Last updated on:
12/9/2013 |
Author: ProCon.org
Elon Musk Biography
- Title:
- Founder and CEO of SpaceX, founder of Tesla Motors, and co-founder of PayPal
- Position:
- Con to the question "Is a College Education Worth It?"
- Reasoning:
-
“College is completely unnecessary if you are really smart and driven… I think the evidence speaks for itself when you look at great companies that are being created, how many of those people actually finished college.”
CNBC interview for “20 under 20: Transforming Tomorrow,” foundercode.com, Aug. 13, 2013
- Involvement and Affiliations:
-
- Primary Investor and Chairman, SolarCity
- Principal Owner and Chairman of the Board, Tesla Motors
- Founder, CEO, and CTO, SpaceX, June 2002-present
- Trustee, X Prize Foundation
- President and Director, Musk Foundation
- Board Member, Space Foundation
- Board Member, National Academies Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
- Board Member and Director, Planetary Society
- Member, Stanford University Engineering Advisory Council
- Member, Giving Pledge, Apr. 2012
- Recipient, Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal, 2012
- Recipient, Heinlein Prize for Advances in Space Commercialization, June 2011
- Elected Member, California Institute of Technology Board of Trustees, 2010
- Recipient, FAI Gold Space Medal, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 2010
- Recipient, National Space Society’s Von Braun Trophy, 2008/2009
- Recipient, Aviation Week 2008 Laureate, 2008
- Recipient, National Conservation Achievement Award, 2008
- Recipient, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low, 2007/2008
- Chief engineer, Falcon 1
- Cofounder of PayPal (formerly X.com), Mar. 1999-Oct. 2002
- Founder, Zip2, 1995-1999
- Education:
-
- BS, Physics, University of Pennsylvania
- BA, Business, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- Other:
-
- Born in Pretoria, South Africa
- Quoted in:
- Pro & Con Quotes: Is a College Education Worth It?