Elon Musk has rebranded Twitter to X. Musk announced the rebrand via a tweet on Sunday, saying "http://X.com now points to https://twitter.com/. Interim X logo goes live later today." Twitter's original blue bird logo has now been replaced with an X.
Musk also recently announced his latest startup, xAI, will be focused on artificial intelligence. According to the company’s website, the goal of xAI is to “understand the true nature of the universe.” The xAI team will be led by Musk and others who have previously worked with OpenAI, DeepMind, Google Research, Microsoft Research, and Tesla.
Musk’s new AI venture is the latest in a list of companies he has founded and leads including Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company.
As of July 2023, Musk is the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $254 billion. Here’s how the Tesla CEO and Twitter owner made his billions.
Key Takeaways
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest person in the world as of July 2023 and has a net worth of $254 billion.
- This month, Musk announced his latest startup, xAI, a company that will be focused on artificial intelligence.
- Musk has a 13% ownership stake in Tesla and a 79% stake in Twitter.
Tesla
Tesla is the largest carmaker in the world by market value. The company builds and designs fully electric vehicles (EV) and energy generation and storage systems. Its cars include sedans and compact and mid-size SUVs.
Tesla (TSLA) was founded in 2003 as Tesla Motors by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk invested in the company and was a member of the board starting in 2004, and later became CEO in 2008.
Musk was allowed to claim the title of cofounder, thanks to an out-of-court settlement. Tesla went public in an initial public offering (IPO) on June 29, 2010. In 2021, Tesla moved its headquarters from its native Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas.
In July 2023, Tesla unveiled its first Cybertruck built in its Texas factory, almost two years behind the original schedule.
Musk has a 13% ownership stake in Tesla, worth $108 billion. In 2022, Tesla’s total revenue was $81.46 billion.
SpaceX
Musk is also the cofounder and CEO of SpaceX, a rocket manufacturing company that counts NASA as one of its clients, and helps resupply the space station.
SpaceX is valued at $137 billion as of January 2023 and raised $2.2 billion in 2022, making it the most valuable private company in the country. Musk owns 42% of SpaceX, which launched its 200th rocket in January and has more than 1 million subscribers for its Starlink internet service.
Twitter (X)
In April 2022, Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion after threatening a hostile takeover. The deal was finalized in October 2022, after Twitter sued Musk for trying to back out of the deal.
His takeover has been controversial, as he laid off half of the company’s workforce and added a paid subscription service ($8 per month) for anyone who wants their account verified. Musk owns about 79% of Twitter. The company is valued at about $20 billion as of March 2023.
In July 2023, Musk rebranded Twitter as X, replacing the blue bird logo with the letter.
The Boring Company
Musk is also the founder of The Boring Company, a tunnel construction company that aims to “solve traffic” by building freight tunnels. The company raised $675 million in April 2022, at a valuation of $5.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Neuralink
Musk also co-founded a company called Neuralink which designed a "brain-computer interface," a chip that can be implanted into the brain. Neuralink is valued at about $5 billion, according to reporting by Reuters.
Correction—Aug. 1, 2023: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the amount Elon Musk purchased Twitter for as $44 million. The correct amount is $44 billion.
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