By: Diranlaolu

Undergraduates sometimes think in other directions apart from their formal disciplines, making waves in other fields or industries with natural talents and dexterity. This has led to many misconceptions about formal education, including the claim among some students or the Generation Z that education is a scam. This is not so even though you might not use your certificate to earn a living. Formal education in schools trains the mind, which is why it is integral to a person’s total formation.

There are people that have made waves either with their certificates or with their natural talents or skills. In the world of technology, different individuals have made strides even without having any initial degree in technology. But with their talents, skills and mindset, they have actualized what was believed to have been impossible.

One of these prominent individuals is Elon Reeve Musk, a South African business magnate, engineer and investor who was born on June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. Elon Musk possess three citizenships of three different countries, including South Africa, Canada and the United States.

Elon Musk has founded many leading and influential technology companies in the world. Major companies founded by Elon Musk include SpaceX, founded in 2002 which develops rockets and spacecraft.

This company aims at space travel, enabling life on Mars. It has built famous rockets like the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Starship and lots more.

Another of his companies is Tesla which deals with Electric Vehicles and clean energy companies. Neuralink focuses on connecting the human brain with computers through neural implants. The Boring Company develops tunnel construction and transportation systems to reduce traffic congestion.

As of October 2025, Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet with a net worth estimated at $490.8 billion. As students in a tertiary institution, we should think in the box, with the box and outside the box.

Elon Musk as a transformative figure of our time thinks beyond every other person in the business and tech world. He is a disruptive thinker. While the debate over the existence of global warming and climate change raged and still continues to rage with volleys sent back and forth between the scientists and politicians, Musk took a different path. He knew America thrived in Capitalism above everything else, so he focused on innovation and built electric cars that changed the game, making staggering amounts of money in the process.

Although Elon Musk is not without his flaws, he has been an individual with a difference, striking the world by his saliency and the power of his disruptive thinking. In the midst of an endless debate, he cut through it and appealed to the base nature of the American capitalistic society and that of the world. When they tried to shut him out of the traditional channels used by car manufacturers, Musk found a way around the system. Through his ground-breaking technology, he has become incredibly prosperous as the progenitor of innovation that disrupted everything. Now everybody is making electric cars and semi-electric cars.

Elon Musk didn’t join the argument over climate change like how you would have made excuses about things around you or your current state, he just focused on creating the solution. He knew that money would override the debate. When Americans were fuming over rising gas prices in early 2022, people with Tesla didn’t understand that distress. They just plugged in their cars at night, unplugged it in the morning, and took off.

Interestingly, Elon Musk is a very interesting figure, apart from his money which everyone admires, he has shown a lot of very weird and distinct characters. Funny enough, Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as world’s richest man in early September for a few days and Elon Musk took over in a twinkle of an eye with a wide gap.

This shows how wide his innovative thinking, competence and capability in the business and tech industry have been.He has always taken an untrodden path in his endeavors.

He stands high and mighty in the world of technology, unbeatable and top notch in his doings. He is a high flier in whatever he does, a model to be reckoned with. Elon Musk is not just the World’s Richest Man but an epitome of distinction and excellence. Try reading about him today.