Good Bad Billionaire Elon Musk: Money, memes and Mars
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Dec 8, 2025 Explore Elon Musk's fascinating journey from a bullied child in apartheid South Africa to the first person to reach half a trillion dollars. Discover the drama behind PayPal, his venture into electric cars with Tesla, and the hurdles faced at SpaceX. Delve into Musk's tumultuous public persona, including controversial tweets and his chaotic acquisition of Twitter. Finally, assess his complex legacy in revolutionizing electric vehicles and space travel, and engage with the playful verdicts on his impact.
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Sink Stunt At Twitter HQ
- Elon Musk arrived at Twitter HQ carrying a full-sized porcelain sink as a stunt to announce his takeover.
- Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng use this moment to symbolise the chaotic start of Musk's ownership of Twitter (X).
Childhood Tech Obsession
- Elon grew up in Pretoria, South Africa, loved science fiction and taught himself to code at age 10.
- He built rockets as a kid and sold a space-themed computer game, showing early technical obsession and escapism.
Zip2 To First Millions
- Elon co-founded Zip2 with his brother and lived in a tiny Palo Alto office while bootstrapping the startup.
- They sold Zip2 in 1999 and Elon became a millionaire, buying a McLaren supercar soon after.
