The boss of X , Tesla and SpaceX is the world's richest person and uses his platform to make his views known on a vast array of topics.AI could lead to humanity's extinctionSince bursting on to the Silicon Valley scene more than two decades ago, the 52-year-old serial entrepreneur has kept the public captivated with his business antics.
He ploughed his fortune into a new rocket company, SpaceX - which he aimed to make a cost-effective alternative to Nasa - and a new electric car company, Tesla, where he chaired the board until becoming chief executive in 2008.The two firms are credited with upending their industries, even as they sometimes veered close to financial collapse.
In the press, he's been dubbed both a mad genius and Twitter's biggest troll - known as much for his lofty ambitions as his petty fights, not to mention the more serious lawsuits he and his companies have faced from regulators, investors and others over issues such as racial discrimination and the trustworthiness of his claims.All those contradictions appear to be part of his appeal - and it certainly hasn't stopped him from amassing a fortune.
Mr Musk also champions digital currencies and has a hand in several other smaller companies, including tunnel-maker the Boring Company and experimental brain-computer start-up Neuralink.