Here’s How Much Elon Musk Has Made From Every Company That He’s Started
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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A serial entrepreneur, Elon Musk has been in business for three decades. The richest man in the world, his net worth is $485.5 billion — as of Oct. 13 — according to Forbes.
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Instead of cashing out on his first big payday, Musk has continued to invest in building an array of new companies.
Keep reading to learn more about his journey as an entrepreneur and how much he’s made from the seven companies he’s founded.
Zip2
In 1995, Musk and his brother Kimbal launched Zip2 with $28,000 from their father, according to CNN. The company generated online city guides for newspaper publishers.
They sold Zip2 to Compaq for $307 million in 1999. Personally, Musk walked away from the sale with $22 million.
PayPal
Musk invested some of his Zip2 profits in co-founding online bank, X.com, according to Time. One year later, the online bank merged with software company Confinity and became PayPal.
In 2002, eBay purchased PayPal for a $1.5 billion stock deal. As the company’s largest shareholder, Musk walked away with $165 million, according to CNN.
SpaceX
An aerospace firm, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. The company has completed 555 space missions, 516 total landings, and 480 total reflights, according to the company website.
Starlink, a high-speed internet service offered around the world, also serves as a subsidiary. SpaceX is privately held, but valued at $400 billion, according to Barron’s.
Tesla
Established in 2003, Musk is a co-founder of electric automaker Tesla. He has been a Tesla board member since April 2004 and CEO since October 2008.
Tesla went public on June 29, 2010, with its IPO priced at $17 per share. This price has increased dramatically to $435.90 per share, as of Oct. 13.
Neuralink
Founded by Musk in 2016, Neuralink is a neurotechnology company that creates implantable brain-computer interfaces. Designed to help those with disabilities, in clinical trials, people are using Neuralink devices to control computers and robotic arms with thoughts.
Neuralink is currently a private company. However, it was valued at $9 billion in May 2025 — according to Semafor — so Musk could become significantly richer if he decides to go public.
The Boring Company
A civil engineering firm, The Boring Company, was founded by Musk in 2017. The company has completed a variety of projects in California, Texas and Las Vegas — including the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, a three-station transport system totaling 1.7 miles of tunnel.
The Boring Company is privately held, but has raised more than $900 million in funding, according to Pitchbook. If Musk takes the company public in the future, his net worth will likely soar even higher.
xAI
In 2023, Musk founded xAI, an artificial intelligence firm. The company’s main product is a chatbot called Grok.
An all-stock deal, xAI purchased Musk’s social media platform X for $45 billion — including $12 billion in debt — in March 2025, according to Reuters. The company is valued at $80 billion.
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