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 prominent businessman and entrepreneur, recognized globally for his leadership roles in companies like Tesla, SpaceX, X, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He has held the position of the world's wealthiest individual since 2021, with Forbes estimating his net worth at US$424.7 billion as of May 2025.
1994: Internships in Silicon Valley
In 1994, Elon Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley: one at Pinnacle Research Institute and another at Rocket Science Games.
1995: Co-founding of Zip2
In 1995, Elon Musk co-founded the software company Zip2.
1995: Acceptance to Stanford and Internet Boom Decision
In 1995, Elon Musk was accepted to a graduate program at Stanford University but decided to join the Internet boom instead.
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 share.
1999: Co-founding of X.com
In 1999, Elon Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company.
1999: Zip2 Sale and Co-founding of X.com
In 1999, Zip2 was sold and Elon Musk co-founded X.com, an online payment company.
2000: Ousting as CEO of X.com
In 2000, Elon Musk was ousted as CEO of X.com and replaced by Peter Thiel.
2001: Involvement with the Mars Society
In 2001, Elon Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society and discussed funding plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars.
2001: Founded the Musk Foundation
In 2001, Elon Musk founded the Musk Foundation, which aims to provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas and supports human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy, and safe artificial intelligence.
May 2002: Founding of SpaceX
In May 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX, becoming the company's CEO and Chief Engineer.
2002: American Citizenship and PayPal Acquisition by eBay
In 2002, Elon Musk became an American citizen. PayPal, which X.com had merged into, was acquired by eBay.
2002: Founding of SpaceX
In 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX, a space technology company, becoming its CEO and chief engineer.
2002: PayPal Acquired 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: Musk Foundation Donations to OpenAI Begin
In 2002, the Musk Foundation began donating to OpenAI, with nearly half of its $25 million in donations going to the organization between 2002 and 2018.
July 2003: Incorporation of Tesla Motors
In July 2003, Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) was incorporated by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.
February 2004: Musk's Investment in Tesla
In February 2004, Elon Musk led the Series A round of investment in Tesla, investing $6.35 million, becoming the majority shareholder and chairman.
2004: Early Investment in Tesla
In 2004, Elon Musk joined the automaker Tesla as an early investor.
2006: Founding of SolarCity
In 2006, Elon Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive.
2008: CEO of Tesla
In 2008, Elon Musk became the CEO and product architect of Tesla.
2008: Received 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 Roadster Delivery
In 2008, Tesla began delivery of the Roadster, its first mass production all-electric car.
2008: Musk Assumes Leadership of Tesla
In 2008, following the financial crisis and conflicts within the company, Elon Musk assumed leadership of Tesla as CEO and product architect.
2009: Settlement Designating Musk as Tesla Co-founder
In 2009, a lawsuit settlement designated Elon Musk as a Tesla co-founder.
2010: Tesla's Initial Public Offering
In 2010, Tesla had its Initial Public Offering, after which the company's stock rose significantly.
2012: Launch of Model S
In 2012, Tesla launched the Model S, a four-door sedan.
2012: Dragon Docks with ISS
In 2012, the Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, marking a first for a commercial spacecraft.
August 2013: Announcement of Vactrain Plans
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.
2013: SolarCity Ranks Second in the US
By 2013, SolarCity had grown to become the second-largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.
2014: Promotion of SolarCity's Advanced Production Facility
In 2014, Elon Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, which would be triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States.
December 2015: Co-founding of OpenAI
In December 2015, Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company, with the goal of developing artificial general intelligence that is safe and beneficial to humanity. Musk pledged $1 billion of funding to the company.
2015: Co-founding of OpenAI
In 2015, Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI to advance artificial intelligence research.
2015: Launch of 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 neurotechnology startup, with an investment of $100 million. The company aims to integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence.
2016: Tesla Acquires SolarCity
In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2 billion and merged it with its battery unit to create Tesla Energy. The deal announcement resulted in a drop in Tesla's stock price.
2017: Founding of the Boring Company
In 2017, Elon Musk founded the Boring Company to construct tunnels and revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles. Early in 2017, the company began discussions with regulatory bodies and initiated construction of a "test trench" on SpaceX premises.
2017: Purchase of X.com Domain
In 2017, Elon Musk purchased the domain X.com from PayPal.
2017: Launch of Model 3
In 2017, Tesla launched the Model 3, a mass-market sedan.
