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Elon Musk biopic to be directed by Black Swan film-maker Darren Aronofsky

The Oscar-nominated director will adapt the recent biography by Walter Isaacson after independent studio A24 won a ‘heated’ bidding war for rights

A biopic of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is now in the works after independent studio A24 won the adaptation rights to Walter Isaacson’s recent biography, with Black Swan’s Darren Aronofsky on board to direct.

Variety magazine reports that A24 triumphed in a “heated competition” bidding war to acquire Isaacson’s authorised biography Elon Musk , which was published in September. It was heavily criticised in some quarters, with the Guardian describing it as a “dull, insight-free doorstop of a book”, and it generated a number of controversies itself, with Isaacson forced to correct a suggestion that Musk had ordered his Starlink satellite communications network to be turned off to stop a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warships.

A former chair and CEO of CNN, Isaacson is the author of a string of biographies, including Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin and Einstein. His bestselling 2011 biography of Apple CEO Steve Jobs was adapted into the 2015 biopic of the same title starring Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle.

Aronofsky most recently directed The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser, for which Fraser won the best actor Oscar, while Aronofsky himself was nominated for the best director Oscar for dark ballet drama Black Swan.

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Musk, 52, was born and raised in South Africa and, according to Isaacson, suffered “mental torture” at the hands of his father Errol , from who he is estranged. Musk is CEO and chief technology officer of SpaceX, and chairman and CTO of X Corp (formerly Twitter). He is also CEO of car company Tesla, but was fined and forced to step down as chairman in 2018 in a deal with US financial regulators after a series of misleading social media posts. Musk is currently ranked at number one on Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires list with a net worth of $223.8bn (£183.2bn).

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Elon Musk 'Glad' Upcoming Movie About His Life Will Be Directed by Darren Aronofsky: 'One of the Best'

"Glad Darren is doing it. He is one of the best," Elon Musk wrote on X

Taylor Hill/Getty; Taylor Hill/WireImage

The story of Elon Musk will soon be making its way to the screen.

PEOPLE confirms that a film based on Walter Isaacson 's recent authorized Elon Musk biography is in the works at A24 after a highly competitive deal.

The Whale 's Darren Aronofsky is set to direct and produce the film with his production company Protozoa Pictures.

While details of the movie are being kept hush-hush, the 52-year-old SpaceX and Tesla CEO shared his enthusiasm about the project — and specifically, for Aronofsky, 54 — on his social-media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter).

"Glad Darren is doing it. He is one of the best," Musk wrote. Aronofsky previous films include Black Swan , The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream .

News of the upcoming film was first reported by Puck .

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Elon Musk/ X

Released in September, Elon Musk reveals new details about the billionaire entrepreneur's childhood, his relationships with former wives and girlfriends, and his children.

According to publisher  Simon & Schuster , Isaacson, who previously wrote a biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs , spent two years shadowing and interviewing Musk himself as well as speaking with his family, friends and colleagues.

“He has a lot of fans and a lot of enemies, and my book tries to tell a straightforward narrative,” Isaacson said of Musk in a September conversation with New Orleans' Times-Picayune .

Added the former CNN CEO and Time editor of his book, “I thought it was going to be more about rocket ships and electric cars. It became a more exciting ride.”

Simon & Schuster

Aside from his various business and technological ventures, Musk is also a dad to 11 kids, including three whom he shares with ex  Grimes : sons X Æ A-12 , 3, and Techno Mechanicus , plus daughter Exa Dark Sideræl , who turns 2 next month.

Musk also shares 19-year-old twins Vivian Jenna Wilson and Griffin Musk, along with triplets Kai, Damian and Sax, who were born in 2006, with first wife Justine Wilson . The two had another son, Nevada, who died at 10 weeks old.

Musk also shares twins Strider and Azure , who were born just weeks before Exa, with Neuralink exec Shivon Zilis.

“[Elon] really wants smart people to have kids , so he encouraged me to do this,” Zilis, 37, says in Isaacson's book, adding, "I can’t possibly think of genes I would prefer for my children."

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Elon musk biopic in the works at a24, darren aronofsky to direct.

The screenplay will be drawn from Walter Isaacson's latest book about the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX.

By Etan Vlessing

Etan Vlessing

Canada Bureau Chief

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A24 has a biopic of Elon Musk in development, with The Whale helmer Darren Aronofsky on board to direct, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

A24 optioned Walter Issacson’s new biography of Musk, the controversial CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, which will be turned into a film adaptation. Aronofsky is set to direct and produce the film with his production company Protozoa Pictures.

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Published by Simon & Schuster, Issacson’s book explores the 52-year-old’s upbringing in South Africa by a “charismatic fantasist” engineer father, Errol Musk, and dietician mother, Maye Musk, who now moonlights as a model. 

Isaacson shadowed Musk for two years and attended his meetings, toured his companies’ factories and spent hours interviewing Musk and his family, friends, colleagues and apparent adversaries. By 2022, Tesla had sold one million electric cars and SpaceX launched 31 rockets into space.

Another of Issacson’s books about a tech pioneer, this time about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was turned into a titular movie with Michael Fassbender playing the Apple CEO, and Danny Boyle directing a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.

The script based on Isaacson‘s biography focused on three presentations Jobs gave that defined his life and his role at Apple.

Details on the Elon Musk film adaptation are being kept under wraps. Puck was the first to break news of A24’s film adaptation.

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Quelle Surprise! Darren Aronofsky Is Making Movie About a Loser

Well, this should be punishing. Noted film sadist Darren Aronofsky is making a movie about Elon Musk, according to Variety . The director is taking on an adaptation of Walter Isaacson’s biography of the tech mogul that came out earlier this year. The film is set to be produced by A24, which also produced Aronofsky’s The Whale , the film that scored Brendan Fraser an Oscar win for Best Actor . Apparently, there was an intense studio bidding war on the novel, with A24 ultimately getting the rights. A previous Isaacson biography, Steve Jobs , was adapted into Aaron Sorkin’s 2011 biopic of the same name. Musk reacted to the news on his platform X, writing, “Glad Darren is doing it. He is one of the best.” We assume that his favorite Aronofsky film is Mother!

No actors have been announced for the project yet. If we controlled the world, we’d throw Steve Carell into the lead role with his history of playing losers, and make Rooney Mara play Grimes.

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Elon Musk Says He’s Happy With The Choice Of The Director For The Upcoming Movie About His Life (… For Now)

It was recently announced that Elon Musk would be getting the biopic treatment, because why wait until someone is dead to bring up their polarizing decisions ? You might as well do it while they are alive enough to live Tweet (or X) it.

The film will be based on Walter Isaacson’s biography Elon Musk, which follows the rise of the eclectic businessman and his various tech endeavors which have made him one of the richest dudes on the planet. Isaacson also penned Steve Jobs’ biography as well, so this was not his first venture into the big brains of tech.

If it wasn’t enough of a treat, get this: the movie will be directed by Darren Aronofsky, who is known for his unsettling and similarly polarizing films. And who else would bring us this piece of art other than the good folks at A24? They have a great track record with horror movies and no doubt that is what this one will turn into.

Musk himself is pretty stoked, though, as he took to X to say how excited he is about the deal. “Glad Darren is doing it. He is one of the best,” Musk posted about the news. Do we think Musk has seen 2014’s Noah? He might change his mind after that.

Glad Darren is doing it. He is one of the best. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2023

Aronofsky most recently directed the hit The Whale, also known as the Brendan Fraser movie that everyone was talking about last year. Not to be confused with this year’s Fraser performance , of course.

( Via People )

Elon Musk movie in the works at A24, with Darren Aronofsky slated to direct

The independent film powerhouse A24 is developing a biopic about tech mogul Elon Musk, set to be directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, according to a source close to the project.

A24's project will be based on Walter Isaacson's bestselling biography of the controversial SpaceX and Tesla tycoon, "Elon Musk," which was published in September. The studio nabbed the film rights to the book after a fierce bidding war, according to the source.

“The deal was highly competitive with top studios and filmmakers in contention," the source said.

A24 previously teamed with Aronofsky on last year's "The Whale," starring Brendan Fraser in an Oscar-winning role. Aronofsky earned a best director Oscar nomination for "Black Swan," which was released in 2010.

