Entrepreneur with a big vision, Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors.

Steve Jobs, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have all been compared to him because of his phenomenal success.

And now, during questioning at a trial over SolarCity's acquisition, the Tesla CEO&nbsp;revealed that he turned down multiple high-paying Wall Street jobs to focus on technology.

Musk, who studied at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Silicon Valley, did not reveal the names of the companies that approached him.

Tesla is accused of purchasing SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016 as a "bailout" for the company.

Paypal, formerly X.com, was the source of Musk's fortune.

Paypal was founded in 1999 and was later purchased by eBay for $1.5 billion, with $165 million in stock being paid to Musk.

Musk established Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, in 2002.

Musk believed that humanity's survival based on its potential to evolve into a multi-planetary species, but that present rocket launch technologies were prohibitively expensive.

With the launch of the Falcon 1 in 2006, the Falcon 9 in 2010, and the Falcon Heavy in 2018, he was able to do this.

(With inputs from agencies)

Entrepreneur with a big vision, Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. Steve Jobs, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have all been compared to him because of his phenomenal success.

Entrepreneur with a big vision, Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. Steve Jobs, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have all been compared to him because of his phenomenal success. And now, during questioning at a trial over SolarCity's acquisition, the Tesla CEO revealed that he turned down multiple high-paying Wall Street jobs to focus on technology. Musk, who studied at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Silicon Valley, did not reveal the names of the companies that approached him. Tesla is accused of purchasing SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016 as a "bailout" for the company. Paypal, formerly X.com, was the source of Musk's fortune. Paypal was founded in 1999 and was later purchased by eBay for $1.5 billion, with $165 million in stock being paid to Musk. Musk established Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, in 2002. Musk believed that humanity's survival based on its potential to evolve into a multi-planetary species, but that present rocket launch technologies were prohibitively expensive. With the launch of the Falcon 1 in 2006, the Falcon 9 in 2010, and the Falcon Heavy in 2018, he was able to do this. (With inputs from agencies)

I turned down high-paid jobs on Wall Street to focus on technology: Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused by shareholders of his company of misusing his power to rescue his own investment in&nbsp;SolarCity.

They are questioning&nbsp;whether Elon&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;controls Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon&nbsp;Musk?&nbsp;More than $2 billion hinges on that question as a trial kicks off on Monday.

SolarCity, a&nbsp;solar panel-making company, was on the verge of&nbsp;bankruptcy before Musk rescued it.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-the-story-of-elon-musk-355489/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Musk&nbsp;has defended himself by saying&nbsp;that the SolarCity deal has been a huge success for Tesla shareholders, demonstrating the deal was not only fair, but a boon.

The union pension funds and asset managers leading the case want&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;to repay to Tesla the cost of the $2.6 billion deal and to disgorge the profits on his SolarCity stock. If they win, it would be one of the largest judgments against an individual.

The two-week trial in the Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, will boil down to whether&nbsp;Musk, who owned about 22 per cent&nbsp;of Tesla at the time of the deal, is that rare controlling stockholder who does not hold a majority stake.

"I think it's going to be very hard for the court to ignore the reality that Elon&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;is Elon&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;and his relationship with Tesla," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University Law School.

She said the case might present an unusual situation given&nbsp;Musk's celebrity status, his personal ties to Tesla board members and those board members' financial ties to SolarCity.

"Put it all together, and it might be enough to count as a controlling shareholder," she said.

Also see|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/who-is-winning-space-tourism-race-between-bezos-branson-and-musk-396420" hreflang="en">Who is winning space tourism race between Bezos, Branson and Musk?</a>

Few executives dominate their company's image as much&nbsp;Musk, known for taunting regulators, battling naysayers and personally engaging with his 57 million Twitter followers.

"We are highly dependent on the services of Elon&nbsp;Musk, Technoking of Tesla, and our Chief Executive Officer," said Tesla's 2020 annual report.

Plaintiffs allege that&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;drove the negotiations and even pushed Tesla's board to raise, not lower, the price for SolarCity.

A higher price benefited&nbsp;Musk, who was the largest shareholder of SolarCity, with a stake of about 22 per cent, as well as four members of Tesla's board, who directly or indirectly owned SolarCity stock, according to court records.

Board members settled allegations against them last year for $60 million and did not admit to any fault.

Plaintiffs also allege the deal benefited two of&nbsp;Musk's cousins who founded SolarCity, saving a company that was rapidly running low on cash.

