Co-founder of PayPal, Musk played a big part in enabling online commerce—and became a multi-millionaire in the process. Now Musk is taking the lead in two more emerging industries. His automotive company, Tesla Motors, is manufacturing one of the most advanced electric cars in history. His other venture, Space Explorations Technologies (SpaceX for short), is building a rocket that can launch satellites for as little as one-tenth the cost of other systems.

When Musk looked into the mechanics of sending objects into orbit, he was shocked to discover how much it cost. Research led him to the conclusion that it would be possible to manufacture a reliable space transport vehicle for a fraction of what governments and aerospace companies charged. As Musk said in 2005, "There is nothing inherently expensive about rockets. It's just that those who have built and operated them in the past have done so with horrendously poor efficiency."

Efficiency is also a driving force behind Musk’s other transportation project, Tesla Motors. The Tesla Roadster is an electric car that promises to accelerate faster than a Porsche 911 while being twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius. A critical and commercial success, the so-called 2007½ model is sold out. Tesla is taking orders for 2008.

Musk believes electric vehicles are key to combating the rise in greenhouse gases and protecting the environment. If he can’t save the Earth, perhaps he’ll move to Mars? SpaceX could one day make it practical to establish independent permanent settlements on Mars. Turning humanity into a multiplanetary species is an achievement Musk thinks may be crucial to humankind's survival. "If you need to back up your data, then backing up the biosphere is important too," he said in 2005.

Musk was born and grew up in South Africa, the son of a South African engineer and New York City dietitian and model. He left home at 17 for Kingston, Ontario where he enrolled at Queen's University. He left South Africa without his parents' support, in part because he wished to avoid compulsory service in the South African Defence Force. He was awarded a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, where he received an undergraduate business degree from the Wharton School, staying on another year to finish a second degree in physics.

In 1995, Musk went on to a graduate program in energy physics at Stanford, in which he stayed exactly two days before dropping out to start Zip2, which provided online content publishing software for news organizations. In 1999, Compaq's AltaVista division acquired Zip2 for US$307 million in cash and US$34 million in stock options. Elon and his brother Kimbal held about 12 percent of Zip2 at the time.

In March 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and email payments company. One year later, X.com acquired Confinity, originally a company formed to beam money between Palm Pilots, and the combined entity focused on email payments through the PayPal domain, acquired as part of Confinity. In February 2001, X.com changed its legal name to PayPal. In October 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for US$1.5 billion in stock. Before its sale, Musk, the company's largest shareholder, owned 11.7% of PayPal's shares.

In June 2002, Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), of which he is currently the CEO and CTO. SpaceX develops and manufactures space launch vehicles, with an emphasis on low cost and high reliability. The company's first two launch vehicles are the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. In addition to his business activities in entrepreneurial space, Musk is the principal owner and Chairman of the Board of Tesla Motors, a high performance electric car company that aspires to build cost effective vehicles for the mass market. He is also the primary investor and Chairman of the Board of SolarCity, a photovoltaics products and services startup company. The underlying motivation for funding both companies is to help combat global warming. Musk's fortune is estimated at US $328 million.