New Delhi: Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual in the world as well as the CEO of Tesla and Space X is celebrating his 51st birthday today. Though the life of Musk may seem to be too well-defined, he has suffered several adversities over the years. However, every time he has managed to raise stronger than before.
On his 51st birthday, take a look at some of the adversities Musk faced in life:
Death of son
According to a report by Bloomberg Quint, during an electronic mail conversation with James Riley, the father of Barrett Riley who died in a Tesla car crash in 2018, Elon Musk shared the sad experience of losing his own son. Musk stated that nothing can be more grievous than losing one’s own child. He wrote in the email, “My firstborn son died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat.” He was talking about his son Nevada Alexander Musk who died at the age of 10 weeks. Hardly, Musk ever spoke of the incident publicly. Reportedly, the child died owing to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) which is an unexpected death of a healthy infant in less than one year of age, during sleep.
Space X troubles
The aerospace manufacturing company, Space X was made with an aim to create low-cost transportation to space to enable the colonisation of Mars as well as carry humans to other planets as well. The company has received several achievements over the years. However, the company encountered failures while working on technologically advanced spacecrafts. Moreover, last year, the prototype of the Space X Starship rocket exploded at its landing. The SN9 was launched from Boca Chica, Texas, and exploded while attempting a landing.
Besides, in May 2020, a prototype of the Starship rocket exploded. After the engine caught fire, the rocket was covered with flames, damaging the testing site as well. Following the incident, Elon Musk directed the company to focus on crewed flights instead of Starship missions.
Bullying
As per the report by the Guardian, Elon Musk was badly bullied in school. The incident happened when he was pushed down a series of stairs and had to be hospitalised. The bullies pushed Musk down several stairs and beat him until he blacked out, stated author Ashlee Vance in his book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.”
Near-death Experience
While enjoying his vacation in South Africa, Elon Musk suffered from cerebral malaria. The billionaire stated that he was only saved because of chloroquine. The case was severe and it took him six months to recover.