Some things you might not know about the enigmatic personality. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Billionaire, philanthropist and inventor Elon Musk is a real visionary. He is one of the most outstanding thinkers of our time, and all his efforts are directed at the development of science and its practical application in the real world. A lesser man would have used all that power and influence for personal success, but not Elon.
Musk is often criticized by the media for his shenanigans, but we all know that if there were more people like Elon in the world, this planet would be in much better shape.
1. His tweet devalued Tesla stock by 13%. - Twitter is a lawless region of the Internet. If you say something offensive there, or make an inappropriate joke, you may as well tell your boss you quit before he/she fires you. But what if you are the boss? Turns out, you can still mess up your company. One single, seemingly harmless sentence about Tesla's stock price being too high, and boom! — the company shares are down by 13%. You gotta know the rules of the game, Elon.Twitter/ Elon Musk2. The MCU's Iron Man was based on Elon. - Remember that iconic scene from “Avengers” where Tony calls himself a "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist?" These descriptors fit not only the fictional comic book character, but also our dear old Musk, and that's because Stark was modeled after him. While trying to play the part to his best ability, Robert Downey Jr. started to imitate Musk's behavior and habits. This is just one of many links between these two, of course. In the second “Iron Man” movie, one of the scenes was filmed in a factory owned by SpaceX and, therefore, Musk. Oh, and in case you missed him, Elon also appeared in one of the scenes as himself. That must have been trippy!
MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images3. He is obsessed with colonizing Mars - Ever since he was a kid, Elon was fascinated by the possibility of human civilization colonizing a foreign planet. As soon as he got the necessary resources, he founded a company to bring this vision closer to reality. SpaceX company has been working tirelessly since 2002 on developing technologies that will allow space flights to become routine and safe, and one day we'll build cities somewhere on Mars. Musk actually admitted that he intends to expel his last breath on the Red planet. Seeing as SpaceX was the first private company to send a ship into space and bring it back to Earth intact, it's something that can definitely happen.
PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images4. He works 80-100 hours every week - Building a gigantic fortune from scratch is only a matter of luck for a few cases. More often than not, it's all about hard work and persistence. When Musk started his first company, he could work 22 hours a day, but we all know that can’t be maintained. Currently, he's slowed down a bit, dropping it to just 12 hours. Elon admitted that he's a classic workaholic, and if it weren't for the fact that he has to eat from time to time, he would spend even more time at his desk. Photo by Filip Singer-Pool/Getty Images5. He produced several movies and starred in “The Simpsons” - Iron Man isn't the only movie with Musk in it. We saw him in "Machete Kills" with Danny Trejo and in "Transcendence" with Johnny Depp. Elon has also produced several feature films, including the Golden Globe nominee "Thank You for Smoking." And lastly, he appeared in one of the episodes of the popular animated sitcom “The Simpsons”, in the episode titled "The Musk Who Fell To Earth."Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images6. He's got father issues - Like many other geniuses, Musk did not have the greatest childhood. Not only was he bullied at school, but his parents also got a divorce when Elon was just nine. From what he told Rolling Stone magazine, we can only assume that his father is the devil incarnate and has committed multiple horrendous crimes against humanity. Or maybe Elon just hates his dad very much. We're not sure.Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images7. He was sued for defamation - Remember that time when kids from a Thai soccer team got stuck in a cave, and the rescuers didn't know what to do? That's when Musk and his engineers came into play. By designing and constructing a mini-sub that was supposed to reach the trapped kids, they were hoping to save their lives. But in the end, the sub was not needed. Later on, some diver said it was just a PR trick and that Musk can shove it you-know-where. He shouldn't have said that. Musk quickly retaliated with some accusations on Twitter that we're too uncomfortable to even mention, which of course, lead both these gentlemen to court. Luckily, Elon was cleared of the charges a few months later, but the damage was already done.
Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images8. He wasn't exactly the creator of Tesla - When someone mentions Tesla, most of us think of either Nicola (for obvious reasons), or Elon Musk, because he established the Tesla company. But this is not the whole story. The Tesla Motors company was established in 2003 by Martin Eberhard. The company was struggling financially, so in came Elon with his millions of dollars, becoming a major investor. A few years later, he became the CEO and got Martin Eberhard voted out of the board entirely. That stunt also ended with Musk getting sued, but in the end, the two settled.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images9. He was bullied and physically abused at school. - We often say "they're just being kids" when two or more children are roughhousing on the playground. Pro tip: break them up unless you're actively trying to be a bad parent. Either way, Musk's childhood was full of pain and suffering. In addition to having problems with his dad, he was also mercilessly bullied at school. It wouldn't have been that bad if the mean kids didn't actually beat him up. One time he "fell" down the stairs and was sent to the hospital.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images10. He is cool with anime catgirls and PewDiePie - From what you've read so far, you can already tell that Musk's Twitter game is, to put it lightly, hit-or-miss. Mostly miss. But he can be strangely relatable, especially when talking about Internet memes and anime girls with kitty ears. Just look at this conversation where Musk said that the new Tesla Summon is a crucial step towards catgirls. Heck yeah to that!Twitter/ Elon MuskOh, and did you know that Elon actually helped PewDiewPie reach 100 million subscribers? He and Justin Roiland hosted one of Felix's Meme Review episodes and probably brought him a couple of million subs with their zany comments.Vincent Sandoval/WireImage
