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The sanction Elon Musk is possibly 1 of the astir recognisable successful the modern day.
The richest antheral successful the satellite is known for being the proprietor of assorted companies including electrical conveyance shaper Tesla and Space X, his takeover of societal media institution Twitter - which helium renamed X - and, until astir recently, his work wrong the US government.
After astir 130 days arsenic caput of the Department of Government Efficiency - known arsenic DOGE for abbreviated - Musk announced helium is leaving his relation wrong Donald Trump's administration.
His enactment wrong the section and his adjacent narration with Mr Trump led to Musk being successful the headlines much than ever, but determination is overmuch to the billionaire businessman that is seldom reported.
Here are 7 things you whitethorn not cognize astir Musk.
Child video crippled creator
In the aboriginal 1980s, astatine the property of 12, Musk created the video crippled Blastar.
He created the game, which tasks players to usage their keyboards to sprout astatine alien combatant spaceships, done his cognition of coding and programming, which helium picked up astatine the property of nine, according to Ashlee Vance's 2015 biography of the tech mogul.
By 1984 the crippled was truthful good, Musk sold it to PC and Office Technology mag for $500 (£371), wherever it featured successful the publication's December issue.
First large wage cheque
From the get-go, it was wide Musk had a endowment for business. In 1995, property 24, helium acceptable up his archetypal company, Zip2 with his brother, Kimbal.
The brace acceptable up the company, which created online metropolis guides for newspapers, for astir $28,000 (£20,000). It was sold for astir $300m (£222m) 4 years aboriginal successful 1999.
Before cashing successful connected the occurrence of Zip2, Musk said helium and his member were beauteous overmuch broke and some slept successful the bureau wherever they worked - a behaviour helium reportedly replicated successful the aboriginal days of Tesla.
From the merchantability of the company, Musk walked distant from Zip2 with a chill $22m, and the archetypal happening helium bought was a McLaren F1.
He told CNN astatine the time: "Just 3 years agone I was sleeping connected the bureau floor, and present I've got a million-dollar car."
Musk's musk
Despite having immense success, immoderate of Musk's ideas person not proved to beryllium arsenic long-lasting.
In 2022, helium launched a perfume called Burnt Hair, which is described connected his The Boring Company website arsenic "the essence of repugnant desire".
The scent, which outgo $100 (£74) a bottle, was a smash hit, according to Musk, who said it had sold 10,000 bottles successful conscionable a fewer hours, earning him a cardinal dollars.
"With a sanction similar mine, getting into the fragrance concern was inevitable - wherefore did I adjacent combat it for truthful long!?" Musk said astatine the time.
It is chartless if the merchandise was serious, and (sadly) is nary longer disposable connected The Boring Company website.
In summation to perfume, Tesla launched its ain tequila successful 2020, and successful the aforesaid year, Musk followed done connected a gag to merchantability limited variation pairs of Tesla abbreviated shorts arsenic a mode to beryllium investors who stake against the electrical conveyance shaper wrong.
The archetypal PayPal
Long earlier Twitter became X, Musk created X.com, an online banking and fiscal services company.
The level rapidly attracted a ample lawsuit base, and successful the twelvemonth 2000, it merged with Confinity, which was co-founded by tech entrepreneurs Peter Thiel and Max Levchin.
The level was aboriginal renamed PayPal.
Musk went connected to go main enforcement of PayPal, but was aboriginal ousted from the presumption arsenic arguments implicit the company's sanction and wide absorption emerged.
In 2002, the banking tract was bought by eBay for $1.5bn (£1.4bn). Years later, successful 2017, eBay sold the domain X.com backmost to Musk.
Inspiration for Iron Man
Musk's beingness arsenic a billionaire entrepreneur sounds similar the commencement of a Hollywood blockbuster. And successful reality, Musk's property and accomplishments were partially utilized arsenic inspiration for Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Iron Man successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a 2022 interview, Iron Man screenwriter Mark Fergus said his mentation of Tony Stark was based connected a culmination of Musk, Mr Trump and Apple creator Steve Jobs.
"Musk took the brilliance of Jobs with the showmanship of Trump. He was the lone 1 who had the amusive origin and the personage vibe and existent concern substance," Mr Fergus told New York Magazine.
Musk's antithetic transportation to the fictionalised billionaire was played retired connected camera erstwhile helium made a cameo successful Iron Man 2 successful 2010.
The existent Tesla founder?
Contrary to belief, Musk did not commencement Tesla. He was really an aboriginal capitalist successful the institution and was the 4th main enforcement erstwhile helium took implicit the relation successful 2008 - soon aft the institution released its archetypal car - the Roadster sports car.
It was successful fact, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning who founded the institution successful 2003, albeit Musk was the 1 to propel it connected to a planetary stage.
Desire for the 'everything app'
After taking implicit societal media level X for $44bn successful 2022, Musk became 1 measurement person to achieving his extremity of creating an "everything app".
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The tech mogul has antecedently said helium wishes for X to go akin to WeChat - a Chinese app that offers a wide scope of features beyond messaging, including payments, ordering taxis, sharing societal media posts and conducting concern - deliberation of it arsenic a premix betwixt Facebook, Apple Pay, WhatsApp and Google.
Musk's imaginativeness of this "super app" seems to beryllium shared by those astatine X, including main enforcement Linda Yaccarino, who said astatine the extremity of past twelvemonth that 2025 would beryllium the twelvemonth that X "connect[s] you successful ways ne'er thought possible. X TV, X Money, Grok and more".
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And this appears to beryllium somewhat coming true.
In January, Musk announced X had partnered with outgo elephantine Visa, which volition let users to determination funds betwixt accepted banks and a integer X wallet and marque payments to friends.
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