Aronofsky is known for intense and sometimes surreal dramas such as "Pi," "Requiem for a Dream," "The Fountain" and "The Wrestler." The source said A24 will co-produce the Musk film with Aronofsky's production company, Protozoa Pictures.

It was not immediately clear who would be tapped to portray Musk in the film. Puck reporter Matt Belloni, who first reported the news, suggested actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Dano, Shia LaBeouf and Joaquin Phoenix.

"I’d pick Michael Fassbender if he hadn’t already starred in 'Steve Jobs,'" Belloni wrote, referring to a 2015 film based on Isaacson's bestselling biography of the Apple founder.

A24 was founded in 2012 and quickly established itself as one of the most influential film companies in modern Hollywood. The company distributed two movies that have won best picture at the Oscars: "Moonlight" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

The studio has also released critically acclaimed films such as "Ex Machina," "Room," "Lady Bird," "Eighth Grade and "Uncut Gems."

Daniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.

Who Should Play Elon Musk in A24’s Biopic? Nicolas Cage, Rami Malek, Kathy Bates and More Picks

By Todd Spangler

Todd Spangler

NY Digital Editor

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The actors strike is over , and news has emerged that a biopic of Elon Musk, directed by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, is in the works . The movie from A24 is to be based on Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Musk .

So the guessing game is on: Who would best capture the essence of the mercurial, meme-loving tech mogul on the big screen?

It won’t surprise you to learn that the internet has already chewed over this question. In a recent Reddit thread , commenters’ top-voted casting picks for Musk were: Nicolas Cage, Rami Malek, Robert Downey Jr. and Jesse Eisenberg (the last being a troll’s pick: Eisenberg starred as Musk rival Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network”).

Popular on Variety

Here are some additional thoughts:

Elon Musk as himself: The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and owner of X (aka Twitter), hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2021 and he has taken a (brief) stab at stand-up comedy . He also had a cameo as himself in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” (in which he tells Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark at a reception, “Got an idea for an electric jet”). The time commitment involved in shooting a feature-length movie would probably make this impossible, given Musk’s numerous other obligations. But Musk’s ego would be up for it.

Jon Hamm: The “Mad Men” star portrayed Musk-like tech billionaire Paul Marks in Season 3 of Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show.” Hamm’s resemblance to Musk isn’t quite on the mark, but it’s conceivable the actor could pull off a decent take on Musk’s clipped-and-mumble-y speech patterns.

Kathy Bates: The internet, like Musk himself, loves a good meme and it has been suggested more than once that Bates is a bit of a doppelganger. Fun but an obvious nonstarter.

If there’s a movie about Elon, I want him to be played by Kathy Bates. pic.twitter.com/kfYGghBRpA — Ravi Ahuja (@RaviAhuja20) November 25, 2022

Meanwhile, we posed the question of who would best play Musk to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The chatbot prefaced its answer with a cautionary note: “As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, it’s challenging to predict who would play Elon Musk in a movie since casting decisions depend on various factors.” ChatGPT continued, “As of my last update, potential candidates might include actors like Tom Hardy, Robert Downey Jr., or even someone not yet widely recognized but with the talent to capture Musk’s unique persona.”

Musk has launched his own AI chatbot rival to ChatGPT, dubbed Grok , but access currently is limited to verified subscribers of X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue).

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Elon Musk is getting his own movie. Here's who could play him.

• Elon Musk – the world's richest person – is getting his very own biopic.
• The film, inspired by Walter Isaacson's biography, is set to be directed by Darren Aronofsky.
• Movie buffs are already speculating about who could play the controversial billionaire.

Elon Musk , the world's richest person, is finally getting his own movie.

The biopic is in development at A24 – the indie studio that made "Moonlight" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once" — with Darren Aronofsky set to direct, according to a report by Variety .

Aronofsky is the Oscar-nominated director of films including "The Whale" and "Black Swan."

The film will apparently be based on Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk published earlier this year. Isaacson shadowed the Tesla and SpaceX CEO for two years for the book, including during his chaotic acquisition of X, formerly known as Twitter.

People are already speculating about who could play the controversial billionaire, with Reddit threads and social media buzzing with suggestions. Here are the top picks.

Rami Malek, best known for his Oscar-winning performance as Freddie Mercury in " Bohemian Rhapsody ," is a social media favorite for the role.

Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender has worked with Walter Isaacson's material before. The actor played Steve Jobs in a 2015 biopic based on Isaacson's biography of the Apple cofounder, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. has been floated as a prime contender for the role on both Reddit and X. Musk previously appeared alongside the actor during a cameo in "Iron Man 2."

Kevin Durand

X users have been pointing out the physical similarities between Canadian actor Durand and Elon Musk.

Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi, known for his various portrayals of oddballs, is also a potential contender. Buscemi has appeared in films including "Mystery Train," "Fargo," and "Reservoir Dogs."

Alexander Skarsgård

Alexander Skarsgård has already shown he's capable of taking on a Musk-like character after played the rather unsettling Swedish tech bro Lukas Matsson in the HBO drama "Succession."

Nicolas Cage

Oscar award-winning Cage is the top-voted suggestion on one Reddit thread. He's playing a very Nicholas Cage-type character in the film "Dream Scenario" that's just been released.

Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg is a popular but most likely a troll suggestion given he famously played Musk's arch rival Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network."

Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt has also been suggested by some for the role – presumably just because he's Chris Pratt.

Mads Mikkelsen

Social media users have been pointing out physical similarities between the Danish actor Mikkelsen and Musk for some time, although the suggestion has faced some backlash.

Matt Damon, who is a year older than Musk, 52, is also a popular contender for the role. Damon is also an Academy Award-winner, but not for his acting: he and Ben Affleck co-wrote the screenplay for "Good Will Hunting," in 1997 and picked up an Oscar in the process.

Kathy Bates – and others

One Reddit user suggested "Misery" star Kathy Bates for the role, while another liked the idea of Elliot Page being cast – "not because I think he'd be good for the role, but because Elon would be pissed if this happened!"

Other names being bandied around include Leonardo DiCaprio and Brendan Fraser.

• Main content

South African entrepreneur Elon Musk is known for founding Tesla Motors and SpaceX, which launched a landmark commercial spacecraft in 2012.

Who Is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur and businessman who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002 and Tesla Motors in 2003. Musk became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers.

In January 2021, Musk reportedly surpassed Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest man in the world.

Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. As a child, Musk was so lost in his daydreams about inventions that his parents and doctors ordered a test to check his hearing.

At about the time of his parents’ divorce, when he was 10, Musk developed an interest in computers. He taught himself how to program, and when he was 12 he sold his first software: a game he created called Blastar.

In grade school, Musk was short, introverted and bookish. He was bullied until he was 15 and went through a growth spurt and learned how to defend himself with karate and wrestling.

Musk’s mother, Maye Musk , is a Canadian model and the oldest woman to star in a Covergirl campaign. When Musk was growing up, she worked five jobs at one point to support her family.

Musk’s father, Errol Musk, is a wealthy South African engineer.

Musk spent his early childhood with his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca in South Africa. His parents divorced when he was 10.

At age 17, in 1989, Musk moved to Canada to attend Queen’s University and avoid mandatory service in the South African military. Musk obtained his Canadian citizenship that year, in part because he felt it would be easier to obtain American citizenship via that path.

In 1992, Musk left Canada to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics and stayed for a second bachelor’s degree in physics.

After leaving Penn, Musk headed to Stanford University in California to pursue a PhD in energy physics. However, his move was timed perfectly with the Internet boom, and he dropped out of Stanford after just two days to become a part of it, launching his first company, Zip2 Corporation in 1995. Musk became a U.S. citizen in 2002.

Zip2 Corporation

Musk launched his first company, Zip2 Corporation, in 1995 with his brother, Kimbal Musk. An online city guide, Zip2 was soon providing content for the new websites of both The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune . In 1999, a division of Compaq Computer Corporation bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options.

In 1999, Elon and Kimbal Musk used the money from their sale of Zip2 to found X.com, an online financial services/payments company. An X.com acquisition the following year led to the creation of PayPal as it is known today.

In October 2002, Musk earned his first billion when PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock. Before the sale, Musk owned 11 percent of PayPal stock.

Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, in 2002 with the intention of building spacecraft for commercial space travel. By 2008, SpaceX was well established, and NASA awarded the company the contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space Station—with plans for astronaut transport in the future—in a move to replace NASA’s own space shuttle missions.

