In 2008 started making a large number of Tesla Roadster electric cars. In 2016, a machine that digs tunnels threw causing traffic congestion. In 2020 took place the initial private human space launch.
Elon Musk’s plans for the near future are create robots that resemble humans, treat individuals using neurochips, and organize journeys to Mars.
Individuals who have worked with Musk for many years are behind the realization of all these ideas, proving that even seemingly outrageous ideas eventually become reality.
The RB.RU has assembled seven leaders who are currently driving the business of Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, and who are assisting Musk in achieving his ambitious objectives.
He is one of the top three Tesla executives, where he oversees finances. Under his leadership, the company's stock price increased by more than 1000%. In 2020, Tesla recorded its first profit, and in 2021 its net profit increased grew almost eight times.
Prior to joining Tesla, Kirkhorn worked at Microsoft and McKinsey & Company in financial and business intelligence. He joined the company in 2010 as a senior financial analyst and rose to Vice President of Finance by 2018. He assumed the role of CFO took in 2019, at a time when Tesla was facing an annual loss of nearly $1 billion.
In 2021, he was given the title of “Master of the Coin”, as in the series “Game of Thrones”, and has entered made it to the Fortune 40 under 40 list.
Drew Baglino, Senior Vice President, Tesla
Andrew David (or Drew) Baglino is one of the longest-serving Tesla employees. Since 2019, he has been serving as the Senior Vice President for Powertrains and Energy.
Baglino's expertise lies in the field of new energy. He studied electrical engineering at Stanford University and worked as a research fellow for the nonprofit Resources for the Future.
He joined Tesla in 2006 as an electrical engineer, contributing to the advancement of the company’s first car, the 2008 Tesla Roadster. In 2014, he was appointed as the CTO of Tesla Energy, where he developed the Tesla Model S twin-motor system and transmission control algorithms.
In 2016, Baglino was named Tesla’s vice president of technology, and in 2019, he ascended to the position of senior vice president, becoming one of the company’s top three executives alongside Elon Musk and Zachary Kirkhorn. He oversees two engineering departments: the development of new lithium-ion batteries, motors, power electronics, and drive units, as well as the creation of Tesla energy products.
Gwynn Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX
Gwynne Shotwell serves as Musk’s right-hand person at SpaceX. She is responsible for the company's development, all operational activities, and interactions with key customers and government agencies.
Ashley Vance, in the book Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, referred to Shotwell as an aerospace veteran. She obtained her Ph.D. in applied mathematics, worked as an engineer at Aerospace Corp.’s research center for 10 years, and later served as the director of space systems at Microcosm, where she grew the business tenfold.
In 2002, Gwynne Shotwell became one of the initial employees of SpaceX, where she was recruited by former Microcosm colleague Hans Koenigsmann and Elon Musk. She was impressed Musk wanted to lower launch costs by making his own rocket engine. Despite the risky project, she eventually agreed to become vice president of business development.
Shotwell's initial major success with SpaceX came from NASA as a client with a $1.6 billion budget for delivering cargo to the ISS and other transportation services. She became president of the company in 2008.
In 2020, Gwynn Shotwell entered made the list of the most influential people compiled by the Times, and in a hundred was named one of the most powerful women according to Forbes.
Paul Merolla, co-founder of Neuralink
One of eight scientists involved in the launch of the neurotech startup Neuralink in 2016. Now only two of them continue work for the company: Paul Merolla and Donjin Seo.
Paul Merolla's primary research interest is lies in creating intelligent computers, drawing inspiration from neuroscience, bioengineering, and machine learning.
Merolla earned his PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.
Before co-founding Neuralink, he was a postdoc at the Stanford Brains in Silicon Lab, and later a research scientist at IBM Brain-Inspired Computing. He led the development of over 10 chips including Stanford's Neurogrid and IBM's TrueNorth.
Dongjin Seo, co-founder of Neuralink
The second co-founder of Neuralink.
He obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. In a university laboratory, he created the concept of 'neural dust' as a brain interface, consisting of thousands of small electronic sensors inserted into an animal's brain to record neural signals.
At Neuralink, he leads a team that is developing low-power wireless computers to be implanted in the brain. His main contribution lies in creating printed circuit boards and microcircuits for accurate brain signal collection and processing. words to the MIT Technology Review's 'Innovators Under 35' list.
In 2020 has entered Steve Davis, President of The Boring Company
The head of The Boring Company, Steve Davis, has been working with Elon Musk since 2003.
Previously, he was one of the first to join SpaceX and
dedicated himself as a passionate employee, working 16-hour days. To test him, Musk had Davis build a $120,000 part on a $5,000 budget, and he ended up finding a way to build it for $3,900. showed In 2016, Musk chose him to run a new tunneling company.
Steve Davis holds two master's degrees in particle physics and aerospace engineering, and a PhD in economics.
Davis' past is quite unusual. He founded his own yogurt shop, which he later sold for $1, and a bar called Thomas Foolery that accepted bitcoin and closed in 2015.
Jared Birchall, Head of the Musk Family Office
Since 2016, he has been the head of the Elon Musk Excession family office, managing his affairs and fortune. Bloomberg referred to Birchall as the right hand of a billionaire.
Birchall previously built a career as a financier at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, and in 2010 became a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley. During that time, he met Musk and was later invited to work with him.
Birchall previously built a career as a financier at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, and in 2010 became a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley. During that period, he met Musk and was subsequently invited to work with him.
Since Tesla and SpaceX shares make up the bulk of Musk’s capital, in order not to sell them, he is forced to apply for loans from banks to invest in new projects. Jared Birchall deals with them, providing loans.
In particular, he led the organization of the deal to buy Twitter in 2022, helped raise $12.5 billion from Morgan Stanley and funds from other investors.
Birchall also helps the billionaire solve household issues, conducts real estate transactions, and hires staff. In addition, he is listed as the CEO of the neurotechnology company Neuralink, although he is not involved in the company’s affairs.
