From Rockets To Brain Implants, Here's A Look At Elon Musk's Vast Empire

NEW YORK — Elon Musk, nan world’s richest man and now first-ever trillionaire, controls a batch of different businesses.

Electric vehicles. Brain implants. Underground tunnels. A societal media level erstwhile called Twitter. And a rocket shaper that blasted disconnected its trading from Wall Street this week.

Over time, much and much of these ventures person recovered themselves nether nan aforesaid roof. Musk merged SpaceX — which went nationalist connected Friday — pinch his artificial intelligence institution xAI conscionable earlier this year. But he still holds nan CEO domiciled astatine respective corporations today, successful summation to different various executive titles aliases ownership stakes.

Here’s a look astatine Musk’s immense business empire.

SpaceX

Musk is CEO of SpaceX, which he founded successful 2002. The institution has grown acold beyond rockets. It owns outer communications work Starlink, a large root of rate for nan institution that generated $4.4 cardinal successful operating income past year. SpaceX besides houses societal media level X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, which Musk bought for $44 cardinal successful 2022 and parked it nether xAI, nan shaper of nan Grok chatbot.

Both xAI and X are money losers (the AI business mislaid $6.4 cardinal successful operations past year). Nonetheless, SpaceX — which mislaid $2.6 cardinal wide from operations past twelvemonth — was capable to whip up capable marketplace hype to debut pinch nan biggest first nationalist offering successful history connected Friday, closing astatine conscionable beneath $161 per share, aliases a full marketplace worth of $2.1 trillion.

Some deliberation that value tag importantly overvalues nan company. SpaceX has promised it will go a leader successful AI and 1 time thief make quality life multiplanetary — pinch lofty, and astatine times sci-fi sounding, goals that scope from putting information centers successful abstraction to colonizing Mars. But nan bulk of that hinges connected unproven exertion and monolithic superior needs.

Tesla

Musk is besides CEO of Tesla, a domiciled he has held astatine nan electrical car shaper since 2008.

Tesla has struggled pinch rising title successful nan EV space. Last year, nan institution mislaid its crown arsenic nan world’s largest EV shaper to China’s BYD. Sales were besides bruised during boycotts complete Musk’s politics. Those numbers person since rebounded some, but Musk has many times shrugged disconnected troubles — emphasizing that Tesla’s early lies little successful car income than getting group to return rides successful them arsenic self-driving taxis.

Beyond nan road, Tesla has been upping accumulation of robots for homes and businesses. And it’s besides been successful nan star power business for astir a decade pinch it acquisition of SolarCity, which was founded by Musk and 2 of his cousins. Tesla went nationalist successful 2010, and went connected to subordinate nan trillion dollar nine connected nan S&P 500. Its marketplace headdress presently stands astir $1.5 trillion.

Neuralink

Musk has besides nan CEO title astatine Neuralink, a brain-computer interface institution he co-founded successful 2016.

Neuralink is 1 of galore groups moving to link nan quality tense strategy to machines. It’s launched objective tests for group who person spinal cord injuries, ALS and different conditions. The institution (and sometimes Musk himself ) has announced a fistful of encephalon implants complete caller years. In January, Neuralink said it had 21 proceedings participants worldwide.

The Boring Company

Musk besides founded The Boring Company, a decade-old passageway digging and underground proscription business.

The Boring Company is down projects for illustration nan “Vegas Loop” — a web of underground, Tesla-hailing tunnels that first opened astir around nan Las Vegas Convention Center successful 2021. It’s promised to present a web of precocious velocity transit — pinch plans to besides make tunnels successful Dubai and Nashville. Still, pushback has piled up on nan way. The institution has been accused of breaking aggregate information and biology requirements successful Las Vegas, wherever its afloat way is still unfinished, and different disapproval from immoderate section officials successful Nashville.

Paypal and different erstwhile endeavors

Musk made his first luck by creating 2 companies, Zip2 and PayPal ( erstwhile X.com ). Those then-startups were sold to caller owners decades agone — but netted him astir $200 cardinal astatine sale, which Musk utilized to later commencement SpaceX and put successful Tesla.