Elon Musk once said, “There are many reasons for living, for waking up in the morning and wanting to live. Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars, then its incredibly depressing!” (Vance and Sanders). These emotional-racking and divergent comments from the billionaire, Elon Musk marks his greatest success in his work-life. Understanding a person requires understanding their deep roots and their foundations. The reason is that, it provides a clear picture as to their way of thinking and how they are who they are. Comprehension encompasses their childhood life, work-life and family-life as well as their rational understanding (Vance and Sanders).  As for Elon Musk, the primary objective of this paper is to delineate on his biography based on his background and his successful career. Also, the paper aims to succinctly dissect the billionaire to understand his theoretical aspect of leadership comparing it to other theories in leadership.

Elon Musk: Biography

• Introduction

Elon Reeve Musk is a technological entrepreneur as well as an engineer. He is a citizen of the world with a literal interpretation of Elon being a South African, Canadian and United States citizen. He is famous for founding and being the Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX, and it’s lead designer.

Additionally, he is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tesla, Inc., Nueralik, The Boring Company and OpenAL (Vance and Sanders). It is clear that this individual has begun numerous successful businesses during his tenure as an entrepreneur. As a result, he is ranked, according to Forbes 2017, his net worth is marked at $ 20.2 billion (Vance).

 

 

• Childhood

Elon Musk at the age of thirty-one made his first billion thanks to the company creation known as PayPal. PayPal Holdings Inc. is an American company operating a worldwide online payment system that supports the transfer of money. As such, the company serves as an electronic supplement to the conventional paper methods of checks and money order. So far, the company serves as an agent or vendor to auction sites and other commercial users from which it charges a fee. Elon Musk is described as an individual who has turned science fiction theories into actual or reality businesses (Vance and Sanders).

Musk is a native of South Africa born in June 28^th, 1971 by two parents. His mother, Maye Musk was a model and dietician from Regina, Canada while his father was a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot as well as a sailor. Elon Musk is not the only child in his family and has a brother and a sister. His brother, Kimbal was born in 1972 while his sister, Tosca in 1974. His maternal grandfather, Dr. Joshua Haldeman was an American-born Canadian while his paternal grandmother was British from Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry (Vance and Sanders). Despite being born by two parents, the two divorced in 1980 and Musk lived with his father in Pretoria suburbs.  Musk chose to live with his father after the divorce which lasted two years, but Musk says that his decision was a mistake. Currently, Musk indicates that he severed his relationship with his father who he refers to as ‘a terrible human being.’ His father remarried, and Musk has another half-brother and half-sister.

Growing up, Elon Musk became an avid reader. He read books such as Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series are reading such books created a significant impact on his ability to motivate himself. As a result, his interest in computing grew including his passion for Commodore VIC-20 (Vance). Through reading, he self-taught himself computer programming at the age of ten and two years later he sold his first code of a BASIC-based video game. He sold it for approximately $ 500.

Despite being successful by the age of twelve, Elon Musk describes his childhood as one that was dark due to bullies (Vance and Sanders). At one point he was hospitalized as a result of a group of boys throwing him down a flight of stairs, and he smashed his head on the pavement until he lost his consciousness. In his biography, he reveals that he had to get a nose job to fix the damages.

• Educational Background

Elon Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School before attending Pretoria Boys High School. For college, Elon Musk’s father insisted that he attend college in Pretoria but, Musk was determined to move to the United States of America. The motivation rose from the fact that the United States was a land of numerous possibilities compared to regions around the world. Nonetheless, he knew that moving to Canada, with relatives was the most natural choice since Canada was closer to America. At the age of eighteen, he relocated to Canada against his father’s wishes. At the age of 18, Elon Musk attended the Queen’s University avoiding the mandatory South African military attendance (Vance and Sanders). Therefore, in 1992 he studied business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania and graduates with an undergraduate degree in economics and later pursued a second bachelor’s degree in physics.

Elon Musk later left Pennsylvania he headed to California and attended Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in energy physics. However, his move coincided with the internet boom. As a result, he dropped from Stanford after two days of enrollment and launched his first company, Zip2 Corporation.

 

• Career

At the age of twelve, Elon Musk sold his first code earning him a total of $ 500 (Vance) While in Canada, due to his mother’s connections. His first summer job was as an intern at a Canadian bank. This was his only first real job as an internet entrepreneur. But his breakthrough was when he began, Zip2 Corporation which was an online city guide to newspaper publishing businesses. As a result, he landed contracts with both the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to provide content for their new online sites. He began the company at the age of twenty-four, and he devoted all his energy to succeed in the business and prove his father wrong. He lived by the motto “A failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

• Online Bank

In 1999, Elon Musk sold his company Zip2 for $ 307 million to Compaq Computer Corporation- which was regarded as the highest sale in the 1900s. Musk became a millionaire by the age of twenty-eight. In 1999, he used $ 10 million to start up another company known as X.com. It was an online bank with the idea to provide financial services to the consumer with full-range. For instance, the company was to secure money transfer using the recipient’s email address (Vance). Two investor partners, John Story, and Bill Harris believed in his idea and signed off to the online bank strategy. In December 1999, X.com went online offering a $ 20 cash card with each use at the automatic-teller machine (ATM) (Vance and Sanders). Within the first two months of operation, X.com gained one hundred thousand customers which closed-up the mark of its competitor, Etrade Telebank. However, its greatest obstacle was the misrepresentation of safety in online banking. The reason is that computer hackers were also emerging at the time and promoting illegal transfers. As a result, this crippled the business. The executive officers re-strategized the business model to encapsulate a new policy which required customers to withdraw money with a canceled check.

• PayPal

X.com in 2000 procured PayPal from the company, Confinity which had started the money-transfer using the internet. The initial business model of the business was to allow customers to use the PDAs (Personal digital assistants) to transfer money. Musk believed the acquisition of the business by X.com would be profitable due to online-transfer technology. At the time the technology was known as person-to-person transfer technology which proved to be a promising technology. However, his partners did not agree with Elon, and as a result, Musk resigned from X.com in 2000. Months later, Elon during a press conference announced that X.com would abandon its online market portfolio and the name X.com was abandoned to accommodate PayPal (Vance and Sanders).  With investment from Musk, PayPal grew in part due to eBay- which was an online auction web site that encouraged person-to-person. PayPal in 2002 became a publicly traded company offering its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO was impressive with the company raising more than $ 1.5 billion. Musk consequently became the largest shareholder at 11.5% which placed his net worth at $ 165 million.

1.4.3. SpaceX Corporation

Soon after, Elon Musk had moved on to his next venture. In 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX or commonly known as Space Exploration Technologies. According to his biography, his fascination with technology and space and the probability of living in Mars encouraged him to start the company. He became a member of the Mars society which is a non-profit organization that encourages the exploration of the planet. James Cameron is among the members of the Mars Society (Vance). In his vision, Musk wanted to build a ‘Mars Oasis’ which involved sending experimental greenhouses to the planet. It is best to note that the planet is 35 million miles distant from Earth. In the vision, Musk wanted to build an oasis would contain a nutrient gel from the specific Mars-environment that is friendly for life so it can grow. His vision would cost him $ 20 million. He later learned that sending something into space was not considered as a normal delivery back on earth. So, he decided to build a rocket known as the Delta rocket which was made by Boeing Corporation. But, an additional $ 50 million was needed to cover the cost (Vance). Musk, as ambitious as he was bought a rocket from Russia and realized that he was dealing with suspects of international trade who dealt underground. The strategy was too risky, and he abandoned the mission.

In 2012 Musk and SpaceX made history when the company launched its Falcon 9 rocket into space with an uncrewed capsule. In Space aviation, an uncrewed rocket has never been achieved even with NASA. Therefore, SpaceX made a commendable history. The rocket was sent into an international space station with 1, 000 pounds of supplies for the astronauts stationed there (Vance). This made it the first time a private company had sent a spacecraft into the international space station. In his words, Musk described the achievement as “like winning the Super Bowl.” In December 2013, a Falcon 9 successfully carried a satellite to geosynchronous transfer to the orbit- this is a distance at which the spacecraft would lock into an orbital path that matched the Earth’s rotation. Consequently, in February 2015 SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 into Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite (Vance). The aim of sending the Falcon 9 was to observe the extreme emissions from the sun that affect power grids and communications systems on Earth.

Additionally, in March 2017 SpaceX saw the successful test of its flight and landing of the Falcon 9 rocket using reusable parts. The development was described as the open-gate to more affordable space travel. The setback, however, came in November 2017 when the Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a test of the company’s new Block 5 Merlin engine (Vance). It was reported that no one was hurt during the incident and that the issue would not hamper the company’s ambitions to roll out a future generation of Falcon 9 rockets.

The company, SpaceX has enjoyed another milestone in 2017 February with a successful test launch of the powerful Falcon Heavy Rocket. The new version entails an additional Falcon 9 boosters; the falcon heavy was designed to carry immense payloads into the orbit as well as the potentially serve as a vessel for deep space missions. For example, the test launch of the Falcon Heavy was given a payload of Musk’s cherry-red Tesla Roadster which was equipped with cameras to provide for some epic views while the vehicle planned to orbit around the sun (Vance). In July 2017, SpaceX enjoyed the successful landing of the new Block 5 Falcon Rocket which touched down on a drone ship less than 9 minutes after liftoff. In September 2017, another milestone was configured when Elon Musk presented an updated design plan for his BRF (which is an acronym known as the Big Falcon Rocket). The rocket is a 31-engine behemoth topped by a spaceship capable of carrying at least 100 people. Musk revealed that SpaceX was aiming to launch the first cargo missions to Mars with the vehicle by 2022 as part of his overarching goal to colonize the Red planet (Vance). Upon further inquisitions from the public, Musk indicated that the BFR would make short flights while delivering a nod to all the apparent problems that the business is facing with the model rocket.

In March 2018, SpaceX received permission from the United States government to launch a fleet of satellites into the lower orbit to provide internet services. The system is said to make broadband services more accessible for people in rural areas while boosting competing for too densely populated markets (Vance). However, the business has received numerous critics on the aspects of safety hazard including the debris in the skies and ownership standards of space allocation.

 

• Tesla Motors

Alongside SpaceX, Musk co-founded the company Tesla Motors and acted as its Chief Executive Officer. He also serves as the product architect from which the business is dedicated to producing affordable mass-market electric cars in addition to battery products and solar roofs. Elon Musk described the product development and engineering prospects as revolutionary in the business. Since its inception in 2003, the company has unveiled its primary motor vehicle, the Roadster. The Roadster is a sports car model that is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. This is considered as revolutionary considering the Roadster can travel 250 miles between charges of its lithium-ion battery (Vance). The company has been able to launch the motor vehicles through its partnership with Toyota and Daimler with an initial public offering in June 2010 raising $ 226 million (Vance).

Since then, the company has succeeded in all of its endeavors including the release of Model S. Model S is the company’s first electric sedan which is capable of covering more than 365 miles between charges. The car, Model S was honored as the Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine. In April 2017, Tesla was marked as the leading car manufacturer in the United States ranked as the most valuable care maker ahead of General Motors. This achievement allowed Tesla to release its modern Model 3 sedan in 2018 (Vance). But this has not stopped the business into flourishing with Musk unveiling its new Tesla Semi and Roadster as the company’s new design studio. The semi-truck model enters the market in 2019, and it boasts of 500-mile range as well as battery motors built in to last 1 million miles (Vance and Sanders). The Roadster is set to be released in 2020 which is regarded as the fastest production car ever made with its 0 to 60 time to 1.9 seconds.

The Tesla company has aimed at producing 5, 000 new Model 3 cars per week from December 2017 to 2018 then to 2019. The delay in production, during a press conference, was due to the surprise in the manufacturing industry (Davenport). Problems have been raised by investors who question the probability of the company to attain its projected aim of producing so many cars per week. Musk, nonetheless, has mastered the art of expressing his hope and demeanor to the investors through original new compensation package from the Chief Executive Officer (Davenport). The company has, therefore, grown to a valuation of $ 50 billion till date (Vance).

The ability of the business to grow to such a size is based on the strength of the leaders to reorganize its management structure and its production department. This has included the range of cars to be produced per week including 2, 000 Model S sedans and Model X SUVs. In 2018, Musk announced that the business was releasing its first Model 3 vehicle with a starting price of $ 35, 000 (Davenport). Additionally, the business strategy was averted to include online sales which offer customers a chance to return their cars within seven days or 1, 000 miles for a full refund. Also, the business announced the launch of Model 9 to availed in March 2018. The company has enjoyed numerous achievements including the release of Tesla into the public among others (Vance and Sanders). Despite the success, Musk resigned as the chairman of Tesla’s board as part of the three years of an agreement with the SEC. He was provided with a $ 20 million fine as a result.

• SolarCity Acquisition

Musk’s ambition to promote and advance suitable energy and products for consumers allowed him to solidify his acquisition of SolarCity. He was able to combine the electric car model company with the solar energy company for $ 2.6 billion (Vance). SolarCity was instituted in 2006 with the help of Musk to his cousins. Tesla Motors Inc. announced an all-stock deal purchase of SolarCity which makes Musk a majority shareholder. SolarCity is about the integration of residential, commercial and grid-scale products that would improve the way energy is generated, stored and consumed- according to Elon Musk.

• Other Inventions

Elon Musk is known as an inventor and innovator who has tried his hand in numerous ventures. Among them include Hyperloop- the concept was to foster commuting through major cities severely cutting through travel time. Hyperloop was not successful since its inception which was later abandoned. Another invention is the Al and Nueralink which is the interest in artificial intelligence which was launched in 2015. In 2017, Musk announced that he was backing up the new venture to create devices that would be implanted in human brains and help people emerge with the new software. Another invention is the Boring Company which was instituted in 2017 as a means to reduce traffic devoting resources to boring and building tunnels. The Boring Company was test drive under SpaceX where a 50-foot long tunnel would run parallel to Interstate 405 would reach a length of two miles in approximately four months but, did not happen (Vance). Flamethrower is another company that is reported to have found the market for the Boring Company’s Flamethrowers. The company was announced to go on sale for $ 500 a piece in late January 2018 which Musk claimed to have sold 10, 000 within a day (Vance).

2.0. Leadership and Theories

2.1. Leadership

Leadership is a unique as well as a debatable topic that is complex and universal at the same time. Effective leaders are different from each other in various crucial aspects that ensure contentious fulfillment of their vision. To understand the aspects trait theory is among the leadership theories which have dominated for decades on the traditional leadership researches of methods (Scheffer and Heckhausen, 67). To understand why Elon Musk has been very successful in his ventures there is a need to comprehend the individual from a theoretical perspective. This portion of the paper articulates delineates and analyses the trait theory based on the main character, Elon Musk

2.1.1. Trait Theory of Leadership

Trait theory is an approach to the personality as well as the trait that identifies a person. The degree of measure is based on personality traits which often occurs in recurring patterns of thoughts and behaviors. Various trait theories have been coined including Gordon Allport’s 4000 trait theory, Raymond Cattell’s sixteen personality factor questionnaire and five-factor theory of personality (Scheffer and Heckhausen, 70). Nonetheless, the current paper shall focus on personality traits. The reason is that the complex qualities and characteristic or the pattern of thought and emotion including behavior occur within the life of a person. Traits of a leader expose their ability to improve their businesses.

1. Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and integrity are two important qualities for leaders. These ingredients showcase the ability to sustain their cores and values without compromising their ethics. According to trait theory, honesty and integrity are the cardinal traits (Scheffer and Heckhausen, 67. These are traits that are associated with a person, especially on the altruism. For instance, characters such as Mother Theresa are known for their integrity.

Elon Musk, throughout his career, has been known to address the truth at any moment. Take, for instance, the incidences with the Falcon 9. Since its inception, SpaceX has been associated with many setbacks. Among them includes the initiation of the Falcon model into space. According to the biography by Elon Musk, a lot of the investors were wary of the ability of the company to launch on time. This was backed up by the events leading up to the release. To ease the tension from the investor, Elon, during a press conference, assured that the Falcon model would be released at a later time. In this, Elon showcases honesty and integrity, an aspect that ensures leaders are respected and well accepted by those around them. Elon is regarded as one of the best leaders in the industry and respect is everywhere.

1. Confidence

To be an effective leader, according to the trait theory, a leader should be confident. Those around them should not have to worry about the next phase or the subsequent decision because a confident leader should be able to pursued people. As such, the trait theory concurs that an effective leader ought to be assertive and have a demeanor with them. However, it is noted that an effective leader should not be overconfident which would minimize the confidence with other followers.

Elon Musk exhibits the highest confidence among the leaders in the industry. His ability to channel and ooze confidence displays him as the best leader. A look at Elon Musk throughout the media photos, it is clear that at a glance he exhibits confidence. But it is through his actions that one can understand why he is also a charismatic leader. The numerous ventures he has engaged with mirrors his belief. He has begun more than five businesses out of which more than three have been successful so far. For instance, the ability to start SpaceX is considered as a confidence-based venture. Most of the billionaires or multinational companies did not have the confidence (that is guts) to begin such a company. As a result, Elon has been able to grow the business to become groundbreaking companies. The release of the Falcon model to bring food to the astronauts in space was among the greatest achievements of the market. Additionally, Elon has been confident enough to start Tesla Motors Inc. the company initially was met with a lot of determents but was able to rise above and become one of the most significant competitors winning over General Motors.

