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 leading Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI. He is recognized as one of the world's wealthiest individuals, with a net worth of US$852 billion as of February 2026 according to Forbes. His ventures are focused on electric vehicles, space exploration, social media, and artificial intelligence.

Sections (6)

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

1950: Joshua N. Haldeman's move to South Africa

In 1950, Elon Musk's maternal grandfather, Joshua N. Haldeman, an American-born Canadian chiropractor, aviator and political activist in the technocracy movement, moved to South Africa.

June 28, 1971: Elon Musk's Birth

On June 28, 1971, Elon Reeve Musk was born. He is a businessman and entrepreneur known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI.

Others born on this day/year

1979: Parents' Divorce

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

June 1989: Arrival in Canada

In June 1989, Elon Musk arrived in Canada and worked odd jobs.

1989: Emigration to Canada

In 1989, Elon Musk emigrated from South Africa to Canada and obtained Canadian citizenship because his mother was born there.

1990: Enrollment at Queen's University

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

1995: Studying at the University of Pennsylvania

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

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 and applied for a job at Netscape.

1997: Graduation from the University of Pennsylvania

In 1997, Elon Musk received bachelor's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania before moving to California to pursue business ventures.

1997: Degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Awarded

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

2000: Musk Contracts Malaria

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

2000: Musk Marries Justine Wilson

In 2000, Elon Musk married Canadian author Justine Wilson, whom he met while attending Queen's University.

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 U.S. Citizen

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

2002: American Citizenship and PayPal acquisition

In 2002, Elon Musk became an American citizen, and PayPal was acquired by eBay.

2004: Musk and Wilson Have Twins

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

2006: Musk and Wilson Have Triplets

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

2008: Musk and Wilson Divorce

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

2008: Support for Barack Obama

In 2008, Elon Musk supported Barack Obama.

2012: Divorced Talulah Riley

In 2012, Elon Musk and Talulah Riley divorced.

2012: Support for Barack Obama

In 2012, Elon Musk supported Barack Obama.

2014: Briefly filed for divorce from Talulah Riley

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

2015: Honorary doctorate from Yale University

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: No invitation to World Economic Forum

In 2015, the World Economic Forum stated that they had not invited Elon Musk to the forum since 2015.

2016: Finalized second divorce from Talulah Riley

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

2016: Support for Hillary Clinton

In 2016, Elon Musk supported Hillary Clinton.

March 2019: Musk Releases Rap Track "RIP Harambe"

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

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August 2020: Acquisition of Second Private Jet

In August 2020, Elon Musk acquired a second private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company.

2020: First child with Grimes born

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

2020: Support for Joe Biden, Andrew Yang and Kanye West

In 2020, Elon Musk supported Joe Biden, endorsed Andrew Yang and expressed support for Yang's proposed universal basic income, and endorsed Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign.

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.

August 2021: White House Electric Vehicle Event

In August 2021, the White House organized an electric vehicle event featuring executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, despite Tesla being "the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space."

September 2021: Semi-separated from Grimes

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

December 2021: Declared himself single

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

2021: Twins born with Shivon Zilis

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

2021: Opposition to the Build Back Better Act

In 2021, Elon Musk publicly expressed opposition to the Build Back Better Act.

2021: Musk Reveals Asperger's Diagnosis on SNL

In 2021, while hosting Saturday Night Live, Elon Musk stated that he has Asperger syndrome.

2022: Third child with Grimes born

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

2022: Donation to Citizens for Sanity

In 2022, Elon Musk gave over $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee.

2022: Musk votes Republican for the first time

In 2022, Elon Musk voted for a Republican for the first time, shifting from supporting Democratic candidates.

2022: Musk's Child Changes Name

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

2022: Shift in Political Contributions

Since 2022, Elon Musk's political contributions have mostly supported Republicans, with his first vote for a Republican going to Mayra Flores.

June 2023: Support for Ron DeSantis

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 their child X Æ A-Xii.

2023: Denial of Starlink Activation Over Crimea

In 2023, Elon Musk denied Ukraine's request to activate Starlink over Crimea to aid an attack against the Russian navy, citing fears of a nuclear response.

2023: Musk Shuns World Economic Forum

In 2023, Elon Musk stated that he avoided the World Economic Forum because he found it boring; the organization responded that they hadn't invited him since 2015.

2023: Errol Musk recounts emerald deal

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

January 2024: 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.

October 2024: Report of buying a Texas compound for his children and their mothers

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

2024: Child born with Shivon Zilis via surrogacy

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

2024: Support for Donald Trump

In 2024, Elon Musk supported Donald Trump.

2024: Largest Donor in U.S. Presidential Election

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

October 2025: Kamala Harris Comments on Tesla White House Snub

In October 2025, former vice-president Kamala Harris commented that it was a mistake from the Democratic side to not invite Elon Musk to a White House electric vehicle event organized in August 2021 and featuring executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, despite Tesla being "the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space." Harris said presidents should put aside political loyalties when it came to recognizing innovation, and guessed that the non-invitation impacted Musk's perspective.

2025: Value of Blastar sale adjusted for inflation

At age twelve, Elon sold his BASIC-based game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500, equivalent to $1,600 in 2025.

2025: Child born with Shivon Zilis

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

2025: Report Suggests Musk Has More Children Than Publicly Known

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

2025: Cost of Starlink Service to Ukraine

In 2025, it was noted that during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk provided free Starlink service to Ukraine, permitting Internet access and communication at a yearly cost to SpaceX of $400 million (equivalent to $440,000,000 in 2025).