Elon Musk

Brian Yang

Mrs. Robin Christopher

HHSE2: Period 2

25 April, 2018

The Real Iron Man  

“Between space rockets, electric cars, solar batteries, research into killer robots, and the billions he's made along the way, Musk is basically a real-life Tony Stark — which is why he served as an inspiration for ‘Iron Man’”(Weinberger, Matt). Heroes always fascinate us. In works of fiction, they are larger than life figures who fight evil. In reality, heroes are not uncommon although their actions and choices are sometimes less well-known. Heroes can be anyone and are people who possess heroic traits. A hero is person who embodies the values of a society and the traits they appreciate. However, heroic traits may be present among any of us. An otherwise “ordinary” person can become a hero by his or her achievements that are not featured in a fiction or movie. Generous time from teachers can help students gain new knowledge which are vital for their future success. Scientists and engineers can tremendously benefit our society by their breakthroughs and inventions. Heroes are people who work selflessly for the benefit of others through big and small contributions.

Elon Musk and one of his first companies.https://www.techly.com.au/2017/05/24/young-elon-musk-interview/Elon Musk is an ingenious visionary who is known for his enterprises, each is unique in their own way but with a common soul of innovation. Elon Reeve Musk was born on  June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. His parents, Maye and Errol Musk, divorced in 1979 and he lived with his mother. Elon Musk entered the Queen’s University in Canada in 1989 when he was only 17. In “1992” he went to the University of Pennsylvania and later to Stanford. He decided to quit from Stanford only after 2 days to create Zip2 Corporation which he sold in 1999. Elon Musk then co-founded X.com which later became Paypal, the first successful online payment system which was sold to eBay. In 2002 he found SpaceX and launched his Falcon 9 rocket, the first reusable orbit-class rocket produced by mankind, to the International Space Station on May 22, 2012. He is also the CEO of Tesla Motors, a leading manufacturer of electric cars. Elon Musk once served an advisory role to President Donald Trump but quit on June 1, 2017 when the president withdrew the United States from the “Paris Climate Accord”. Elon Musk demonstrates heroism by working hard and using his companies to advance humanity.

In addition to his visions far ahead of his time, Elon Musk also demonstrates hard work on his companies and projects. According to Loudenback Tanza’s Business Insider article Elon Musk almost never takes long breaks: “Despite having funds to spare, Musk isn't a fan of lavish vacations — or any vacations for that matter. In 2015, he said he'd only taken two weeks off since founding SpaceX about 12 years earlier. He reportedly works 80 to 90 hours a week,” (Loudenback, Tanza). Elon Musk is a very rich man but he still works relentlessly instead of indulging in other activities. He shows how despite, his massive wealth, he still works hard on projects that benefit society and that everyone can be heroic like he is by focussing on humanity. In an interview with CBS news Elon Musk talks about how he personally oversee his company when they have trouble: “‘When things get really intense, I don't have time to go home and shower and change, so I just sleep here,’ Musk told King, showing her a conference room with a couch,” (CBS News). Elon Musk demonstrates how he is willing to work without demanding luxurious living conditions to ensure the success of his company. He shows that even though he is “wealthy” he is not above hard work,  that he maintains his wealth by working personally with his colleagues, and that he becomes successful through hard work. Elon Musk demonstrates a hard working attitude and sets a great example for others on working hard.

Elon Musk and SpaceXhttp://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-wants-to-build-a-city-on-mars-2014-9Elon Musk’s hard work and innovative products from his enterprises are not always profit-centered, many of them are driven by his dreams of humanity such as space traveling and clean energy.  As such, many unconventional fields of industry pioneered by Elon Musk are not considered as a “safe” investment. As shown by a direct quote from Elon Musk on the database  Gale Biography in Context, Elon Musk likes to invest into unorthodox  businesses that he believes will benefit humanity: “As he told Brian Deagon of Investor's Business Daily, ‘I believed the Internet would dramatically change the future of humanity in a very positive way. I wanted to be a part of that,’” (Gale). Elon Musk’s first businesses were all internet based during a time where the internet was a relatively new “invention” but he still does it as he feels it would help humanity. He shows how he wants to be involved in benefiting our society and helping us reach a greater point in the future. While many may believe space-traveling may be accomplished by the effort of NASA in the future, few would imagine how a private enterprise, SpaceX,  may jump in with incredible enthusiasm, become a leader in the technology of reusable rockets, and help all of us see our dream of space traveling is perhaps not so far away. On the official website of SpaceX Elon Musk displays, in his own words, his thoughts on space travel: “You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being amongst the stars,” (Spacexcmsadmin). Elon Musk reveals his dreams of space and how he will invest in the industry of space despite it never being done before. This shows how he works with a new idea, never done before, despite the risks of financial trouble all to help humanity be able to live in space. Elon Musk shows a willingness, passion, courage and spirit of a true hero to take risks and innovate when it comes to humanity's future.

Elon Musk and his company Teslahttp://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-car-sharing-service-will-have-uber-like-rating-system-2016-7Elon Musk’s path to success is not free from pain. His parents divorced during his childhood, and he almost broke while on his way of chasing his dream. He shows everyone how through hard work he can reach success and his heroic dreams of our future and inspires many people like me. He inspires me with his hard work and innovative nature. He showed me how anyone can succeed and pioneering is important and can be successful. In the same article by Weinberger, he writes in his article: “Here's how he went from getting bullied in school to small-time entrepreneur to CEO of two major companies that seem like they're straight out of science fiction — and how he almost went broke along the way.”(Weinberger, Matt). Elon has been called the real Iron Man for many reasons. While he doesn’t fight terrorists and super villains he innovates like Tony Stark and fights against many real issues such as climate change and to advance humanity. His passion, spirit of innovation, willingness of pioneering, and unparalleled courage of facing tremendous risks have presented himself as a hero and inspiration in real life for countless people throughout the world.  

Work Cited

CBS News. “Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Stressed but ‘Optimistic," Predicts Big Increase in Model 3 Production.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 13 Apr. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-tesla-model-3-problems-interview-today-2018-04-13/.

"Elon Musk." Newsmakers, vol. 2, Gale, 2010. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618005283/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=b60a30f2. Accessed 30 Apr. 2018.

Loudenback, Tanza. “Tesla Shareholders Just Approved a $2.6 Billion Stock Option Plan for Elon Musk - Here's How He Spends His $20 Billion Fortune.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 Mar. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-net-worth-2017-10.

Spacexcmsadmin. “Mars.” SpaceX, SpaceX, 20 Sept. 2016, www.spacex.com/mars.

“Weinberger, Matt. “The Incredible Story of Elon Musk, from Getting Bullied in School to the Most Interesting Man in Tech.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 15 Sept. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-elon-musk-2016-7.”