Elon Musk is a South Africaborn American entrepreneur who cofounded the electronic payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft. He was also one of the first significant investors in, as well as chief executive officer of, the electric car manufacturer Tesla. In addition, Musk acquired Twitter (later X) in 2022. Musk is the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $393 billion, as of 2025.