© Carina Johansen/NTB/AFP/Norway OU Tesla CEO Elon Musk now officially owns Twitter after trying to walk out of a $44 billion deal. Above, Musk smiles as he talks to guests at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 (ONS) meeting in Stavanger, Norway, August 29, 2022 — The meeting, which will take place in Stavanger from August 29 to September 1, 2022, will present the latest developments in Norway and international refers to the energy, oil and gas sectors.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, completed a $44 billion takeover of Twitter on Thursday and fired four executives of the social media giant shortly thereafter.
FURTHER
According to the Forbes Billionaire Rich List, the serial entrepreneur has an estimated net worth of $221 billion.
He was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa before spending time in Canada and the United States.
Here is a list of highlights from Musk's business career and age at the time.
How old was Elon Musk when he founded Zip2?
The first company Musk started was Zip2, which provided maps and business directories for online newspapers. He founded the company in 1995 at the age of 24.
In 1999, Zip2 was purchased by Compaq, a computer manufacturer, for $307 million.
How old was Elon Musk when he founded X.com?
Then in 1999, when he was about 28 years old, Musk launched X.com, an online financial services company.
How old was Elon Musk when he started PayPal?
The online money transfer company X.com became PayPal in June 2001, as Musk celebrated his 30th birthday.
In 2002, the online auction house eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion.
How old was Elon Musk when he founded SpaceX?
The same year he sold PayPal, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). On that day, March 14, 2002, Musk was 30 years old.
Since then, SpaceX has made several flights into space and is currently the only private company capable of returning a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit.
How old was Elon Musk when he became CEO of Tesla?
In 2004, Musk became one of the first investors in an electric vehicle company. In October 2008, at the age of 37, Musk became CEO and product architect.
How old was Elon Musk when he founded Neuralink?
In July 2016, Musk founded Neuralink, a San Francisco-based startup that makes brain computing chips. It aims to develop a very fast interface between the brain and the computer. Musk was 45 years old when he founded the company.
How old was Elon Musk when he founded the Boring Company?
In December 2016, at the age of 45, Musk founded The Boring Company (TBC), a tunnel company working on high-speed inner-city transportation systems. Developed by TBC, the Hyperloop is designed to allow passengers to travel in an autonomous electric pod at speeds of over 600 miles per hour.
How old was Elon Musk when he completed the Twitter acquisition?
Musk was 51 when he completed the Twitter acquisition a day before the deadline. The deal nearly collapsed in July when Musk tried to withdraw his offer after accusing Twitter executives of refusing to provide detailed information about the number of spambots on the site.
Musk promised to make the platform more tolerant of free speech. Musk is expected to lift lifetime bans on some users, including Donald Trump, in what would be a controversial move. The former US President was permanently suspended from the platform following the January 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol in Washington DC "because of the risk of further incitement to violence".
Newsweek reached out to Twitter for comment.
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