Words: Gentleman's Journal
Elon Musk is one of the most forward-thinking businessmen in the world today. At just 28 years old, he sold his first company, Zip2, for $300 million giving him a not-so-small fortune, but he wasn’t finished there. This allowed him to foray into other ventures including an online financial website, X.com as well as PayPal, of which he was CEO. He faced unprecedented adversity though, and was forced out by the company’s board, who fired him whilst he was on holiday.
This wasn’t the end of his set-backs though. He founded the innovative SpaceX as well as co-founded Tesla Motors, the latter of which struggled initially, despite their innovative tech. Between 2011 and 2012, they lost $140 million, yet Musk pumped his personal fortune into the company, keeping them afloat. Now Tesla have catapulted into success, leading the way in the electric car market, even supplying electric powertrains to the likes of Mercedes-Benz.
, Tesla Model S
It is this drive and willingness to power through adversity that has come to define Musk, much like a certain icon of British history. Sir Winston Churchill is famed for his dogged persona and, facing plenty of adversity of his own during World War II, he led Britain to victory. Indeed Musk himself has been known to quote Mr. Churchill on a number of occasions including recently when, in answer to a question regarding adversity he replied, ‘there is a great quote by Churchill: ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going’. Perhaps it’s time we adopted this mindset too.
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