to design a transport system between Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
2014: Musk Promotes Advanced SolarCity Production Facility
In 2014, Elon Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, which was intended to be triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States.
December 2015: OpenAI Co-founded
In December 2015, Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company.
2015: Co-founding of OpenAI
In 2015, Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI to advance artificial intelligence research.
2015: Launch of Tesla Model X
In 2015, Tesla launched the Model X, a crossover vehicle.
2016: Co-founding of Neuralink
In 2016, Elon Musk co-founded Neuralink, a company focused on brain–computer interfaces.
2016: Neuralink Co-founded
In 2016, Elon Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup, with an investment of $100 million.
2016: Tesla Acquires SolarCity
In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2 billion and merged it with its battery unit to create Tesla Energy.
2017: Boring Company Founded and Plans Revealed
In 2017, Elon Musk founded the Boring Company to construct tunnels, and revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles that could travel up to 150 miles per hour and circumvent above-ground traffic in major cities.
2017: Launching the Boring Company
In 2017, Elon Musk launched the Boring Company, which aims to develop tunnel transportation.
2017: Purchase of X.com Domain
In 2017, Elon Musk purchased the domain X.com from PayPal for an undisclosed amount.
2017: Launch of Tesla Model 3
In 2017, Tesla launched the Model 3, a mass-market sedan.
2017: Musk Expresses Interest in Buying Twitter
In early 2017, Elon Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter and questioned the platform's commitment to freedom of speech.
2018: Musk foundation donates to OpenAi
From 2002 to 2018, the Musk Foundation donated nearly half of its $25 million directly to Musk's OpenAI.
2018: Settlement agreement with the SEC
In 2018, Elon Musk entered into a settlement agreement with the SEC following a controversial tweet. In 2019, the SEC requested a court to find him in contempt for violating the terms of the 2018 settlement agreement.
2018: Lawsuit regarding Musk's pay package from Tesla
In 2018, a lawsuit was filed regarding Elon Musk's pay package from Tesla. In January 2024, a Delaware judge ruled that Musk's $55 billion pay package be rescinded.
2018: SEC sues Musk over Tesla tweet
In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Elon Musk for a tweet about taking Tesla private, alleging securities fraud. Two days later in 2018, Musk settled with the SEC, and Musk and Tesla were each fined $20 million. Musk was also forced to step down as Tesla chairman for three years.
May 2019: Deployment of First Large Starlink Constellation
In May 2019, the first large constellation of Starlink satellites was deployed.
2019: Musk faces contempt charge over Tesla tweet
In 2019, Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla would build half a million cars that year, leading the SEC to seek contempt charges for violating the 2018 settlement agreement. The SEC and Musk then clarified the agreement details.
May 2020: Resignation from Chairman of the Board
In May 2020, Elon Musk resigned from chairman of the board of Tesla as part of the settlement of a lawsuit from the SEC.
2020: First Crewed Flight by SpaceX
In 2020, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight, the Demo-2, becoming the first private company to place astronauts into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS.
2020: Launch of Tesla Model Y
In 2020, Tesla launched the Model Y, a crossover vehicle.
2020: Lawsuit blocked over Tesla stock tweet
In 2020, a judge blocked a lawsuit claiming that a tweet by Elon Musk regarding Tesla's stock price ("too high imo") violated an agreement. FOIA records later revealed the SEC concluded Musk violated the agreement twice by tweeting about Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price.
2020: SolarCity Production Facility Joint Venture Ends
In early 2020, the joint venture between SolarCity and Panasonic that operated the Buffalo, New York, production facility came to an end.
2021: Musk Foundation assets reach $9.4 billion
By the end of 2021, the Musk Foundation's assets reached $9.4 billion, but it only dispensed $160 million to charities that year.
2021: Neuralink Releases Video of Macaque Playing Pong
In 2021, Neuralink released a video in which a macaque played the video game Pong via a Neuralink implant.
2021: Musk donates to his own foundation
In 2021, after being challenged to contribute to ending world hunger, Elon Musk instead donated $6 billion to his own foundation, despite a plan showing it could feed 42 million people for a year. The Musk Foundation has been criticized for its 'self-serving' donations.
October 27, 2022: Musk Acquires Twitter
On October 27, 2022, Elon Musk successfully concluded his bid for approximately $44 billion and bought Twitter.
2022: Investigation into Twitter stock purchase
In 2022, Elon Musk purchased Twitter stock, leading to an investigation by the SEC. In October 2023, the SEC sued Musk for refusing to testify.
2022: Changes to Twitter after Acquisition
In 2022, after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk fired top executives, became CEO, instituted monthly subscriptions for a "blue check", and laid off a significant portion of the company's staff. Musk lessened content moderation and hate speech also increased on the platform after his takeover. In late 2022, Musk released internal documents relating to Twitter's moderation of Hunter Biden's laptop controversy in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.
February 2023: Jury finds Musk and Tesla not liable in shareholder lawsuit
In February 2023, a jury found Elon Musk and Tesla not liable in a shareholder lawsuit concerning a tweet that had previously triggered an SEC investigation.
July 2023: Musk Launches xAI
In July 2023, Elon Musk launched the artificial intelligence company xAI, which aims to develop a generative AI program that competes with existing offerings like OpenAI's ChatGPT.
September 2023: FDA Approves Neuralink Human Trials
In September 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved Neuralink to initiate six-year human trials.
October 2023: SEC sues Musk over Twitter stock investigation testimony refusal
In October 2023, the SEC sued Elon Musk for refusing to testify a third time in an investigation into his 2022 purchase of Twitter stock.
2023: Launch of Tesla Cybertruck
In 2023, Tesla launched the Cybertruck, a pickup truck.
January 2024: Judge rescinds Musk's Tesla pay package
In January 2024, Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick rescinded Elon Musk's $55 billion pay package from Tesla, deeming it unfair to shareholders.
February 2024: Judge orders Musk to testify in Twitter stock probe
In February 2024, Judge Laurel Beeler ruled that Elon Musk must testify again in the investigation into his purchase of Twitter stock in 2022.
January 2025: Appointment as Head of DOGE
In January 2025, Elon Musk was appointed head of Trump's newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
January 2025: SEC files lawsuit against Musk over Twitter stock purchase
In January 2025, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk for securities violations related to his 2022 purchase of Twitter.
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