Falcon 9 Rockets

On May 22, 2012, Musk and SpaceX made history when the company launched its Falcon 9 rocket into space with an unmanned capsule. The vehicle was sent to the International Space Station with 1,000 pounds of supplies for the astronauts stationed there, marking the first time a private company had sent a spacecraft to the International Space Station. Of the launch, Musk was quoted as saying, "I feel very lucky. ... For us, it's like winning the Super Bowl."

In December 2013, a Falcon 9 successfully carried a satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, a distance at which the satellite would lock into an orbital path that matched the Earth's rotation. In February 2015, SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 fitted with the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, aiming to observe the extreme emissions from the sun that affect power grids and communications systems on Earth.

In March 2017, SpaceX saw the successful test flight and landing of a Falcon 9 rocket made from reusable parts, a development that opened the door for more affordable space travel.

A setback came in November 2017, when an explosion occurred during a test of the company's new Block 5 Merlin engine. SpaceX reported that no one was hurt, and that the issue would not hamper its planned rollout of a future generation of Falcon 9 rockets.

The company enjoyed another milestone moment in February 2018 with the successful test launch of the powerful Falcon Heavy rocket. Armed with additional Falcon 9 boosters, the Falcon Heavy was designed to carry immense payloads into orbit and potentially serve as a vessel for deep space missions. For the test launch, the Falcon Heavy was given a payload of Musk's cherry-red Tesla Roadster, equipped with cameras to "provide some epic views" for the vehicle's planned orbit around the sun.

In July 2018, Space X enjoyed the successful landing of a new Block 5 Falcon rocket, which touched down on a drone ship less than 9 minutes after liftoff.

BFR Mission to Mars

In September 2017, Musk presented an updated design plan for his BFR (an acronym for either "Big F---ing Rocket" or "Big Falcon Rocket"), a 31-engine behemoth topped by a spaceship capable of carrying at least 100 people. He revealed that SpaceX was aiming to launch the first cargo missions to Mars with the vehicle in 2022, as part of his overarching goal of colonizing the Red Planet.

In March 2018, the entrepreneur told an audience at the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, that he hoped to have the BFR ready for short flights early the following year, while delivering a knowing nod at his previous problems with meeting deadlines.

The following month, it was announced that SpaceX would construct a facility at the Port of Los Angeles to build and house the BFR. The port property presented an ideal location for SpaceX, as its mammoth rocket will only be movable by barge or ship when completed.

Starlink Internet Satellites

In late March 2018, SpaceX received permission from the U.S. government to launch a fleet of satellites into low orbit for the purpose of providing Internet service. The satellite network, named Starlink, would ideally make broadband service more accessible in rural areas, while also boosting competition in heavily populated markets that are typically dominated by one or two providers.

SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 satellites in May 2019, and followed with another payload of 60 satellites that November. While this represented significant progress for the Starlink venture, the appearance of these bright orbiters in the night sky, with the potential of thousands more to come, worried astronomers who felt that a proliferation of satellites would increase the difficulty of studying distant objects in space.

Tesla Motors

Musk is the co-founder, CEO and product architect at Tesla Motors, a company formed in 2003 that is dedicated to producing affordable, mass-market electric cars as well as battery products and solar roofs. Musk oversees all product development, engineering and design of the company's products.

Five years after its formation, in March 2008, Tesla unveiled the Roadster, a sports car capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, as well as traveling nearly 250 miles between charges of its lithium ion battery.

With a stake in the company taken by Daimler and a strategic partnership with Toyota, Tesla Motors launched its initial public offering in June 2010, raising $226 million.

In August 2008, Tesla announced plans for its Model S, the company's first electric sedan that was reportedly meant to take on the BMW 5 series. In 2012, the Model S finally entered production at a starting price of $58,570. Capable of covering 265 miles between charges, it was honored as the 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine .

In April 2017, Tesla announced that it surpassed General Motors to become the most valuable U.S. car maker. The news was an obvious boon to Tesla, which was looking to ramp up production and release its Model 3 sedan later that year.

In September 2019, using what Musk described as a "Plaid powertrain," a Model S set a speed record for four-door sedan at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey County, California.

The Model 3 was officially launched in early 2019 following extensive production delays. The car was initially priced at $35,000, a much more accessible price point than the $69,500 and up for its Model S and X electric sedans.

After initially aiming to produce 5,000 new Model 3 cars per week by December 2017, Musk pushed that goal back to March 2018, and then to June with the start of the new year. The announced delay didn't surprise industry experts, who were well aware of the company's production problems, though some questioned how long investors would remain patient with the process. It also didn't prevent Musk from garnering a radical new compensation package as CEO, in which he would be paid after reaching milestones of growing valuation based on $50 billion increments.

By April 2018, with Tesla expected to fall short of first-quarter production forecasts, news surfaced that Musk had pushed aside the head of engineering to personally oversee efforts in that division. In a Twitter exchange with a reporter, Musk said it was important to "divide and conquer" to meet production goals and was "back to sleeping at factory."

After signaling that the company would reorganize its management structure, Musk in June announced that Tesla was laying off 9 percent of its workforce, though its production department would remain intact. In an email to employees, Musk explained his decision to eliminate some "duplication of roles" to cut costs, admitting it was time to take serious steps toward turning a profit.

The restructuring appeared to pay dividends, as it was announced that Tesla had met its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 cars per week by the end of June 2018, while churning out another 2,000 Model S sedans and Model X SUVs. "We did it!" Musk wrote in a celebratory email to the company. "What an incredible job by an amazing team."

The following February, Musk announced that the company was finally rolling out its standard Model 3. Musk also said that Tesla was shifting to all-online sales, and offering customers the chance to return their cars within seven days or 1,000 miles for a full refund.

In November 2017, Musk made another splash with the unveiling of the new Tesla Semi and Roadster at the company's design studio. The semi-truck, which was expected to enter into production in 2019 before being delayed, boasts 500 miles of range as well as a battery and motors built to last 1 million miles.

Model Y and Roadster

In March 2019, Musk unveiled Tesla’s long-awaited Model Y. The compact crossover, which began arriving for customers in March 2020, has a driving range of 300 miles and a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.5 seconds.

The Roadster, also set to be released in 2020, will become the fastest production car ever made, with a 0 to 60 time of 1.9 seconds.

In August 2016, in Musk’s continuing effort to promote and advance sustainable energy and products for a wider consumer base, a $2.6 billion dollar deal was solidified to combine his electric car and solar energy companies. His Tesla Motors Inc. announced an all-stock deal purchase of SolarCity Corp., a company Musk had helped his cousins start in 2006. He is a majority shareholder in each entity.

“Solar and storage are at their best when they're combined. As one company, Tesla (storage) and SolarCity (solar) can create fully integrated residential, commercial and grid-scale products that improve the way that energy is generated, stored and consumed,” read a statement on Tesla’s website about the deal.

The Boring Company

In January 2017, Musk launched The Boring Company, a company devoted to boring and building tunnels in order to reduce street traffic. He began with a test dig on the SpaceX property in Los Angeles.

In late October of that year, Musk posted the first photo of his company's progress to his Instagram page. He said the 500-foot tunnel, which would generally run parallel to Interstate 405, would reach a length of two miles in approximately four months.

In May 2019 the company, now known as TBC, landed a $48.7 million contract from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to build an underground Loop system to shuttle people around the Las Vegas Convention Center.

In October 2022, Musk officially bought Twitter and became the social media company's CEO after months of back and forth.

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Musk’s Tweet and SEC Investigation

On August 7, 2018, Musk dropped a bombshell via a tweet: "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." The announcement opened the door for legal action against the company and its founder, as the SEC began inquiring about whether Musk had indeed secured the funding as claimed. Several investors filed lawsuits on the grounds that Musk was looking to manipulate stock prices and ambush short sellers with his tweet.

Musk’s tweet initially sent Tesla stock spiking, before it closed the day up 11 percent. The CEO followed up with a letter on the company blog, calling the move to go private "the best path forward." He promised to retain his stake in the company, and added that he would create a special fund to help all current investors remain on board.

Six days later, Musk sought to clarify his position with a statement in which he pointed to discussions with the managing director of the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund as the source of his "funding secured" declaration. He later tweeted that he was working on a proposal to take Tesla private with Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake as financial advisers.

