Early Life and Education of Elon Musk: A Complete Timeline

How education and upbringing influenced the life of Elon Musk. A timeline of key moments.

Elon Musk is a prominent businessman and entrepreneur. He is most notably known for leading Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI. As of April 2026, he is estimated by Forbes to be the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of US$809 billion.

Sections (6)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

1950: Move to South Africa

In 1950, Joshua N. Haldeman, Elon Musk's maternal grandfather, moved to South Africa.

June 28, 1971: Elon Musk's Birth

On June 28, 1971, Elon Reeve Musk was born. He would later become a prominent businessman and entrepreneur, recognized for his leadership in Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI.

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1979: Parents' Divorce

In 1979, Elon Musk's parents divorced, and he chose to live with his father.

June 1989: Arrival in Canada

In June 1989, Elon Musk arrived in Canada.

1989: Emigration to Canada

In 1989, Elon Musk emigrated from South Africa to Canada and obtained Canadian citizenship.

1990: Entrance to Queen's University

In 1990, Elon Musk entered Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

1995: Studied Until at the University of Pennsylvania

In 1995, Elon Musk studied at the University of Pennsylvania.

1995: Accepted to Graduate Program at Stanford University

In 1995, Elon Musk was accepted to a graduate program in materials science at Stanford University but did not enroll, and also applied for a job at Netscape but reportedly never received a response.

1997: Graduation from the University of Pennsylvania

In 1997, Elon Musk received bachelor's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

1997: Awarded Degrees from the University of Pennsylvania

In 1997, the University of Pennsylvania awarded Elon Musk a Bachelor of Arts in physics and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the university's Wharton School.

2000: Musk Contracts Malaria

In 2000, Elon Musk contracted a severe case of malaria while on vacation in South Africa.

2000: Marriage to Justine Wilson

In 2000, Elon Musk married Canadian author Justine Wilson, whom he met at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada.

2002: Death of Nevada Musk

In 2002, Elon Musk and Justine Wilson's first child, Nevada Musk, died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks.

2002: Musk Becomes a U.S. Citizen

In 2002, Elon Musk became a U.S. citizen.

2002: Acquisition of PayPal by eBay and Became American Citizen

In 2002, PayPal, formerly X.com, was acquired by eBay. Also, Elon Musk became an American citizen in 2002.

2004: Birth of Twins

In 2004, Elon Musk and Justine Wilson had twins through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

2006: Birth of Triplets

In 2006, Elon Musk and Justine Wilson had triplets through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

2008: Divorce from Justine Wilson

In 2008, Elon Musk and Justine Wilson divorced, agreeing to shared custody of their children.

2008: Dating Talulah Riley

In 2008, Elon Musk began dating English actress Talulah Riley.

2008: Musk Supports Barack Obama in 2008

In 2008, Elon Musk supported Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential election, reflecting his earlier political donations to both Democrats and Republicans.

2012: First Divorce from Talulah Riley

In 2012, Elon Musk and Talulah Riley divorced.

2012: Musk Supports Barack Obama in 2012

In 2012, Elon Musk supported Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential election, continuing his historical pattern of donating to both Democrats and Republicans.

2014: Briefly Filing for Divorce

In 2014, Elon Musk briefly filed for divorce from Talulah Riley.

2015: Honorary Doctorate from Yale

In 2015, Elon Musk received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from Yale University and an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Honorary Membership.

2015: WEF stops inviting Musk

In 2015, The World Economic Forum stopped inviting Elon Musk, citing that he had not been invited since then.

2016: Second Divorce from Talulah Riley

In 2016, Elon Musk finalized a second divorce from Talulah Riley.

2016: Musk Supports Hillary Clinton in 2016

In 2016, Elon Musk supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election, reflecting his tendency to donate to political candidates from both parties.

2017: Dating Amber Heard

In 2017, Elon Musk dated American actress Amber Heard for several months.

2018: Relationship with Grimes

In 2018, Elon Musk and Canadian musician Grimes confirmed they were dating.

March 2019: Musk Releases 'RIP Harambe'

In March 2019, Elon Musk, through his own label Emo G Records, released a rap track titled "RIP Harambe" on SoundCloud.

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August 2020: Musk Acquires Second Private Jet

In August 2020, Elon Musk acquired a second private jet, adding to his existing private jet usage through Falcon Landing LLC.

2020: Birth of First Child with Grimes

In 2020, Elon Musk and Grimes had their first child, originally named "X Æ A-12".

2020: Musk Supports Joe Biden in 2020

In 2020, Elon Musk supported Democrat Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election, aligning with his historical pattern of political donations.

2020: Musk Relocates to Texas

In late 2020, Elon Musk relocated from California to Cameron County, Texas, citing California's complacency regarding its economic success. He had resided in California since the early 2000s.

September 2021: Semi-Separation from Grimes

In September 2021, Elon Musk confirmed reports that he and Grimes were "semi-separated".

December 2021: Musk Declared Himself Single

In December 2021, Elon Musk stated in an interview with Time that he was single.

2021: Birth of Twins with Shivon Zilis

In 2021, Elon Musk had twins with Shivon Zilis, director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, via IVF.

