6 The founder of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, managed to pay off the rent for his house by hosting nightclub parties with 1,000+ people. He charged for entry and made ample money this way to pay his rent.

Elon Musk has had a remarkable entrepreneurial mind since he was a child. To make ends meet and to collect rent money for this house, he transformed his house into a nightclub with a capacity of 1,000+.

After he had transferred from Queen’s University to the University of Pennsylvania, he rented a huge house, threw huge parties for 1,000+ people, and charged a fee for admission. His friend Adeo Ressi helped him in his venture, and they both together coordinated the household nightclub. (1, 2)

7 Elon Musk was toppled from the CEO position of PayPal because there were some differences of opinions on the use of computer software. He insisted on Windows, while the others on the board preferred Linux.

When Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and email payment company, the investors thought that he was quite inexperienced. They had him replaced with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year.

The same year, X.com was merged with Confinity, founded by Max Levchin and Peter Thiel, to prevent competition. Musk returned as the CEO of the merged company. His desire to use Microsoft software over Linux created a rift in the company, leading Theil to resign.

But the board replaced Musk with Theil again in 2000, citing technological issues and lack of a cohesive business model. Under Theil, the company was renamed PayPal in 2001. Later in 2017, Musk purchased the domain X.com from PayPal as it has a sentimental value to him.

(1, 2)

8 Both of Elon Musk’s companies had been dodging a literal closure for a few months, and by Christmas eve in 2008, the companies were about to announce their bankruptcies. On the same day, miraculously, Musk managed to secure $20M for Tesla from investors. Two days later, he managed to bag a contract worth $1.6B for SpaceX from NASA.

In literally three days, Tesla Motors and SpaceX went from potential bankruptcy to $1.8 billion in funds. Both the companies were on the verge of bankruptcy in 2008, and Musk was left with the choice to either split his remaining funds between both the companies or to focus all his resources only on one company. He decided to split his funds. The next week was quite difficult to go through as both the companies had an impending failure ahead.

But on Christmas Eve, funding came through at about $20 million. The next day, NASA called SpaceX with a $1.6 billion contract. Within a day, the tables were turned and from bankruptcy, and both the companies were revived. (Source)

9 In 2013, there was a time when Musk had nearly decided to sell Tesla to Google for $11 billion. He had to make this decision because the future looked bleak. Musk had requested the CEO and co-founder of Google , Larry Page to takeover. 

Tesla was a struggling company in 2013. Musk decided to sell the company to tech giant Google for $11 billion. Musk also was in talks with Alphabet CEO, Larry Page, but the deal fell through because of differences of opinions regarding the specifics of the takeover. He also reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook for a takeover, but he declined the offer.

Eventually, the sales of Tesla slowly started improving, and the rest is history. (Source)

10 When Elon Musk was 28, he once contracted a very fatal form of malaria while he was on a vacation in South Africa. He nearly died and lost 45 pounds. It took him six months to recover fully.

While on a vacation to his hometown in South Africa, Elon Musk had a near-death experience. He contracted cerebral malaria, which is the most lethal form of malaria. This disease has a 20% mortality rate even after being treated.

He lost 45 pounds and took almost six months to recover. He said in an interview later that the episode gave him a near-death experience. Musk then got renewed focus and energy in life.  (Source)

11 Riley and Musk got married in 2010. They announced their divorce in 2012. But in 2013, the pair remarried again. Again in 2014, Musk filed for divorce from Riley but backed out later. Finally, Riley divorced Musk in 2016. Despite this turmoil in their personal lives, they remained on good terms with each other.

Musk’s personal life has seen a rocky path quite a few times. He married Canadian author Justine Wilson in 2000. Their first son, Nevada Alexander Musk died in 2002 of SIDS at the age of 10 weeks. The couple later had twins Xavier and Griffin in 2004 via IVF. They later had triplets Kai, Damian, and Saxon in 2006. The couple divorced in 2008 and share joint custody of their five sons.

In 2010, Musk married actress, Talulah Riley. Musk announced their divorce in 2012. But, again in 2013, they remarried. In 2014, Musk again filed for a divorce, but later backed out. Riley divorced Musk in 2016. He then got into a relationship with Canadian musician Grimes (Claire Boucher, in 2018 and had a son with her. The couple has not yet separated. (Source) 

12 Musk has been referred to as a “thrillionaire.” This is a new term given to entrepreneurs who desire to use their wealth to make science-fiction a reality. Elon Musk said in an interview that by now we humans should have already had a lunar base, as it is already 2017.

Elon Musk is trying to persuade humans to invest in a lunar base. He said that we can land on the Moon in less than two years. He also joked that since it is taking so long to convince NASA and the authorities, we might as well just do it. Musk added that it will be easier to land a starship on the Moon than it would be to convince NASA.

He also explained the reasons to launch a car towards Mars. Elon said that the sole goal of this was to inspire people and make them believe that everything is possible, just as people in the Apollo era believed. (1, 2)

13 Elon Musk runs a private school for his kids in SpaceX headquarters called “Ad Astra.” It is a Latin word that can be translated as “to the stars.” Musk’s five boys and the children of SpaceX employees attend this school. It is a non-profit organization operating since 2014. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk built a school for his kids as he felt that regular schools were not good enough for his children. He felt they were not doing things that “should be done.” The school’s name is Ad Astra, meaning in Latin, “to the stars.”

This school has a total of 20 children including his five kids. It is a skill-based school that does not believe in grading students. All the students attend the same grade at the same time. (Source)