Elon Musk's life, in ten moments.

Born in Pretoria, South Africa

Elon Reeve Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, the eldest child of engineer Errol Musk and Canadian-born model and dietitian Maye Musk. He grew up with a younger brother, Kimbal, and a younger sister, Tosca. His parents first considered naming him Nice, after Nice, France, where he was conceived. They reconsidered to accommodate Maye's parents. Errol agreed the boy would take names from Maye's family: Elon, after her grandfather J. Elon Haldeman, and Reeve, the maiden name of her maternal grandmother.

Childhood reading and bullying

Elon Musk was a voracious reader who reportedly worked through the Encyclopaedia Britannica by about age nine. School was harder. He was severely bullied, including one beating that left him hospitalized for days.

Coded Blastar ~1983; published 1984

Coded ~1983 (age ~12). Published 1984 in PC and Office Technology for about $500. At about age 12, Elon Musk taught himself to program and built a space-themed game called Blastar. The code was published in a magazine, and he reportedly received around $500 for it.

Emigrated to Canada at 17

At 17, Elon Musk left South Africa for Canada, using citizenship obtained through his Canadian-born mother. He arrived with little money and took a series of odd jobs.

When I was seventeen, I got my Canadian passport. Three weeks later I was in Canada.

University of Pennsylvania degrees

Elon Musk transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and earned dual undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in physics and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School.

Left Stanford to start Zip2

Elon Musk moved to California and enrolled in a Stanford graduate physics program, then deferred almost immediately to co-found Zip2, an early online maps, directories, and publishing company.

Marriages and children

Elon Musk married author Justine Wilson on January 1, 2000. The couple had several children together before divorcing in 2008, after which Elon Musk married actress Talulah Riley.

Became a United States citizen

Elon Musk became a naturalized citizen of the United States, having moved from Canada to study and then to build his first companies.

Time-boxing the day

Elon Musk is known for time-boxing his day into short blocks, each assigned to a task. He has said he does not rigidly schedule every day in five-minute increments, because deep thinking needs longer uninterrupted stretches.

Vowed to own no house

Elon Musk announced on X that he would sell nearly all of his physical belongings and would not own a home, a public turn toward living with few possessions.

I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.