2021: Musk Mentions Asperger Syndrome on SNL

In 2021, while hosting Saturday Night Live, Elon Musk mentioned that he has Asperger syndrome (an outdated term for a mild strain of autism spectrum disorder), although he has never been formally diagnosed.

2022: Birth of Third Child with Grimes

In 2022, Elon Musk and Grimes had their third child.

2022: Musk Votes Republican for the First Time

In 2022, Elon Musk voted for a Republican for the first time, marking a shift from his previous support for Democratic candidates.

2022: Musk Discusses Growing Up With Asperger's

In 2022, during a TED conference in Vancouver, Elon Musk discussed his experience growing up with Asperger's syndrome, stating the social cues were not intuitive and people were not simply saying exactly what they meant.

2022: Musk Expresses Support for Ukraine

In 2022, during the Russian invasion, Elon Musk expressed support for Ukraine and suggested referendums and peace deals on the annexed Russia-occupied territories.

2022: Name change of Vivian Jenna Wilson

In 2022, the elder twin of Elon Musk and Justine Wilson came out as a trans woman and officially changed her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson, adopting her mother's surname to disassociate from Musk.

2022: Musk's Political Contributions Shift to Republicans

Since 2022, Elon Musk's political contributions have mostly supported Republicans, with his first vote for a Republican going to Mayra Flores in the 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election.

June 2023: Musk Hosts DeSantis's Campaign Announcement on Twitter Spaces

In June 2023, Elon Musk supported Republican Ron DeSantis for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, giving $10 million to his campaign, and hosted DeSantis's campaign announcement on a Twitter Spaces event.

October 2023: Grimes Sued Musk Over Parental Rights

In October 2023, Grimes sued Elon Musk over parental rights and custody of X Æ A-Xii.

2023: Musk Shuns the World Economic Forum (WEF)

In 2023, Elon Musk stated that he avoided the World Economic Forum (WEF) because he found it uninteresting. The organization responded that they had not extended an invitation to him since 2015.

2023: Errol Musk's Emerald Mine Deal

In 2023, Errol Musk recounted that the deal he made was to receive "a portion of the emeralds produced at three small mines".

January 2024: Musk Hosts Bipartisan X Spaces with Political Candidates

From June 2023 to January 2024, Elon Musk hosted a bipartisan set of X Spaces with Republican and Democratic candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, and Dean Phillips.

January 2024: Reports of Musk's Alleged Drug Use

Since January 2024, media outlets have reported alleged drug use by Elon Musk, including ketamine, marijuana, LSD, ecstasy, mushrooms, and cocaine. These reports followed Musk's statement that he uses doctor-prescribed ketamine for occasional depression.

October 2024: Report of Texas Compound Purchase

In October 2024, The New York Times reported that Elon Musk bought a Texas compound for his children and their mothers, though Musk denied it.

2024: Musk Criticizes UK Politics

In 2024, Elon Musk blamed the UK riots on mass migration and open borders, and criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leading to accusations of spreading misinformation and amplifying the far-right.

2024: Birth of Child with Shivon Zilis

In 2024, Elon Musk had a child with Shivon Zilis via surrogacy.

2024: Musk Supports Alternative for Germany

In 2024, Elon Musk voiced his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany political party.

2024: Largest Donor in the U.S. Presidential Election

In 2024, Elon Musk was the largest donor in the U.S. presidential election, where he supported Donald Trump.

2024: Barra comments on Musk's reaction to not being invited

In 2024, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said Elon Musk never forgave not being invited to the Executive Order signing event in August 2021.

February 14, 2025: Ashley St. Clair's Claim

On February 14, 2025, Ashley St. Clair posted on X claiming to have given birth to Elon Musk's son Romulus five months earlier.

February 22, 2025: Ashley St. Clair Filed for Sole Custody

On February 22, 2025, Ashley St. Clair filed for sole custody of her five-month-old son and for Elon Musk to be recognized as the child's father.

March 31, 2025: Musk's Response to St. Clair's Claim

On March 31, 2025, Elon Musk wrote that he was unsure if he was the father of Ashley St. Clair's child, but he had paid her $2.5 million and would continue paying her $500,000 per year.

2025: Birth of Child with Shivon Zilis

In 2025, Elon Musk had a child with Shivon Zilis.

2025: Report on the Number of Children

In 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported that sources close to Elon Musk suggested that the "true number of Musk's children is much higher than publicly known".

2025: Harris calls Biden's Snubbing of Musk a "Big Mistake"

In 2025, former vice-president Kamala Harris said that the Biden administration's "snubbing" of Elon Musk at the Executive Order signing event in August 2021 was a "big mistake".

2025: Equivalent Value of Blastar Sale

In 2025, the $500 Elon Musk made from selling his game Blastar in 1982 is equivalent to $1,600.

February 2026: Musk Criticizes Pedro Sánchez

In February 2026, Elon Musk referred to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as a "tyrant" after Sánchez proposed prohibiting minors under 16 from accessing social media platforms.

2026: Musk Debuts at the World Economic Forum (WEF)

In 2026, Elon Musk made a last-minute debut at the World Economic Forum (WEF), participating in an interview with the organization's interim co-chair, Larry Fink. He also attended Dialog, referred to as "Tech Bilderberg," which was organized by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman.