Elon Musk Companies and Investments
Elon Musk’s companies today are SpaceX, which since February 2026 includes xAI and X; Tesla, where he is CEO; and Neuralink and The Boring Company. His past companies are Zip2, X.com, PayPal and SolarCity, and he co-founded OpenAI 12.
Elon Musk companies: the current list
| Company | Elon Musk’s role | Since | His stake | Status (Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | Founder; chairman, CEO and CTO | 2002 | 38% incl. options; about 82% of votes 23 | Listed on Nasdaq (SPCX) since 12 Jun 2026 |
| xAI | Founder | 2023 | Through SpaceX | SpaceX subsidiary since Feb 2026 4 |
| X Corp (formerly Twitter) | Owner; former CEO | 2022 | Through xAI and SpaceX | Part of xAI since Mar 2025 5 |
| Tesla | CEO; board member | 2004 (CEO since 2008) | Nearly 11%, plus about 8% restricted 2 | Listed on Nasdaq (TSLA) |
| Neuralink | Co-founder | 2016 | Private, undisclosed | Private; valued at about $9 billion in 2025 6 |
| The Boring Company | Founder | 2017 | Private, undisclosed | Private 1 |
SpaceX38%Founder & Chairman, CEO, CTO · 2002–now
Tesla11%Chairman & CEO · 2004–nowHow many companies does Elon Musk own?
Elon Musk controls or leads six companies, but since 2026 they sit in fewer groups. SpaceX owns xAI, and xAI owns X, so three of his businesses now report as one listed company 45. Tesla is separate and public. Neuralink and The Boring Company are private.
SpaceX, xAI and X: one group since 2026
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with about $100 million of his PayPal money 1. It builds Falcon 9 and Starship rockets and Dragon capsules, and runs Starlink, its satellite internet service, which brought in $11.4 billion of SpaceX’s $18.7 billion revenue in 2025 3.
He launched xAI in July 2023 and released the Grok chatbot that November 1. In March 2025 xAI bought X in an all-stock deal that valued X at $33 billion 5. In February 2026 SpaceX took over xAI at a combined value of $1.25 trillion 4, and in June 2026 SpaceX listed in the largest IPO in history 3.
Tesla
Musk led Tesla’s Series A round in February 2004 with $6.35 million and became chairman 1. He has been CEO since 2008. Tesla makes the Model S, 3, X and Y cars, the Cybertruck, Megapack batteries and the Optimus humanoid robot, and began a robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025 7.
He gave up the Tesla chairmanship in 2018 as part of a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but remains a director 1. Two big stock awards tie his pay to Tesla’s targets; see net worth.
Neuralink and The Boring Company
Neuralink, co-founded in 2016 with $100 million from Musk, develops brain implants that let people control computers with their thoughts 1. US regulators approved human trials in 2023, and the company raised $600 million at about a $9 billion valuation in 2025 16.
The Boring Company, founded in 2017, digs tunnels for underground transport. Its best-known project is the Las Vegas Convention Center loop 1.
Elon Musk’s past companies and exits
| Company | Role | Years | How it ended | His proceeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zip2 | Co-founder | 1995-1999 | Bought by Compaq for $307M cash | $22M for 7% 1 |
| X.com | Co-founder, CEO | 1999-2000 | Merged with Confinity to form PayPal | - |
| PayPal | Largest shareholder, briefly CEO | 2000-2002 | Bought by eBay for $1.5B in stock | $175.8M for 11.72% 1 |
| SolarCity | Backer and chairman | 2006-2016 | Merged into Tesla for about $2B | Swapped into Tesla shares 1 |
| OpenAI | Co-founder, board member | 2015-2018 | Left the board in 2018 | Donated about $50M 1 |
| Buyer | 2022 | Bought for about $44B, renamed X | Now part of SpaceX 1 |
In 2017 Musk also bought back the X.com web address from PayPal 1.
Elon Musk’s products and brands
Across his companies, Elon Musk’s best-known products are:
- SpaceX: Starlink, Falcon 9, Starship, Dragon
- xAI and X: Grok, the X app
- Tesla: Model Y, Model 3, Cybertruck, Megapack, Optimus
Industries Elon Musk works in
His companies span seven industries on this site: space and aerospace, automotive and EV, artificial intelligence, social media and internet, energy and climate, healthcare (brain–computer interfaces) and real estate and infrastructure.