Musk&nbsp;has said he was "fully recused" from board negotiations and that shareholders voted to approve the deal because it was central to his "Master Plan, Part Deux" that aims to integrate sustainable solar energy with electric self-driving cars.

He has said that what plaintiffs see as evidence of control is little more than strong management.

"Taken to its natural conclusion, virtually all 'hands-on' and 'inspirational' CEOs with minority stock ownership would be deemed controllers,"&nbsp;Musk's lawyers wrote in a court filing.

If Vice-Chancellor Joseph Slights determines&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;was a controlling shareholder, it will fall to&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;to prove the SolarCity deal met the high bar of the "entire fairness" standard, which examines process and price, said legal experts.

"If the vice-chancellor thinks this deal was awful and was not effectively negotiated on behalf of the company, he’ll strike it down," said Larry Hamermesh, a professor at Delaware Law School.

(With inputs from agencies)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused by shareholders of his company of misusing his power to rescue his own investment in SolarCity. They are questioning whether Elon Musk controls Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon Musk?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused by shareholders of his company of misusing his power to rescue his own investment in SolarCity. They are questioning whether Elon Musk controls Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon Musk? More than $2 billion hinges on that question as a trial kicks off on Monday. SolarCity, a solar panel-making company, was on the verge of bankruptcy before Musk rescued it. Musk has defended himself by saying that the SolarCity deal has been a huge success for Tesla shareholders, demonstrating the deal was not only fair, but a boon. The union pension funds and asset managers leading the case want Musk to repay to Tesla the cost of the $2.6 billion deal and to disgorge the profits on his SolarCity stock. If they win, it would be one of the largest judgments against an individual. The two-week trial in the Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, will boil down to whether Musk, who owned about 22 per cent of Tesla at the time of the deal, is that rare controlling stockholder who does not hold a majority stake. "I think it's going to be very hard for the court to ignore the reality that Elon Musk is Elon Musk and his relationship with Tesla," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University Law School. She said the case might present an unusual situation given Musk's celebrity status, his personal ties to Tesla board members and those board members' financial ties to SolarCity. "Put it all together, and it might be enough to count as a controlling shareholder," she said. Also see| Who is winning space tourism race between Bezos, Branson and Musk? Few executives dominate their company's image as much Musk, known for taunting regulators, battling naysayers and personally engaging with his 57 million Twitter followers. "We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla, and our Chief Executive Officer," said Tesla's 2020 annual report. Plaintiffs allege that Musk drove the negotiations and even pushed Tesla's board to raise, not lower, the price for SolarCity. A higher price benefited Musk, who was the largest shareholder of SolarCity, with a stake of about 22 per cent, as well as four members of Tesla's board, who directly or indirectly owned SolarCity stock, according to court records. Board members settled allegations against them last year for $60 million and did not admit to any fault. Plaintiffs also allege the deal benefited two of Musk's cousins who founded SolarCity, saving a company that was rapidly running low on cash. Musk has said he was "fully recused" from board negotiations and that shareholders voted to approve the deal because it was central to his "Master Plan, Part Deux" that aims to integrate sustainable solar energy with electric self-driving cars. He has said that what plaintiffs see as evidence of control is little more than strong management. "Taken to its natural conclusion, virtually all 'hands-on' and 'inspirational' CEOs with minority stock ownership would be deemed controllers," Musk's lawyers wrote in a court filing. If Vice-Chancellor Joseph Slights determines Musk was a controlling shareholder, it will fall to Musk to prove the SolarCity deal met the high bar of the "entire fairness" standard, which examines process and price, said legal experts. "If the vice-chancellor thinks this deal was awful and was not effectively negotiated on behalf of the company, he’ll strike it down," said Larry Hamermesh, a professor at Delaware Law School. (With inputs from agencies)

'Abuse of power': Tesla shareholders accuse CEO Elon Musk of rescuing his investment in SolarCity

Tesla Motors Inc reported a steeper than expected quarter loss on Wednesday on higher spending at its vehicle and battery factories&nbsp;and said adjusted profitability could be within sight if the company meets its delivery goals.&nbsp; 
 
The 13th straight quarterly loss for the Silicon Valley electric carmaker underscores the financial hurdles that hamper it while it takes on increasingly ambitious goals - a ten-fold ramp of vehicle production in three years and the recent plan to acquire solar panel installer, SolarCity Corp. 
 
