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Essay / Elon Musk and his entrepreneurial ventures
Table of ContentsIntroductionPayPalSpaceXTeslaConclusionIntroductionElon Musk is a South African serial entrepreneur and founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX and PayPal. All three are valued at over $1 billion, making Elon's net worth $20. 8 billion (“Biography of Elon Musk.”, 2005). Musk showed interest in computer programming from a young age. In fact, his extensive knowledge of programming ultimately led him to decide to drop out of Stanford University and start his first business at the height of the Internet boom ("Elon Musk Biography," 2005). Additionally, Musk has always had a passion for physics and graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in physics. Both of Musk's interests have directly translated into his business ventures and are likely the reason for his enormous success. His main motivation in creating SpaceX was to expand his knowledge of space and launch further exploration of life on Mars. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay On the contrary, his motivation for creating Tesla was to create environmentally friendly automobiles that would lead to a more sustainable future. One of his greatest accomplishments was the successful launch of a Tesla Roadster into space via the Falcon Heavy rocket (“Elon Musk Biography.”, 2005). It was the first time a car had been transported into space in history. Elon Musk is an extremely well-known entrepreneur who has introduced the world to multiple innovations that will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the future of humanity. PayPalOne of Elon Musk's first entrepreneurial ventures was the purchase of PayPal in 2000. Essentially, PayPal is an online platform that allows users to store their financial information securely in a personal account. This allows online transactions to be carried out easily and securely without revealing any financial details directly to the beneficiary. The company was hugely successful from the start and can be classified as a gazelle as it grew daily by almost 10% while securing 4 million new customers within a year (“L "History of PayPal (Infographic Included", 2017) Additionally, PayPal held a huge competitive advantage because at the time, transferring money online was a difficult process. However, Elon Musk had discovered a method of transferring money. 'low risk money using only the recipient's email address ("Elon Musk Biography", 2005). PayPal filled an unmet need in the technology world, as sending funds from person to person was. almost impossible before its creation ("Elon Musk Biography", 2005 Furthermore, PayPal benefited 10x from the solution because its method of transferring funds was 10 times faster than traditional bank transfer and 10 times more secure. than providing financial information to send money. Later in 2001, PayPal experienced gigantic growth when it was adopted by eBay, the online auction site (“Biography of Elon Musk.”, 2005). Basically, eBay allowed its users to complete their online purchases with PayPal, eliminating much of the payment fraud that was a problem in the past. During the same year, eBay acquired PayPal as a whole for $1. 5 billion (“Biography of Elon Musk.”, 2005). Elon was the largest shareholder of the company with an 11.5% stake, representing his share in the deal worth $165 million (“Elon Musk Biography.”, 2005). PayPal turned out to bea huge win for Elon and the funds he gained from his sale allowed him to continue taking on new ventures. SpaceXAfter the sale of PayPal, Elon Musk quickly invested his new capital in the creation of SpaceX. SpaceX was founded in June 2002 with the aim of further exploring the possibilities of life on Mars and transporting large objects into space ("Elon Musk Biography", 2005). Similar to PayPal, Elon had the vision to accomplish a feat that was not possible before. He devoted much of his time and resources to ensuring that SpaceX would accomplish great feats. The company's main goal was to help NASA deliver supplies to astronauts stationed in space and the company received a major contract from NASA to do so ("Elon Musk.", 2018). On May 22, SpaceX had launched a rocket into space containing more than 1,000 pounds of supplies essential to the astronaut's space mission ("Elon Musk.", 2018). It was the first time an independent company sent a rocket into space. , it was a huge personal accomplishment for Elon. Unfortunately, a major setback occurred when a rocket equipped with a new engine exploded during a test flight (“Elon Musk.”, 2018). This forced Elon to contribute much of his own money to keep the company financially viable and nearly pushed it into bankruptcy. Yet Elon's response to adversity proved high, not long after SpaceX was able to launch a Tesla Roadster into space and once again made history. It was the first car to enter space. All in all, Elon has managed to achieve a multitude of incredible accomplishments thanks to SpaceX. TeslaWhile still operating SpaceX, Elon had focused on the automotive industry. In 2004, he became the main investor in Tesla Motors with a contribution of $70 million (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator.”, 2017). Elon helped design an all-electric car called the Tesla Roadster that ran solely on battery power (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator.”, 2017). Elon took advantage of good timing for the industry as gas prices steadily increased, making the electric car much more attractive than it was before. Furthermore, his concept was generally feasible because it allowed consumers to power their automobiles with common power outlets already present in every home and garage. The first Tesla featured cutting-edge technology and mechanics that caught the attention of local newspapers (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator.”, 2017). Later in 2006, Elon received a Global Green Award for outstanding product design (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator.”, 2017). Unfortunately, Tesla's capital dried up, but Elon invested his last $20 million in the company. to keep it afloat. This emphasizes his dedication to the company, making it clear that he loves what he does. After significantly cutting costs by laying off a large portion of staff and closing several offices, Tesla Motors began operating smoothly. However, the company's main success came with the launch of the Model S, considered the safest vehicle on the road. It also featured increased battery life and a more practical design (“Elon Musk Biography: Success Story of The 21st Century Innovator.”, 2017). It is clear that Tesla Motors follows an S-curve because the start of the business was superficial and with little profit; however, with..