Moreover, Elon Musk is known to take significant risks within the industry. Among them includes the invention on an online banking platform which allowed customers to transact online. At the time, the internet was at its infant stage and a lot of speculation around businesses that embraced the internet. However, with his patience and confidence, he was adamant about continuing pursuing his vision. As a result, he sold the company, X.com for millions. As a result, he became a millionaire at the age of twenty-eight- this is an age that most people are unaware of what they want. All his life, Elon Musk has been a confident individual believing in himself as well as those around him.

1. Inspire Others

One of the most challenging jobs about being a leader is the ability to persuade others. An effective leader, according to the trait theory describes an effective leader as a person who sets an excellent example to others. This entails the ability of the leader to be calm under pressure and keep the motivational level up (Scheffer and Heckhausen, 73). In most cases, leaders are humans as well, and sometimes this may not be apparent to be calm. However, an effective leader should overcome the current and future challenge themselves.

Elon Musk can be categorized as an individual who inspires others both directly and indirectly. The business, SolarCity is among the best example. SolarCity is a business that was started through his cousins, and under Elon Musk’s mentorship the company took off. Currently, the company has been acquired by Tesla Motors Inc. due to the ability of the business to improve on its strategy (Davenport). It was instituted as a means to safeguard the environment by producing economically and environmentally friendly technology. It is clear that through Musk the business has been able to succeed to its optimum level.

Another example is through SpaceX. SpaceX was initially met with numerous limitations including the public backlash on its potential to be at odds. Acting as its CEO, Musk has been able to push through to his employees and allow them to achieve beyond what was expected. As a private company, the business was not considered to become among the companies that would break ground in out of space competing with NASA and IBM (Davenport). Nonetheless, through his motivation, Musk has been able to change management and production company and successfully managed to launch several Falcon models to Mars and the orbit.

Regarding inspiring others, Musk’s central role in life according to his biography is to motivate others into becoming more than they expect. In his memoir, he establishes that his ability to leave home and aspire to become one of the greatest businessmen to pioneer space travel has inspired individuals such as Sir Richard Branson. His commendable ability to do so is less publicized but, one can only hypothesize that there are numerous other occasions that the individual has inspired others to commit to their vision while safeguarding the environment.

1. Commitment and Passion

According to trait theory, an effective leader ought to be committed and passion-oriented. Responsibility is the state of being dedicated to a cause whereas, passion is an intense enthusiasm about something. Leaders are individuals who are meant to work with teams and ought to give them motivation about how to go about difficult projects. This is achieved through passion and commitment (Scheffer and Heckhausen, 67). A leader should always lead by example. When the team sees the leader is committed to their work, the team is required to respect the person. In turn, the team can stay motivated within the project’s primary goals.

In the present case study, Elon Musk is one of the most successful billionaires in the technology world. It is clear from the moment he entered the United States that his life would be intertwined with technology. He enrolled in higher institutions of learning where he studied physics and economics. His passion was always aligned with computers and computer technology from an early age. According to his biography, he first created his original code at the age of twelve years and sold it for a total of $ 500 (Davenport). He would go ahead to build businesses around computers and technology including Tesla Motors Inc and SpaceX. The commitment cannot be challenged when it comes to Elon Musk, and his ability to stay relevant is pursued through passion.

His commitment and passion have inspired others to stay in their vision and persist in their ability to become the best they can be. A lot of comments according to his biography reiterate on his ability to inspire others through his passion and commitment to what he believes. His current intensity has been centered around environmental protection and space exploration (Davenport). This aspect is considered to be ambitious and outright irrational. But, through his persistence and his ability to coordinate with those who understand his visions have allowed him to become a very successful entrepreneur.

1. Decision-Maker

Another personality trait of an effective leader is the ability to make a decision. This involves the futuristic vision from which the leader can make the decision. A right choice, according to the trait theory, encompasses a lot of traits (Scheffer and Heckhausen, 67). They include being rational, ability to perceive ahead of others and the ability to engage with others to aid them in making better decisions. It is highly recommended that leaders consult key stakeholders in making better decisions. The reason is that they might end up making the wrong decisions.