The saga took a bizarre turn that day when rapper Azealia Banks wrote on Instagram that, as a guest at Musk's home at the time, she learned that he was under the influence of LSD when he fired off his headline-grabbing tweet. Banks said she overheard Musk making phone calls to drum up the funding he promised was already in place.

The news quickly turned serious again when it was reported that Tesla's outside directors had retained two law firms to deal with the SEC inquiry and the CEO's plans to take the company private.

On August 24, one day after meeting with the board, Musk announced that he had reversed course and would not be taking the company private. Among his reasons, he cited the preference of most directors to keep Tesla public, as well as the difficulty of retaining some of the large shareholders who were prohibited from investing in a private company. Others suggested that Musk was also influenced by the poor optics of an electric car company being funded by Saudi Arabia, a country heavily involved in the oil industry.

On September 29, 2018, it was announced that Musk would pay a $20 million fine and step down as chairman of Tesla's board for three years as part of an agreement with the SEC.

Inventions and Innovations

In August 2013, Musk released a concept for a new form of transportation called the "Hyperloop," an invention that would foster commuting between major cities while severely cutting travel time. Ideally resistant to weather and powered by renewable energy, the Hyperloop would propel riders in pods through a network of low-pressure tubes at speeds reaching more than 700 mph. Musk noted that the Hyperloop could take from seven to 10 years to be built and ready for use.

Although he introduced the Hyperloop with claims that it would be safer than a plane or train, with an estimated cost of $6 billion — approximately one-tenth of the cost for the rail system planned by the state of California — Musk's concept has drawn skepticism. Nevertheless, the entrepreneur has sought to encourage the development of this idea.

After he announced a competition for teams to submit their designs for a Hyperloop pod prototype, the first Hyperloop Pod Competition was held at the SpaceX facility in January 2017. A speed record of 284 mph was set by a German student engineering team at competition No. 3 in 2018, with the same team pushing the record to 287 mph the next year.

AI and Neuralink

Musk has pursued an interest in artificial intelligence, becoming co-chair of the nonprofit OpenAI. The research company launched in late 2015 with the stated mission of advancing digital intelligence to benefit humanity.

In 2017, it was also reported that Musk was backing a venture called Neuralink, which intends to create devices to be implanted in the human brain and help people merge with software. He expanded on the company's progress during a July 2019 discussion, revealing that its devices will consist of a microscopic chip that connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone.

High-Speed Train

In late November 2017, after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for proposals to build and operate a high-speed rail line that would transport passengers from O'Hare Airport to downtown Chicago in 20 minutes or less, Musk tweeted that he was all-in on the competition with The Boring Company. He said that the concept of the Chicago loop would be different from his Hyperloop, its relatively short route not requiring the need for drawing a vacuum to eliminate air friction.

In summer 2018 Musk announced he would cover the estimated $1 billion needed to dig the 17-mile tunnel from the airport to downtown Chicago. However, in late 2019 he tweeted that TBC would focus on completing the commercial tunnel in Las Vegas before turning to other projects, suggesting that plans for Chicago would remain in limbo for the immediate future.

Flamethrower

Musk also reportedly found a market for The Boring Company's flamethrowers. After announcing they were going on sale for $500 apiece in late January 2018, he claimed to have sold 10,000 of them within a day.

Relationship with Donald Trump

In December 2016, Musk was named to President Trump’s Strategy and Policy Forum; the following January, he joined Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative. Following Trump’s election, Musk found himself on common ground with the new president and his advisers as the president announced plans to pursue massive infrastructure developments.

While sometimes at odds with the president's controversial measures, such as a proposed ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, Musk defended his involvement with the new administration. "My goals," he tweeted in early 2017, "are to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy and to help make humanity a multi-planet civilization, a consequence of which will be the creating of hundreds of thousands of jobs and a more inspiring future for all."

On June 1, following Trump's announcement that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, Musk stepped down from his advisory roles.

Personal Life

Wives and children.

Musk has been married twice. He wed Justine Wilson in 2000, and the couple had six children together. In 2002, their first son died at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Musk and Wilson had five additional sons together: twins Griffin and Xavier (born in 2004) and triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian (born in 2006).

After a contentious divorce from Wilson, Musk met actress Talulah Riley. The couple married in 2010. They split in 2012 but married each other again in 2013. Their relationship ultimately ended in divorce in 2016.

Girlfriends

Musk reportedly began dating actress Amber Heard in 2016 after finalizing his divorce with Riley and Heard finalized her divorce from Johnny Depp . Their busy schedules caused the couple to break up in August 2017; they got back together in January 2018 and split again one month later.

In May 2018, Musk began dating musician Grimes (born Claire Boucher). That month, Grimes announced that she had changed her name to “ c ,” the symbol for the speed of light, reportedly on the encouragement of Musk. Fans criticized the feminist performer for dating a billionaire whose company has been described as a “predator zone” among accusations of sexual harassment.

The couple discussed their love for one another in a March 2019 feature in the Wall Street Journal Magazine , with Grimes saying “Look, I love him, he’s great...I mean, he’s a super-interesting goddamn person.” Musk, for his part, told the Journal, “I love c’s wild fae artistic creativity and hyper-intense work ethic.”

Grimes gave birth to their son on May 4, 2020, with Musk announcing that they had named the boy "X Æ A-12." Later in the month, after it was reported that the State of California wouldn't accept a name with a number, the couple said they were changing their son's name to "X Æ A-Xii."

Musk and Grimes welcomed their second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, in December 2021. The child was delivered via a surrogate.

Nonprofit Work

The boundless potential of space exploration and the preservation of the future of the human race have become the cornerstones of Musk's abiding interests, and toward these, he has founded the Musk Foundation, which is dedicated to space exploration and the discovery of renewable and clean energy sources.

In October 2019 Musk pledged to donate $1 million to the #TeamTrees campaign, which aims to plant 20 million trees around the world by 2020. He even changed his Twitter name to Treelon for the occasion.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Elon Musk
• Birth Year: 1971
• Birth date: June 28, 1971
• Birth City: Pretoria
• Birth Country: South Africa
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: South African entrepreneur Elon Musk is known for founding Tesla Motors and SpaceX, which launched a landmark commercial spacecraft in 2012.
• Space Exploration
• Internet/Computing
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• University of Pennsylania
• Queen's University, Ontario
• Stanford University
• Nacionalities
• South African
• Interesting Facts
• Elon Musk left Stanford after two days to take advantage of the Internet boom.
• In April 2017, Musk's Tesla Motors surpassed General Motors to become the most valuable U.S. car maker.

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Elon Musk Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/elon-musk
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: October 31, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• I'm very pro-environment, but let's figure out how to do it better and not jump through a dozen hoops to achieve what is obvious in the first place.
• Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

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Elon Musk Reveals Which Star Should Play Him in Darren Aronofsky's Biopic (Exclusive)

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At the 10th Breakthrough Prize ceremony on Saturday, billionaire Elon Musk took a moment to share his thoughts on the upcoming biopic about his life, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. 

When ET’s Deidre Behar asked who should portray him on the big screen, Musk deflected the question with his characteristic wit, replying, "Who do you think should play me?"

However, when the suggestion of Bradley Cooper was raised, Musk couldn't help but laugh, responding with his own suggestion, "Uh, how about Benedict Cumberbatch?"

Amidst chuckles, Musk then directly addressed Cumberbatch through the camera, saying, "All right, Benedict, what do you think?"

Shifting gears, Musk shared a look into his space exploration endeavors, revealing discussions with Tom Cruise about possibly filming a Mission: Impossible movie in space . 

Musk disclosed, "Tom Cruise has said he wants to do Mission: Impossible in space. We've had some discussions, but I'm not sure where his mind is at."

The controversial tech billionaire's story will be adapted into a film based on Walter Isaacson's book, Elon Musk , and directed and produced by Aronofsky.

Isaacson's Steve Jobs was previously adapted into a 2015 movie of the same name starring Michael Fassbender. As for Aronofsky, the Oscar nominee previously directed Black Swan , The Whale and Requiem for a Dream . 

A24 landed the bidding war for the project.

Musk has approved the film and its director, posting to X, "I'm Glad Darren is doing it. He is one of the best."

