Elon Musk and His Blue Bird

In the world of high-tech innovation and technology startups, there is no shortage of innovative ideas or forward-thinking entrepreneurs. As such, venture capital firms are willing to fund new businesses with a significant initial investment in exchange for a stake in the company’s future profits. Unsurprisingly, many tech moguls have taken advantage of this opportunity. Some notable examples include Bill Gates with his Windows software venture; Michael Dell and his computer hardware startup; Mark Zuckerberg and his social media platform startup; and Jeff Bezos with his image-recognition software startup. Similarly, Elon Musk has also made great use of venture capital funding, developing multiple companies that have been extremely successful. This article analyzes the entrepreneur's previous ventures to uncover the insights behind his success.

PayPal – A Brief History

Musk has been involved in the payment processing industry for much of his career. In the late 1990s, he co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-commerce company that was one of the pioneers of online banking and provided money transfers, bill payment, and other financial services. X.com was acquired by PayPal in 2002, where Musk stayed as CEO for another year. Despite a rough start, his leadership led the company to profitability and an initial public offering (IPO) in February 2002. The company was acquired by eBay in July 2002 for $1.5 billion. Musk received $165 million from the sale, which was the largest amount ever earned by an Internet company executive at that time.

SpaceX

Musk’s ambition is not just limited to the financial services industry. In 2002, he began investing in and making plans for Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). The company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX is currently the leading provider of space transport services to NASA. Among the many notable achievements of the company, SpaceX is the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), the first to send a privately funded spacecraft to the ISS, and the holder of the first reuse of an orbital class rocket.

Tesla Motors

Musk has also demonstrated his keen interest in the automobile industry with Tesla, a company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars, electric vehicle powertrain components, and battery products. Tesla’s initial public offering (IPO) in June 2010 was the largest one since Google’s IPO in 2004. The company has also received a number of awards, including the “Most Innovative Company” in the U.S. by Forbes magazine (2011); the “World’s Greenest Company” by Newsweek magazine (2011); the “Top Company of the Year” by the Times (2011); and the “Car of the Future” by the Wall Street Journal (2011). However, Tesla’s path to success has not been without its share of controversies. The company has struggled to meet its production targets, and has also been involved in a number of safety recalls as it has ramped up production.

SolarCity

Another of Musk’s ventures has been SolarCity, which is one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world. In 2006, Musk co-founded the company with his cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive, who are also the company’s CEO and CTO, respectively. SolarCity sells solar panels and installs solar systems to generate electricity. It also provides energy storage services, including Tesla’s Powerwall. SolarCity’s stock has been on the rise in recent years, and the company has been profitable since 2012, with net income of $152 million in 2016. The company has also received a number of awards and recognitions, including the “America’s Most Promising Company” by Forbes magazine (2011) and the “Most Innovative Company” by Forbes again in 2018.

Twitter

Twitter is now a part of the Elon Musk universe. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO recently became the company’s largest individual shareholder after spending $20 million to purchase nearly 25 million shares from Digital Whale, a financial firm that owns about 1% of Twitter.

With this new financial stake in Twitter, it’s clear that Musk has some big plans for the social media platform—but what are they?

Let’s take a closer look at how these recent events impact both companies going forward and what they mean for investors. (Crafting a part 2). We shall explore;

1. Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter?

2. What will Musk do with his stake in Twitter?

3. Is this bad news for Twitter investors?

4. What is Elon Musk’s endgame here?

5. Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX all benefit from each other’s services

6. Where does this leave Twitter?

Summing up

While Musk’s ventures have been very successful in their own rights, the common denominator behind their successes is Musk himself. His ability to think outside the box, to work long hours, and to out-think his competitors has helped him achieve success in multiple industries. This article has delved into the entrepreneur’s previous ventures to understand their successes and insights.