10 interesting facts about Elon Musk

(Agencies)Whether the topic is transforming the automobile industry or conquering the next frontier of space, Elon Musk has shown a knack for captivating an audience beyond investors and science geeks. The Tesla CEO, now the world's wealthiest person following the electric automaker's meteoric rise, was the quintessential Silicon Valley disruptor — except he no longer lives in California. Let us take a look at 15 interesting facts about him:

By 25, Musk had created Zip2, an online advertising platform, and was a millionaire by age 30 after selling the company to Compaq Computer in 1999. Credit: AFP Photo

Musk followed that success with the creation of the online bank, X.com, which was later merged into PayPal which eBay bought in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Credit: Reuters Photo

Musk founded SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, in 2002. SpaceX is scheduled to launch two crewed flights for NASA in 2021, including one in the spring, and four cargo refueling missions over the next 15 months. Credit: Reuters Photo

Due to lack of funding, Musk invested his own money for the development of SpaceX rockets. Credit: AP/PTI Photo

After setting ambitious goals for the model's ramp-up, Musk hit a rough spot in 2018 as Tesla Motors, where he became a major funder, missed targets while burning through cash. Credit: Reuters Photo

In 2018, Musk jolted markets by announcing that he was considering taking Tesla private and said that he had

Musk has a baby with the most unusual name, which he shortens to “X.” Musk had said it’s pronounced “just like the letter X. AE is pronounced ‘ash’, as in Old English. A-12 is also pronounced just like it reads. Refers to the Archangel-12 CIA reconnaissance plane.” Credit: AFP Photo

Musk made an appearance in

Musk publicly sparred with a British caver, who had mocked the Tesla CEO's offer of a mini-submarine to rescue young soccer players trapped in a cave in Thailand in the summer of 2018. Credit: AFP Photo