Puck was the first to report the movie news.

Musk, a dad of 11, is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. In 2022, he bought Twitter and became its CEO. He's since changed the social media site's name to X and stepped down as CEO, maintaining the role of executive chairman and chief technology officer.

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11 WTF Moments From the New Biography ‘Elon Musk’

• By Miles Klee

Tuesday saw the release of Elon Musk , author Walter Isaacson’s mammoth new biography of the controversial tech mogul , and hardly a chapter of the nearly 700-page book goes by without a weird anecdote about the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s eccentric, sometimes self-destructive behavior. We are treated to insights about volatile relationships with family and partners, his caustic managerial style, and the toll that burnout takes as Musk struggles to deliver on promises of a fantastical future. Isaacson had total access to Musk himself, and, throughout the narrative, features perspectives from dozens of people in Musk’s inner circle (or formerly close with him) on exactly what makes the man tick.

The Emotional Wreckage of Musk’s First Marriage

Musk split with his first wife, Justine Musk, in 2008, after the relationship devolved into constant and bitter verbal fights, with Musk saying things like, “If you were my employee, I would fire you” or calling her an “idiot,” Justine told Isaacson. She also recalled once trying to explain the concept of empathy to Musk, but he said his lack of such a quality gave him an advantage when it came to running major companies. He also grew irritated by her suggestions that he try therapy, and blamed her own anger on Adderall, which a psychiatrist had prescribed to her for attention deficit disorder. Justine Musk said that although the drug was “an amazing help” for her, Elon “would go around the house throwing away the pills” that he believed were contributing to their marital strife.

Musk Has Suffered From Years of Neck and Back Pain Because of a Birthday Party Stunt

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Tesla’s Autopilot has been involved in hundreds of car crashes and at least 17 fatalities , with such accidents surging along with increased use of the system. Surely, Musk’s habit of exaggerating what it can do hasn’t helped. Though when it comes to Autopilot-involved deaths, he doesn’t seem to think they matter much in the grand scheme, believing the tech “should be judged not on whether it prevented accidents but instead on whether it led to fewer accidents.” After the first two reported Autopilot-involved fatalities in 2016, Musk did not immediately issue a statement, and Isaacson notes that he “could not understand why one or two deaths caused by Tesla Autopilot created an outcry when there were more than 1.3 million traffic deaths annually.” He then got angry during a press conference where reporters opened with questions about those accidents, firing back that they were the ones “killing” people if they turned public sentiment or government regulators against autonomous driving systems.

What Was Secretly on Musk’s Mind During a Rolling Stone Interview

In 2017, Musk gave an interview to Neil Strauss for a Rolling Stone cover story . He seemed distracted from the beginning and walked out on Strauss, coming back several minutes later to explain that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend, actress Amber Heard . Later in the conversation, Musk spoke unforgivingly of his estranged father, Errol Musk. “He was such a terrible human being,” Musk said. “Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.” He didn’t offer specifics at the time, but Isaacson reveals that shortly before this, Musk had learned that in 2016, Errol had impregnated Jana Bezuidenhout, a woman more than four decades younger, whom Errol had raised as his stepdaughter. Elon and his siblings were profoundly disturbed by the news, which seemed to weigh on him during his talk with Strauss, who wrote, “There is clearly something Musk wants to share, but he can’t bring himself to utter the words.”

The Personal Turmoil Behind the Infamous ‘Pedo Guy’ Tweet

An unexpected consequence of smoking weed on joe rogan’s show.

Musk’s 2018 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience was intended to be a bit of damage control at a precarious time for the CEO, who was seen as increasingly erratic. So, naturally, when Rogan offered him a toke on a tobacco-and-cannabis blunt, he confirmed that it was legal before gamely taking a puff. Even so, Tesla investors were rattled as the image of Musk wreathed in pot smoke went viral, and the company’s share price tumbled to almost its lowest point that year. There was one other, hidden ramification, too: “SpaceX was a NASA contractor, and they are big believers in the law,” Musk is quoted as saying in the biography. That meant, for the next couple of years, he was subject to random drug tests. “Fortunately,” he said, “I really don’t like doing illegal drugs.”

Why Musk and Grimes Got into Couples’ Spats

Throughout their courtship and co-parenting journey, Musk and occasional girlfriend Grimes have had their share of blowups, some of them sparked by truly unusual behavior. In 2021, for example, he was obsessed with the civilization strategy game The Battle of Polytopia , which in time began to distract him from work meetings and social events. Grimes started playing as well, noting that video games are one of Musk’s only outlets for relaxation, but, she said, “he takes those so seriously that it gets very intense.” In one game they played together, having agreed to an alliance, she betrayed him with a surprise attack, triggering “one of our biggest fights ever.” When she tried to argue it was only a game and not a big deal, he said, “It’s a huge fucking deal,” and didn’t speak to her for the rest of the day. On the flip side, Grimes was angry with Musk when he sent a photo of her having a C-section during childbirth to friends and family, without her consent. “He was just clueless about why I’d be upset,” she told Isaacson.

When Musk’s Reproductive Habits Made for a Curious Coincidence

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At the end of 2022, as Musk tried to get Twitter under control in the wake of a contentious acquisition, he expressed an alarming opinion of a humanitarian crisis in China. Talking to reporter Bari Weiss, Isaacson writes, he said that “Twitter would indeed have to be careful about the words it used regarding China, because Tesla’s business could be threatened.” He also told her that the country’s repression of the Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority group, had two sides. The Chinese government is placing this population in concentration camps and has been widely accused of crimes against humanity with the U.S. even going so far as to call it “ genocide .”

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Elon Musk explained why he designed his rocket based off Sacha Baron Cohen movie

The spacex founder admitted that while the design might not be better, it looks 'cooler'.

Emily Brown

With his wild antics and controversial characters, many of Sacha Baron Cohen's movies aren't necessarily the type you'd think of as inspiring.

Unless you're Elon Musk, apparently.

The SpaceX founder openly admitted that he was inspired by Baron Cohen when it came to designing his Starship spacecraft - the world's 'most powerful launch vehicle ever developed'.

Developed through SpaceX, Starship took its first flight in April 2023 following years of development and design, which Musk spoke about when he appeared on The Joe Rogan Podcast.

During the interview, Rogan clarified with Musk how he 'literally told them to make the Starship more pointy' after seeing one of Baron Cohen's movies .

The movie in question was the 2012 film The Dictator, in which Baron Cohen plays the titular dictator, Aladeen, who travels to New York in order to address the United Nations Security Council.

In one part of the film, Aladeen inspects the creation of a missile and tells the designers: "It is too round at the top, it needs to be pointy. Round is not scary. Pointy is scary. This will put a smile on the faces of the enemy."

Upon being questioned by Rogan, Musk agreed that it was Baron Cohen's movie that had influenced the design of the Starship.

"They know it too," Musk said, seemingly referring to the designers.

"It's not like they were unaware of it. I thought it would be funny if we made the rocket more pointy, so we did."

Rogan questioned whether making the rocket more pointy had 'any effect on the aerodynamics', but Musk assured there was no such impact.

"We can make it way blunter and it would be fine," he said, though he admitted that it was 'arguably slightly worse' for the rocket to be pointy.

"It looks cooler," he concluded, and many X users couldn't argue with his decision.

"The funny thing I like about Elon musk is his sense of humor," one X user wrote, adding: "Recently he admitted space X starship Design 'pointy' inspired by the movie ' The dictator .'

Another wrote: "U know elon musk asked for the starship top to 'be more pointy' because of the movie the dictator! !! What a beast of a man."

Starship, which is made up of the spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, is designed to be fully reusable.

It is intended to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit and beyond, with locations including 'the Moon, Mars and beyond'.

Topics:  Elon Musk , SpaceX , Sacha Baron Cohen , Joe Rogan , Technology

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

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Exactly how much global financial influence does elon musk have.

The disproportionate global influence of billionaires like Elon Musk is simply a matter of economic course. However, Musk’s unique trifecta of technological influence –from Starlink’s significance in telecommunications, Musk’s control of information on the popular social media site X, and his economic interest in manufacturing via Tesla and SpaceX — arguably affords him more significant global economic influence than any other ultra-rich person in the world.

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Throughout history, wealth has spawned influence. Typically, this influence has been exercised to shape economic policy and even foreign policy that benefit the wealthy’s financial interests or personal views.

