Elon Musk – 10 ways to change the world with technology

Elon Musk is an engineer and entrepreneur who builds and operates companies to solve environmental, social and economic challenges. He co-founded PayPal and currently drives strategy, development and design at two companies he created, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, and oversees a third company, SolarCity, which he co-founded.

The CEO is even believed to be the inspiration for the Hollywood sequel Iron Man. Although, the South Africa-born entrepreneurs ideas may sound futuristic according to Musk they have a very real place in our lives. Here is a list of 10 technology changes Elon Musk wants to build that would change our perception of technology.

Boeing help offer

Boeings 787 Dreamliner aircraft has been a nightmare for the company. After numerous failures in battery sustainability Musk offered his help. “Desire to help Boeing is real,” Musk wrote in a Twitter message in January. He also said he was corresponding with the aircrafts chief engineer.

Affordable electric sedan

Musk has talked about a variety of other electric vehicles he would like to make. Among them, the Model X is an electric sports-utility vehicle with gull-wing doors similar to the Lamborghini but far more affordable electric sedan. He also wants to add an all-electric pickup truck for the all-American environmentalist.

Autopilot cars

Tesla has been considering adding driverless technology to its vehicles and held discussions with Google, Musk told Bloomberg in May. While Google has named it “self-driving car” for the technology its developing, Musk prefers the term “autopilot.”

“Self-driving sounds like it’s going to do something you don’t want it to do,” Musk said. “Autopilot is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars.”

However, the trend of automatizing the driving of a car has been noticed in some European and Japanese brands and is catching up fast in the industry. Nissan issued a deadline till 2015 when the company should produce a self-driven car.

Superchargers Distribution

Musk issued a goal for Tesla Motors to be able to drive from Los Angeles to New York by recharging his electric car exclusively at Tesla-owned stations along the way. And he wants to do it by the end of the year. Otherwise, drivers would be limited by the car batterys range of about 265 miles. A supercharger can power a Tesla car in 20 to 30 minutes.

Robot charging

In June, Musk unveiled a battery-swapping system for the Model S that removes and replaces the cars 1,000-pound lithium-ion battery with a fully charged one in just 90 seconds. The demo showed robots swapping packs in two cars faster than one Audi sedan could be refilled with gasoline. This was a demonstration of how an electric car could be more convenient than gasoline-fueled one.

Supersonic Electric Jet

The next 5 inventions are breath-taking. “I wish somebody would do that,” Musk said during a video chat with entrepreneurs. “If somebody doesnt do that, maybe at some point in the future, I will.” he stated, referring to building a electric aircraft that could go from London to Shanghai in about seven and a half hours.

The Hyperloop

Musk describes it as the “fifth mode of transportation,” which would be capable of taking passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in about 35 minutes for $20 a ticket, according to his plans. The solar-powered Hyperloop idea was suggested as an alternative to a railway system. It would cost about $6 billion to develop, and Musk said hes willing to plow some of his own money into the venture.

Re-usable rocket

In space travel rockets are only used once. Musk idea is to build a sustainable rocket that can fly through space, re-enter Earths atmosphere, land vertically on a launch pad and still be able to take off again later. SapceX has been making progress in building such a rocket.

Commercial Spaceport

the company wants to build its own commercial spaceport in Brownsville, Texas. The location is considered to be appropriate for its development plan, Musk said at a conference in March.

Mars colonization

Seems that all of entrepreneurs inventions are parts of a grander scheme for the final frontier. Musk has said he wants to build a colony on the red planet that can support 80,000 people.

“Ive said I want to die on Mars,” Musk said at a conference in March. “Just not on impact.”

Some financial numbers

SolarCity, provider of energy services which Musk co-owns recorded 195% gain in share price since beginning of this year.

Tesla Motors has surged more than 550% in one year as last four days the company shares added 7%.

Analysts polled by CNN Money advise to hold the stock of both Tesla and SolarCity. SpaceX is still a private company making it the first one to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.