Throughout the entrepreneurship career that Elon Musk has created for himself, it is clear that he never makes decisions on his own. This concurs with the numerous partnerships he has forged over the years. For instance, his collaboration with executive officers from high ranking institutions to the formation of SpaceX and PayPal. The two businesses have made successful attempts in their respective industries. Some decisions, however, may not have been the best according to his biography. The decision to live with his father rather than his mother is one of the greatest regrets he has ever experienced in his life. But on the upside, he was able to become what he is, but this is arguable.

Nonetheless, Elon Musk has shown his ability to make the best decisions especially when it comes to investing in revolutionary technology businesses. These include Al and Nueralink, X.com and the support he gave to his cousins on SolarCity which he later acquired through Tesla Motors Inc. However, his ability to purchase the business came with a massive fine from the SEC requiring him to pay more than $ 10 million as a result of him stepping down as the chairman of Tesla Motors Inc. eventually, and the move has seen him purchase one of the potential businesses in eco-friendly energy providers in the market.

 

2.1.2. Behavioral Theories

Behaviorism is a theory that focuses on the behaviors that a person has acquired. Behaviors are traits that one exhibits as a result of purchasing them from their surrounding through conditioning (Clark, 173). Conditioning occurs through the interaction with the environment as a response to stimuli. The current paper will focus on the behavioral traits that Elon Musk exhibits with a closer analysis of how his characteristics make him an effective leader. Elon Musk is considered as a person who is always task-oriented. A task-oriented individual is a person who is still involved in tasks within the friendship. His personality aligns with his behavior. Elon Musk is described as a person who is rasping, and this falls in line with his perception about the need to have a transformational leadership. With task-oriented individuals, they are known not to have emotional content when it comes to their employees (Clark, 173). However, based on the reviews by those who have worked with Elon, he is described as the person who is charismatic and all-round especially when it comes to caring for his employees.  Throughout the businesses he has started, he has been focused on ensuring that the vision he creates come to life. To enable this, he has done it through partnerships who have provides him with the financial and market backing (Clark, 173). As a result, he has been able to sell businesses including X.com to Compaq Company.

Behavioral aspects are also linked to the elements of accountability. A person’s ability to ensure that little blame is given to employees and rest upon the employers is regarded as the best behavioral trait of the leader. Each leader is cautioned to show accountability based on what they are doing. With Elon Musk his ability to contain liability has been demonstrated through the numerous issues that his companies including Tesla Motors Inc. have undergone. For example, the questions raised by investors about the problems regarding the release of the Model 3 sedans which were supposed to be manufactured 5, 000 per week (Davenport). Musk was crucial in ensuring that he took the blame when it came to answering the inventors. As a result, the individual has been able to reason with the industry about any setbacks. This, consequently, has accorded him the right respect.

Another behavioral quality of Elon Musk is the ability to expand their world consistently. Elon is known for his ability to start-up businesses and makes them successful. One of the conditional behaviors that a leader gains throughout their experience are the ability to learn from their experiences. Due to the passion that Elon motivates within himself has allowed him to see the bigger picture regarding changing the world. For example, his passion for conquering Mars has been central to his company’s ability to continue venturing with out of space ventures through SpaceX. Additionally, his behavior to always be constantly changing aspects of technology. As a result, this has allowed him to create an ambitious aspect of his demeanor and character.

• Conclusion

The paper has presented the entire life of Elon Musk. This includes the details of his childhood, educational background and his successful career as an entrepreneur. Also, the paper has presented information about trait theories and behavioral theory. The exploration of the trait theories has focused on the different characteristics that Elon Musk possesses and as a result, made him one of the wealthiest individuals in the technology industry. In conclusion, the paper has been able to link the reason as to why Elon Musk is a successful entrepreneur through the different event of his life and career (Davenport). In summarization, the paper acknowledges that Elon Musk is a role model in the industry with his candid character which has enabled him to have a successful career.

 

Work Cited

Clark, Kevin R. “Learning Theories: Behaviorism.” (2018): 172-175.

Scheffer, David, and Heinz Heckhausen. “Trait theories of motivation.” Motivation and action. Springer, Cham, 2018. 67-112.

Vance, Ashlee, and Fred Sanders. Elon Musk. HarperCollins, 2015.

Davenport, Christian. The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos. PublicAffairs, 2018.

Vance, Ashlee. Elon Musk: How the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is shaping our future. Random House, 2015.