For example, William Randolph Hearst caused the first press-driven war by casting blame on Spain for sinking the Battleship Maine, which fueled public pressure for the United States to enter the Spanish-American war. Henry Ford financed an attempt to broker peace to keep the U.S. out of both world wars. When this failed, Ford’s factories ultimately produced many vehicles for the American war effort, but refused to produce war machines for foreign states.

Musk is arguably more powerful — and more independent from the state, than either Hearst or Ford — given his control over information via social media and satellite internet, and terrestrial and extraterrestrial vehicle manufacturing. Musk controls key technologies that have made him an independent actor on the global stage, significantly impacting the economy and politics both in the U.S. and worldwide.

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Recent Examples of Musk’s Power

SpaceX’s provision of Starlink internet played a crucial role in restoring connectivity on the battlefield during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, in perhaps the most concerning display of Musk’s global influence, a Ukrainian attack on the Russian military was prevented by Musk’s refusal to allow Ukraine’s forces to utilize Starlink for the attack.

The notion that a single person could determine the outcome of battles in war due to control of technology was illustrated by this incident, which has angered Ukraine and concerned U.S. military leaders. It may also lead to more explicit contracts for the use of Musk’s technology in warfare.

Musk’s ownership of SpaceX, a company vital for space access, has granted him a level of autonomy that sets him apart from traditional defense contractors. With NASA and the Pentagon heavily reliant on SpaceX, Musk’s influence extends beyond economic implications, directly impacting national security and public opinion. This independence from traditional government oversight has allowed Musk to operate with a level of freedom uncommon in the defense and aerospace industry.

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In the electric vehicle sector, Tesla’s dominance has had far-reaching economic implications. Tesla’s presence in various countries has attracted foreign investment, tying Musk’s economic interests to some countries in adversarial positions to America, such as China and Saudi Arabia . Additionally, the opening of a wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai has made Musk more financially vulnerable to pressure from the Chinese government.

Finally, Musk’s acquisition of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has further expanded his influence, granting him control over the spread of information and direct access to a user base of millions. This move has positioned Musk to shape public discourse and opinion on a global scale, much like Hearst did on a smaller scale in 1898.

Concerns About Musk’s Influence

The autonomy Musk enjoys in the U.S. is rare, particularly within the context of his continuous conflicts with the U.S. government. His companies have been investigated by both the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department for both things Musk has said and actions his companies have taken. It’s unlikely that Musk’s contention with the government would continue to be tolerated in other countries with more singular sources of power, such as China or Russia.

Musk’s independence also raises concerns about the extent to which his control over critical global technologies should be constrained. As his influence continues to expand, so does the complexity of his economic entanglements with foreign governments.

Musk’s vulnerability to China’s influence is concerning, particularly in cases like pandemic-related factory closures, when he did not extend the same deference to the United States government as he did to China . In an interview with Bari Weiss, Musk said that “Twitter would indeed have to be careful about the words it used regarding China, because Tesla’s business could be threatened,” according to Walter Isaacson’s recent biography of Musk.

In the future, Musk’s economic influence may decrease in the face of challenges from competitors seeking to weaken SpaceX’s market share and social media platforms vying for influence. As Chinese brands catch up in the electric vehicle market, Tesla is facing increasing competition, which may lead to the company being entirely pushed out of China. These developments could ultimately make Musk less vulnerable to China’s influence as his market-share and economic interests constrict within the Chinese market.

As the world grapples with the implications of Musk’s influence, it becomes increasingly clear that his autonomy and control over critical global technologies have transformed the economic landscape, shaping industries, markets and international relations in significant ways.

Exactly how much global influence Musk has financially is difficult to quantify, however — but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the answer is “a lot.”

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"Our generation has seen incredible advancements in technology. For that, we can thank one of the most successful, influential and notorious entrepreneur of the 21st century. Elon Musk, the ... Read all "Our generation has seen incredible advancements in technology. For that, we can thank one of the most successful, influential and notorious entrepreneur of the 21st century. Elon Musk, the mind behind PayPal, founder of Tesla, and SpaceX. The 2nd richest man in the world after A... Read all "Our generation has seen incredible advancements in technology. For that, we can thank one of the most successful, influential and notorious entrepreneur of the 21st century. Elon Musk, the mind behind PayPal, founder of Tesla, and SpaceX. The 2nd richest man in the world after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with an estimated net worth of 163 billion USD. He is the ambiti... Read all

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• Trivia Elon Reeve Musk was born on the 28th of June 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His father, Errol, was a wealthy, successful South African engineer and his mother, Maye Musk, was a Canadian model. Elon was the oldest of three children with brother, Kimbal, and sister, Tosca. His parents got a divorce when he was 10 years old.

Elon Musk : There's so many things that make people sad or depressed about the future, but I think becoming a space-faring civilization is one of those things that makes you excited about the future. Space is one of those things that I think almost everyone is inspired by and if you asked people what was the most inspiring event in history, it was probably landing on the moon. You know, I think all transport, with the exception of rockets, will go fully electric. Owning a car that is not self-driving in the long-term will be like owning a horse. You would own it for, and you would use it for sentimental reasons, but not for, you know, not for daily use, really.

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How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall

Elon musk’s factory in china saved his company and made him ultrarich. now, it may backfire..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold. This is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Today, the story of how China gave Tesla a lifeline that saved the company — and how that lifeline has now given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game. My colleague, Mara Hvistendahl, explains.

It’s Tuesday, April 9.

So, Mara, you’ve spent the past four months investigating Elon Musk and his ties to China through his company, Tesla. Tell us why.

Well, a lot of American companies are heavily invested in China, but Tesla’s kind of special. As my colleagues and I started talking to sources, we realized that many people felt that China played a crucial role in rescuing the company at a critical moment when it was on the brink of failure and that China helps account for Tesla’s success, for making it the most valuable car company in the world today, and for making Elon Musk ultra rich.

That’s super intriguing. So maybe take us back to the beginning. When does the story start?

So the story starts in the mid 2010s. Tesla had been this company that had all this hype around it. But —

A lot of people were shocked by Tesla’s earnings report. Not only did they make a lot less money than expected, they’re also making a lot less cars.

Tesla was struggling.

The delivery of the Model 3 has been delayed yet again.

Tesla engineers are saying 40 percent of the parts made at the Fremont factory need reworking.

At the time, they made their cars in Fremont, California, and they were facing production delays.

Tesla is confirming that Cal/OSHA is investigating the company over concerns over workplace safety.

Elon Musk has instituted a kind of famously grueling work culture at the factory, and that did not go over well with California labor law.

The federal government now has four active investigations involving Tesla.

They were clashing with regulators.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate a second crash involving Tesla’s autopilot system.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk — friends are really concerned about him. That’s what Musk told “The New York Times.”

And by 2018, he was having all of these crises.

According to “The Times,” Musk choked up multiple times and struggled to maintain his composure during an hour-long interview about turmoil at his electric car company, Tesla.

So all of this kind of converged to put immense pressure on him to do something.

And where does China come in?

Well, setting up a factory in China, in a way, would solve some of these problems for Musk. Labor costs were lower. Workers couldn’t unionize there. China provided access to this steady supply of cheaper parts. So Elon Musk was set on going to China. But first, Tesla and Musk wanted to change a key policy in China.

Hmm, what kind of policy?

So they wanted China to adopt a policy that was aimed at lowering car emissions. And the idea was that it would be modeled after a similar policy in California that had benefited Tesla there.

OK, so explain what that policy actually did. And how did it benefit Tesla?

So California had this system called the Zero-Emission Vehicle program. And that was designed to encourage companies to make cleaner cars, including electric vehicles. And they did that by setting pollution targets. So companies that made a lot of clean cars got credits. And then companies that failed to meet those targets, that produced too many gas-guzzling cars, would have to buy credits from the cleaner companies.

So California is trying to incentivize companies to make cleaner cars by forcing the traditional carmakers to pay cleaner car makers, which basically means dirtier car makers are effectively subsidizing cleaner cars.

Yes, that’s right. And Tesla, as a company that came along just making EVs, profited immensely from this system. And in its early years, when Tesla was really struggling to stay afloat, the money that it earned from selling credits in California to polluting car companies were absolutely crucial, so much so that the company structured a lot of its lobbying efforts around this system, around preserving these credits. And we talked to a former regulator who said as much.