2017: Completion of SolarCity's Factory Construction
In 2017, the construction of SolarCity's advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, was completed after starting in 2014.
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 Donations to OpenAI End
From 2002 to 2018, the Musk foundation donated nearly half of its $25 million directly to Musk's OpenAI.
2018: Starlink Prototype Satellites Launched
In 2018, prototype satellites were launched for the Starlink constellation.
2018: Debut of the Los Angeles Tunnel
In 2018, the Los Angeles tunnel, less than two miles in length, debuted to journalists. It used Tesla Model Xs and was reported to be a rough ride at suboptimal speeds.
March 2019: Musk Releases "RIP Harambe"
In March 2019, Elon Musk, through his label Emo G Records, released a rap track titled "RIP Harambe" on SoundCloud.
May 2019: Deployment of Starlink Constellation
In May 2019, the first large constellation of Starlink satellites was deployed.
2019: Development of Starship
Since 2019, SpaceX has been developing Starship, a reusable, super heavy-lift launch vehicle.
May 2020: Resignation as Tesla Chairman
In May 2020, Elon Musk resigned as chairman of the board of Tesla as part of a settlement with the SEC, which stemmed from a lawsuit regarding his tweets about securing funding to take Tesla private.
2020: Musk Relocates to Texas
In 2020, Elon Musk relocated from California to Cameron County, Texas, citing concerns that California had become "complacent" about its economic success.
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 Model Y
In 2020, Tesla launched the Model Y, a crossover vehicle.
2020: End of SolarCity and Panasonic Joint Venture
In early 2020, SolarCity's advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, ceased operating as a joint venture with Panasonic.
2020: Tesla Becomes Most Valuable Carmaker
In the summer of 2020, Tesla became the most valuable carmaker, and it entered the S&P 500 later that year.
October 2021: Tesla Reaches $1 Trillion Market Cap
In October 2021, Tesla reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, becoming the sixth company in U.S. history to achieve this milestone.
2021: Musk Foundation Assets Reach $9.4 Billion
By the end of 2021, the Musk Foundation's assets had grown to $9.4 billion, although it only dispensed $160 million to charities that year.
2021: Neuralink Releases Pong-Playing Macaque Video
In 2021, Neuralink released a video showing a macaque playing the video game Pong via a Neuralink implant.
2021: Completion of Las Vegas Convention Center Tunnel
In early 2021, the Boring Company completed a tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. Local officials approved further expansions of the tunnel system.
October 27, 2022: Elon Musk Buys Twitter
On October 27, 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for approximately $44 billion, after backtracking on his initial decision.
2022: Acquisition of Twitter
In 2022, Elon Musk acquired the social network Twitter.
2022: Neuralink Announces Clinical Trials
In 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials would begin by the end of the year.
2022: Musk's Acquisition and Changes at Twitter
In 2022, immediately after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk fired several top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal and became the CEO himself. He instituted monthly subscriptions for a "blue check", laid off a significant portion of the staff, and lessened content moderation, leading to an increase in hate speech on the platform.
July 2023: Launch of xAI
In July 2023, Elon Musk launched the artificial intelligence company xAI, aiming to develop a generative AI program to compete with existing offerings like OpenAI's ChatGPT.
September 2023: FDA Approves Neuralink Human Trials
In September 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Neuralink to initiate six-year human trials.
2023: Launch of Cybertruck
In 2023, Tesla launched the Cybertruck, a pickup truck.
2023: Twitter Rebranded as X
In 2023, the social network Twitter was rebranded as X after being acquired by Elon Musk.
January 2025: Creation of DOGE by Executive Order
In January 2025, the organization was created by executive order, and Elon Musk was designated a "special government employee". Musk is leading the organization and is a senior advisor to the president.
May 28, 2025: Musk Announces Departure from Trump Administration
On May 28, 2025, Elon Musk announced his planned departure from the Trump administration upon the expiration of his 130-day term as a special government employee. A White House official confirmed that Musk's offboarding was already in progress.
May 30, 2025: Official Confirmation of Musk's Departure
On May 30, 2025, Elon Musk's departure from the Trump administration was officially confirmed during a joint press conference with Trump in the Oval Office.
2025: Senior Advisor to President Trump
In early 2025, Elon Musk served as senior advisor to United States president Donald Trump and as the de facto head of DOGE.
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