Timeline

Key moments across Elon Musk's career and companies, newest first.

2025

xAI•March 28, 2025

xAI and X combine in an all-stock deal

2024

SpaceX•October 13, 2024

SpaceX catches a Starship booster with the launch tower

SpaceX•June 6, 2024

Starship's fourth flight ends in two controlled splashdowns

xAI•March 17, 2024

xAI releases the Grok-1 model weights

Neuralink•January 28, 2024

Neuralink implants its device in a human for the first time

2023

X (Twitter)•July 24, 2023

Twitter's bird is retired as the platform becomes X

xAI•July 12, 2023

Elon Musk announces xAI

Neuralink•May 25, 2023

Neuralink wins FDA approval for its first human trial

SpaceX•April 20, 2023

Starship's first integrated flight test ends in an explosion

2022

X (Twitter)•October 27, 2022

Elon Musk completes his $44 billion purchase of Twitter

Tesla•April 7, 2022

Tesla opens Giga Texas with a "Cyber Rodeo"

X (Twitter)•April 4, 2022

Musk discloses a 9.2% stake in Twitter

2021

Elon Musk•December 13, 2021

Time names Elon Musk its 2021 Person of the Year

Tesla•October 25, 2021

Tesla's market value passes $1 trillion

SpaceX•September 15, 2021

Inspiration4 sends an all-civilian crew to orbit

Elon Musk•May 8, 2021

Elon Musk hosts Saturday Night Live

Neuralink•April 8, 2021

Neuralink shows a monkey playing Pong with its mind

Elon Musk•January 7, 2021

Musk overtakes Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person

2020

Tesla•December 21, 2020

Tesla is added to the S&P 500

Neuralink•August 28, 2020

Neuralink shows a pig with a working brain implant

SpaceX•May 30, 2020

Crew Dragon carries NASA astronauts to orbit from US soil

2019

Tesla•November 21, 2019

Tesla unveils the Cybertruck

SpaceX•May 24, 2019

SpaceX launches its first big batch of Starlink satellites

2018

The Boring Company•December 18, 2018

The Boring Company opens its test tunnel to the public

SpaceX•February 6, 2018

Falcon Heavy launches, with a Tesla Roadster as its payload

2017

Tesla•July 28, 2017

Tesla hands over the first Model 3s

SpaceX•March 30, 2017

SpaceX flies a used Falcon 9 booster for the first time

Neuralink•March 27, 2017

Neuralink is revealed as Musk's brain-computer interface startup

2016

The Boring Company•December 17, 2016

Musk says he will start digging tunnels, and The Boring Company is born

Tesla•November 21, 2016

Tesla completes its acquisition of SolarCity

SpaceX•September 27, 2016

Musk unveils his plan to make humanity multi-planetary

Tesla•July 29, 2016

Tesla's Gigafactory opens in Nevada

2015

SpaceX•December 21, 2015

A Falcon 9 first stage lands upright for the first time

Elon Musk•December 11, 2015

Musk co-chairs the launch of OpenAI

Tesla•September 29, 2015

Tesla delivers the first Model X SUVs

2013

Elon Musk•August 12, 2013

Musk publishes the Hyperloop concept

2012

Tesla•September 24, 2012

Tesla opens its first Superchargers

Tesla•June 22, 2012

Tesla begins Model S deliveries

SpaceX•May 25, 2012

Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to reach the space station

2010

Tesla•June 29, 2010

Tesla goes public on Nasdaq

2008

Elon Musk•December 23, 2008

December 2008: the week SpaceX and Tesla both survived

SpaceX•September 28, 2008

Falcon 1 becomes the first private liquid-fuel rocket to reach orbit

Tesla•February 2008

Tesla begins delivering the Roadster

2006

Tesla•August 2, 2006

Tesla's "secret master plan" is published

2003

Tesla•July 1, 2003

Tesla is founded, and Elon Musk joins a year later

2002

Elon Musk•July 2002

eBay agrees to buy PayPal for $1.5 billion

SpaceX•May 2002

SpaceX is founded with the goal of cheaper spaceflight

1999

Elon Musk•March 1999

Musk founds X.com, the online bank that became PayPal

Elon Musk•February 1999

Compaq buys Zip2, Elon Musk's first company, for $307 million

1971

Elon Musk•June 28, 1971

Elon Musk is born in Pretoria, South Africa