How much money are we talking about here?

So from 2008, when Tesla unveiled its first car, up until the end of last year, Tesla made almost $4 billion by selling credits in California.

Wow. So Musk basically wants China to recreate this California-style program, which was incredibly lucrative for Tesla, there. And they’re basically holding that up as a condition to their building a factory in China.

Right. And at this point in the story, an interesting alliance emerges. Because it wasn’t just Tesla that wanted this emissions program in China. It was also environmentalists from California who had seen the success of the program up close in their own state.

If you go back to that period, to the early 2010s, I was living in China at the time in Beijing and Shanghai. And it was incredibly polluted. We called it airpocalypse at times. I had my first child in China at that point. And as soon as it was safe to put a baby mask on her, we put a little baby mask on her. There were days where people just would try to avoid going outside because it was so polluted. And some of the pollution was actually wafting across the Pacific Ocean to California.

Wow, so California is experiencing that Chinese air pollution firsthand and, in a way, has a direct stake in lowering it.

That’s right. So Governor Jerry Brown, for example — this became kind of his signature issue, was working with China to clean up the environment, in part by exporting this emission scheme. It was also an era of a lot more US-China cooperation. China was seen as absolutely crucial to combating climate change.

So you had all these groups working to get this California emissions scheme exported to China — and the governor’s office and environmental groups and Tesla. And it worked. In 2017, China did adopt a system that was modeled after California’s.

It’s pretty incredible. So California basically exports its emissions-trading system to China, which I imagine at the time was a big win for Californian environmentalists. But it was also a big win for Tesla.

It was definitely a big win for Tesla. And we know that in just a few years Tesla, made almost $1 billion from the emissions-trading program he helped lobby for in China.

So Elon Musk goes on, builds a factory in China. And he does so in Shanghai, where he builds a close relationship with the top official in the city, who actually is now the number-two official in all of China, Li Qiang.

So according to Chinese state media, Elon Musk actually proposed building the factory in two years, which would be fast. And Li came back and proposed that they do it in one year, which — things go up really quickly in China. But even for China, this is incredibly fast. And they broke ground on the factory in January 2019. And by the end of the year, cars were rolling off the line. So then in January 2020, Musk was able to get up on stage in Shanghai and unveil the first Chinese-made Teslas.

Really want to thank the Tesla team and the government officials that have been really helpful in making this happen.

Next to him on stage is Tesla’s top lobbyist who helped push through some of these changes.

Thank you. Yeah, everybody can tell Elon’s super, super happy today.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

And she says —

Music, please.

Cue the music. [UPBEAT MUSIC]

And he actually broke into dance. He was so happy, a kind of awkward dance.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

And what is the factory like?

The Shanghai factory is huge. 20,000 people work there. Tesla’s factories around the world tend to be pretty large, but the Shanghai workers work more shifts. And when Tesla set up in China, Chinese banks ended up offering Tesla $1.5 billion in low-interest loans. They got a preferential tax rate in Shanghai.

This deal was so generous that one auto industry official we talked to said that a government minister had actually lamented that they were giving Tesla too much. And it is an incredibly productive factory. It’s now the flagship export factory for Tesla.

So it opens in late 2019. And that’s, of course, the time when the pandemic hits.

Yes. I mean, you might think that this is really poor timing for Elon Musk. But it didn’t quite turn out that way. In fact, Tesla’s factory in Shanghai was closed for only around two weeks, whereas the factory in Fremont was closed for around two months.

That’s a big difference.

Yes, and it really, really mattered to Elon Musk. If you can think back to 2020, you might recall that he was railing against California politicians for closing his factory. In China, the factory stayed open. Workers were working around the clock. And Elon Musk said on a podcast —

China rocks, in my opinion.

— China rocks.

There’s a lot of smart, hardworking people. And they’re not entitled. They’re not complacent, whereas I see —

We’ve seen a lot of momentum and enthusiasm for electric vehicles, stocks, and Tesla certainly leading the charge.

Tesla’s stock price kept going up.

Tesla has become just the fifth company to reach a trillion-dollar valuation. The massive valuation happened after Tesla’s stock price hit an all-time high of more than $1,000.

So this company that had just a few years earlier been on the brink of failure, looking to China for a lifeline, was suddenly riding high. And —

Tesla is now the most valuable car company in the world. It’s worth more than General Motors, Ford, Fiat, Chrysler.

By the summer, it had become the most valuable car company in the world.

Guess what? Elon Musk is now the world’s richest man.

“Forbes” says he’s worth more than $255 billion.

And Elon Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock. And in the following year, he became the wealthiest man in the world.

So you have this emission trading system, which we discussed and which, in part, thanks to Tesla, is now established in China. It’s bringing in money to Tesla. And now this Shanghai factory is continuing to produce cars for Tesla in the middle of the pandemic. So China really paid off for Tesla. But what was in it for China?

Well, China wasn’t doing this for charity.

What Chinese leaders really wanted was to turn their fledgling electric vehicle industry into a global powerhouse. And they figured that Tesla was the ticket to get there. And that’s precisely what happened.

We’ll be right back.

So, Mara, you’ve just told us the story of how Elon Musk used China to turn Tesla into the biggest car maker in the world and himself — at one point — into the richest man in the world. Now I want to understand the other side of this story. How did China use Tesla?

Well, Tesla basically became a catfish for China’s EV industry.

A catfish, what do you mean by that?

It’s a term from the business world. And, essentially, it means a super aggressive fish that makes the other fish in the pond swim faster. And by bringing in this super competitive, aggressive foreign company into China, which at that point had these fledgling EV companies, Chinese leaders hoped to spur the upstart Chinese EV makers to up their game.

So you’re saying that at this point, China actually already had a number of smaller EV companies, which many people in the West may not even be aware of, these smaller fish in the pond that you were referring to.

Yes, there were a lot of them. They were often locally based. Like, one would be strong in one city, and one would be strong in another city. And Chinese leaders saw that they needed to become more competitive in order to thrive.

And China had tried for decades to build up this traditional car industry by bringing in foreign companies to set up joint ventures. They had really had their sights set on building a strong car industry, and it didn’t really work. I mean, how many traditional Chinese car company brands can you name?

Exactly none.

Yeah, right. So going back to the aughts and the 2010s, they had this advantage that many Chinese hadn’t yet been hooked on gas-guzzling cars. There were still many people who were buying their first car ever. So officials had all these levers they could pull to try to encourage or try to push people’s behavior in a certain direction.

And their idea was to try to ensure that when people went to buy their first car, it would be an EV — and not just an EV but, hopefully, a Chinese EV. So they did things like — at the time, just a license plate for your car could cost an exorbitant amount of money and be difficult to get. And so they made license plates for electric vehicles free. So there were all these preferential policies that were unveiled to nudge people toward buying EVs.

So that’s fascinating. So China is incentivizing consumers to buy EV cars and incentivizing also the whole industry to get its act together by chucking this big American company in the mix and hoping that it will increase competitiveness. What I’m particularly struck by, Mara, in what you said is the concept of leapfrogging over the conventional combustion engine phase, which took us decades to live through. We’re still living in it, in many ways, in the West.

But listening to you, it sounds a little bit like China wasn’t really thinking about this transition to EVs as an environmental policy. It sounds like they were doing this more from an industrial-policy perspective.

Right. The environment and the horrible era at the time was a factor, but it was a pretty minor factor, according to people who were privy to the policy discussions. The more significant factor was industrial policy and an interest in building up a competitive sphere.

So China now wants to become a leader in the global EV sector, and it wants to use Tesla to get there. What does that actually look like?

Well, you need sophisticated suppliers to make the component parts of electric vehicles. And just by being in China, Tesla helped spur the development of several suppliers. Like, for example, the battery is a crucial piece of any EV.

And Tesla, with a fair amount of encouragement — and also various levers from the Chinese government — became a customer of a battery maker called CATL, a homegrown Chinese battery maker. And they have become very close to Tesla and have even set up a factory near Teslas in Shanghai. And today, with Tesla’s business — and, of course, with the business of some other companies — CATL is the biggest battery maker in the world.

But beyond just stimulating the growth of suppliers, Tesla also made these other fish in the pond swim faster. And the biggest Chinese EV company to come out of that period is one called BYD. It’s short for Build Your Dreams.