Tesla, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, said it was still on track to deliver about 50,000 new Model S and Model X vehicles during the second half of 2016, and reiterated that it would spend $2.25 billion in capital expenditures in 2016 to prepare for its upcoming Model 3 sedan. 
 
If the company can fulfil those production and delivery goals in the second half of the year, &quot;we`ve got a great chance of being non-GAAP profitable,&quot; chief financial officer Jason Wheeler told analysts on a conference call without specifying a time period. 
 
Tesla reported its first-ever quarterly profit in 2013. 
 
Shares of the company, which had acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion, were little changed in after-hours trading. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s no doubt Tesla will remain the category leader as electric vehicles become increasingly mainstream, but it could be years before the bottom line justifies any investment in Tesla other than a purely speculative one,&quot; said James Brumley, InvestorPlace.com analyst. 
 
Tesla reported last month it had missed its vehicle delivery target for the second consecutive quarter, raising doubts it would hit its annual target. But Tesla could end the year just shy of its original delivery target of 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles for 2016 if it delivers 50,000 cars in the second half of 2016. 
 
&quot;We were in production hell for the first six months of the year,&quot; Musk told analysts during a conference call. &quot;Man, it was hell. And we managed to climb out of hell partway through June and now the production line is humming and our suppliers mostly have their shit together.&quot; 
 
Musk warned he would fire suppliers and reorganize internal teams who fail to meet a target date of July 1 to begin production of the Model 3, even while acknowledging it will not be possible to meet that date.&nbsp; 
 
The company said it planned to open a new store every four days on average for the rest of the year, including in Taipei, Seoul and Mexico City, but did not disclose the cost. 
 
Excluding items, Tesla lost $1.06 per share in the three months ended June 30, wider than analysts&#39; expected loss of 52 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.&nbsp; 
 
Tesla said its net quarterly loss widened to $293.2 million, or $2.09 per share, from $184.2 million, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose 33 per cent to $1.27 billion. 
 
Tesla said gross margins will improve by 2-3 percentage points in the second half of the year, although adjusted operating expenses will increase for the full year by 30 per cent. 
 
Musk sketched out an ambitious plan last month to venture into manufacturing electric trucks and buses, as well as expanding the company&#39;s solar energy business. 
 
He has cast the SolarCity tie-up as a long-term bet on a carbon-free energy and transportation company that provides cars, battery storage, solar panels, and other energy solutions&nbsp;while leveraging technology and cost savings from the combined entity. 
 
SolarCity&#39;s chairman and biggest shareholder, Musk has said the combined company will help save at least $150 million a year and require only a &quot;small equity capital raise&quot; next year. But some analysts are wary of the combination of two companies burning through huge amounts of cash. 
 
Tesla unveiled its massive battery factory, the Gigafactory, in Nevada last week, and on the conference call, Musk said he foresees &quot;exponential growth&quot; in Tesla`s storage battery business. 
 
(Reuters)

Silicon Valley electric carmaker reported the 13th straight quarterly loss while it takes on increasingly ambitious goals