We are BYD. You’ve probably never heard of us.

From battery maker to the biggest electric vehicle or EV manufacturer in China.

They’ve got a lot of models. They’ve got a lot of discounts. They’ve got a lot of market growth.

China’s biggest EV maker just overtook Tesla in terms of worldwide sales.

BYD 10, Chinese automobile redefined.

I’ve actually started seeing that brand on the streets here in Europe recently, especially in Germany, where my brother actually used to lease a Tesla and now leases a BYD.

Does he like it?

He does. Although he did, to be fair, say that he misses the luxury of the Tesla, but it just became too expensive, really.

The price point is a huge reason that BYD is increasingly giving Tesla a run for its money. Years ago, back in 2011 —

Although there’s competitors now ramping up. And, as you’re familiar with, BYD, which is also —

— Elon Musk actually mocked their cars.

— electric vehicles, here he is trying to compete. Why do you laugh?

He asked an interviewer —

Have you seen their car?

I have seen their car, yes.

— have you seen their cars? Sort of suggesting, like, they’re no competition for us.

You don’t see them at all as a competitor?

Why is that? I mean, they offer a lower price point.

I don’t think they have a great product. I think their focus is — and rightly should be — on making sure they don’t die in China.

But they have been steadily improving. They’ve been in the EV space for a while, but they really started improving a few years ago, once Tesla came on the scene. That was due to a number of factors, not entirely because of Tesla. But Tesla played a role in helping train up talent in China. One former Tesla employee who worked at the company as they were getting set up in China told me that most of the employees who were at the company at the time now work for Chinese competitors.

So they have really played this important role in the EV ecosystem.

And you mentioned the price advantage. So just for comparison, what does an average BYD sell for compared to a more affordable Tesla car?

So BYD has an ultra-cheap model called the Seagull that sells for around $10,000 now in China, whereas Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys in China sell for more than twice that.

Wow. How’s BYD able to sell EVs at these much lower prices?

Well, the Seagull is really just a simpler car. It has less range than a Tesla. It lacks some safety measures. But BYD has this other crucial advantage, which is that they’re vertically integrated. Like, they control many aspects of the supply chain, up and down the supply chain. When you look at the battery level, they make batteries. But they even own the mines where lithium is mined for the batteries.

And they recently launched a fleet of ships. So they actually operate the boats that are sending their cars to Europe or other parts of the world.

So BYD is basically cutting out the middleman on all these aspects of the supply chain, and that’s how they can undercut other car makers on price.

Yeah. They’ve cut out the middleman, and they’ve cut out the shipping company and almost everything else.

So how is BYD doing now as a company compared to Tesla?

In terms of market cap, they’re still much smaller than Tesla. But, crucially, they overtook Tesla in sales in the last quarter of last year.

Yeah, that was a huge milestone. Tesla still dominates in the European market, which is a very important market for EVs. But BYD is starting to export there. And Europe traditionally is kind of automotive powerhouse, and the companies and government officials there are very, very concerned. I interviewed the French finance minister, and he told me that China has a five - to seven-year head start on Europe when it comes to EVs.

Wow. And what has Elon Musk said about this incredible rise of BYD in recent years? Do you think he anticipated that Tesla’s entry into the Chinese market could end up building up its own competition?

Well, I can’t get inside his head, and he did not respond to our questions. But —

The Chinese car companies are the most competitive car companies in the world.

— he has certainly changed his tune. So, remember, he was joking about BYD some years ago.

Yeah, he’s not joking anymore.

I think they will have significant success.

He had dismissed Chinese EV makers. He now appears increasingly concerned about these new competitors —

Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.

— to the point that on an earnings call in January, he all but endorsed the use of trade barriers against them.

They’re extremely good.

I think it’s so interesting, in a way — of course, with perfect hindsight — the kind of maybe complacency or naivete with which he may not have anticipated this turn of events. And in some ways, he’s not alone, right? It speaks to something larger. Like, China, for a long time, was seen as kind of the sweatshop or the manufacturer of the world — or perhaps as an export market for a lot of these Western companies. It certainly wasn’t putting out its own big brand names. It was making stuff for the brand names.

But recently, they have quite a lot of their own brand names. Everybody talks about TikTok. There’s Huawei. There’s WeChat, Lenovo. And now there is BYD. So China is becoming a leader in technology in certain areas. And I think that shift in some ways has happened. And a lot of Western companies — perhaps like Tesla — were kind of late to waking up to that.

Right. Tesla is looking fragile now. Their stock price dropped 30 percent in the first quarter of this year. And to a large degree, that is because of the threat of companies like BYD from China and the perception that Tesla’s position as number one in the market is no longer guaranteed.

So, Mara, all this raises a much bigger question for me, which is, who is going to own the future of EVs? And based on everything you’ve said so far, it seems like China owns the future of EVs. Is that right?

Well, possibly, but the jury is still out. Tesla is still far bigger for now. But there is this increasing fear that China owns the future of EVs. If you look at the US, there are already 25 percent tariffs on EVs from China. There’s talk of increasing them. The Commerce Department recently launched an investigation into data collection by electric vehicles from China.

So all of these factors are creating uncertainty around what could happen. And the European Union may also add new tariffs against Chinese-made cars. And China is an economic rival and a security rival and, in many ways, our main adversary. So this whole issue is intertwined with national security. And Tesla is really in the middle of it.

Right. So the sort of new Cold War that people are talking about between the US and China is, in a sense, the backdrop to this story. But on one level, what we’ve been talking about, it’s really a corporate story, an economic story that has this geopolitical backdrop. But it’s also very much an environmental story. So, regardless of how Elon Musk and Tesla fare in the end, is BYD’s rise and its ability to create high-quality and — perhaps more importantly — affordable EVs ultimately a good thing for the world?

If I think back on those years I spent living in Shanghai and Beijing when it was extremely polluted and there were days when you couldn’t go outside — I don’t think anyone wants to go back to that.

So it’s clear that EVs are the future and that they’re crucial to the green energy transition that we have to make. How exactly we get there is still unclear. But what is true is that China did just make that transition easier.

Mara, thank you so much.

Thank you, Katrin.

Here’s what else you need to know today.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Millions of people across North America were waiting for their turn to experience a rare event on Monday. From Mexico —

Cuatro, tres, dos, uno.

— to Texas.

Awesome, just awesome.

We can see the corona really well. Oh, you can see —

[BACKGROUND CHATTER]

Oh, and we are falling into darkness right now. What an incredible sensation. And you are hearing and seeing the crowd of 15,000 gathered here in south Illinois.

Including “Daily” producers in New York.

It’s like the sky is almost —

— like a deep blue under the clouds.

Wait, look. It’s just —

Oh my god. The sun is disappearing. And it’s gone. Oh. Whoa.

All the way up to Canada.

Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s what I’m talking about.

The moon glided in front of the sun and obscured it entirely in a total solar eclipse, momentarily plunging the day into darkness.

It’s super exciting. It’s so amazing to see science in action like this.

Today’s episode was produced by Rikki Novetsky and Mooj Zadie with help from Rachelle Bonja. It was edited by Lisa Chow with help from Alexandra Leigh Young, fact checked by Susan Lee, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Diane Wong, Elisheba Ittoop, and Sophia Lanman and was engineered by Chris Wood.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m catching Katrin Bennhold. See you tomorrow.

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Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Featuring Mara Hvistendahl

Produced by Rikki Novetsky and Mooj Zadie

With Rachelle Bonja

Edited by Lisa Chow and Alexandra Leigh Young

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Diane Wong ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Sophia Lanman

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

When Elon Musk set up Tesla’s factory in China, he made a bet that brought him cheap parts and capable workers — a bet that made him ultrarich and saved his company.

Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains why, now, that lifeline may have given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game.

On today’s episode

Mara Hvistendahl , an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also bound him to Beijing .

Mr. Musk helped create the Chinese electric vehicle industry. But he is now facing challenges there as well as scrutiny in the West over his reliance on China.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Katrin Bennhold is the Berlin bureau chief. A former Nieman fellow at Harvard University, she previously reported from London and Paris, covering a range of topics from the rise of populism to gender. More about Katrin Bennhold

Mara Hvistendahl is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on Asia. More about Mara Hvistendahl

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