Tesla Motors Inc reported a steeper than expected quarter loss on Wednesday on higher spending at its vehicle and battery factories and said adjusted profitability could be within sight if the company meets its delivery goals. The 13th straight quarterly loss for the Silicon Valley electric carmaker underscores the financial hurdles that hamper it while it takes on increasingly ambitious goals - a ten-fold ramp of vehicle production in three years and the recent plan to acquire solar panel installer, SolarCity Corp. Tesla, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, said it was still on track to deliver about 50,000 new Model S and Model X vehicles during the second half of 2016, and reiterated that it would spend $2.25 billion in capital expenditures in 2016 to prepare for its upcoming Model 3 sedan. If the company can fulfil those production and delivery goals in the second half of the year, "we`ve got a great chance of being non-GAAP profitable," chief financial officer Jason Wheeler told analysts on a conference call without specifying a time period. Tesla reported its first-ever quarterly profit in 2013. Shares of the company, which had acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion, were little changed in after-hours trading. "There's no doubt Tesla will remain the category leader as electric vehicles become increasingly mainstream, but it could be years before the bottom line justifies any investment in Tesla other than a purely speculative one," said James Brumley, InvestorPlace.com analyst. Tesla reported last month it had missed its vehicle delivery target for the second consecutive quarter, raising doubts it would hit its annual target. But Tesla could end the year just shy of its original delivery target of 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles for 2016 if it delivers 50,000 cars in the second half of 2016. "We were in production hell for the first six months of the year," Musk told analysts during a conference call. "Man, it was hell. And we managed to climb out of hell partway through June and now the production line is humming and our suppliers mostly have their shit together." Musk warned he would fire suppliers and reorganize internal teams who fail to meet a target date of July 1 to begin production of the Model 3, even while acknowledging it will not be possible to meet that date. The company said it planned to open a new store every four days on average for the rest of the year, including in Taipei, Seoul and Mexico City, but did not disclose the cost. Excluding items, Tesla lost $1.06 per share in the three months ended June 30, wider than analysts' expected loss of 52 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Tesla said its net quarterly loss widened to $293.2 million, or $2.09 per share, from $184.2 million, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose 33 per cent to $1.27 billion. Tesla said gross margins will improve by 2-3 percentage points in the second half of the year, although adjusted operating expenses will increase for the full year by 30 per cent. Musk sketched out an ambitious plan last month to venture into manufacturing electric trucks and buses, as well as expanding the company's solar energy business. He has cast the SolarCity tie-up as a long-term bet on a carbon-free energy and transportation company that provides cars, battery storage, solar panels, and other energy solutions while leveraging technology and cost savings from the combined entity. SolarCity's chairman and biggest shareholder, Musk has said the combined company will help save at least $150 million a year and require only a "small equity capital raise" next year. But some analysts are wary of the combination of two companies burning through huge amounts of cash. Tesla unveiled its massive battery factory, the Gigafactory, in Nevada last week, and on the conference call, Musk said he foresees "exponential growth" in Tesla`s storage battery business. (Reuters)

Tesla loss widens as company works to speed production

Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted his intention to soon publish part two of his &#39;top secret Tesla masterplan&#39; following an embattled several weeks for the Silicon Valley heavyweight. 
 
The tweet, which read &#39;Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish later this week&#39; comes amid inquiries into two crashes of Tesla cars, as well as ongoing questions regarding Musk&#39;s plans to combine his electric vehicle company, Tesla, with his solar panel-maker company, SolarCity Corp. 
 
On July 1, a driver of a Tesla Model X in Pennsylvania crashed into a turnpike. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week that it is investigating the crash &#39;to determine whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash.&#39; 
 
Tesla has said, &quot;Based on the information we have now, we have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident.&quot; 
 
The crash came on the heels of NHTSA&#39;s disclosure it was investigating a May 7 crash in Florida that killed the driver of a Tesla Model S that was operating in Autopilot mode. 
 
The Tesla Autopilot system allows the car to keep itself in a lane, maintain speed and operate for a limited time without a driver doing the steering. 
 
Last month, Tesla proposed to buy SolarCity over which Musk serves as chairman and principal shareholder. Musk expects the deal will help Tesla get into the market for sustainable energy for homes and businesses. 
 
Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates has called the proposed acquisition &#39;shameful example of corporate governance at its worst.&#39; 
 
(Reuters)

Tesla founder tweets 'Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish later this week'

Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted his intention to soon publish part two of his 'top secret Tesla masterplan' following an embattled several weeks for the Silicon Valley heavyweight. The tweet, which read 'Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish later this week' comes amid inquiries into two crashes of Tesla cars, as well as ongoing questions regarding Musk's plans to combine his electric vehicle company, Tesla, with his solar panel-maker company, SolarCity Corp. On July 1, a driver of a Tesla Model X in Pennsylvania crashed into a turnpike. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week that it is investigating the crash 'to determine whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash.' Tesla has said, "Based on the information we have now, we have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident." The crash came on the heels of NHTSA's disclosure it was investigating a May 7 crash in Florida that killed the driver of a Tesla Model S that was operating in Autopilot mode. The Tesla Autopilot system allows the car to keep itself in a lane, maintain speed and operate for a limited time without a driver doing the steering. Last month, Tesla proposed to buy SolarCity over which Musk serves as chairman and principal shareholder. Musk expects the deal will help Tesla get into the market for sustainable energy for homes and businesses. Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates has called the proposed acquisition 'shameful example of corporate governance at its worst.' (Reuters)

Musk hints at top secret Tesla masterplan

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I turned down high-paid jobs on Wall Street to focus on technology: Elon Musk

'Abuse of power': Tesla shareholders accuse CEO Elon Musk of rescuing his investment in SolarCity

Tesla loss widens as company works to speed production

Musk hints at top secret Tesla masterplan