Just 23 years ago, the world's richest man had to introduce himself, and even spell out his name: E-L-O-N M-U-S-K. Watch Video

Time of India

6 hours ago

From Humble Pitches to Martian Dreams
The Man Who Spelled His Name Now Writes the Narrative
A Reminder of Reinvention
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A proud Elon Musk shares how SpaceX started in a garage as its Falcon rockets complete 500th mission
In a moment that feels almost too surreal for the age of trillion-dollar valuations and reusable rockets, a vintage video of Elon Musk has resurfaced, reminding the world of a time when he had to literally introduce himself, spell out his name, and explain what he did.In the clip, likely from the early 2000s, a young and relatively unknown Musk says into the camera: 'Elon Musk. E-L-O-N-M-U-S-K. Chief Executive Officer of Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX .' The video, now viral, is a poignant flashback to a time when the man who would later dominate the electric vehicle, spaceflight, social media, and artificial intelligence industries was just another entrepreneur with a dream—and a rented office.This scene, pulled from a resurfaced interview doing rounds on X (formerly Twitter ), has reignited conversations about Musk's meteoric rise. As per Forbes, Musk, now worth $424.7 billion as of May 2025, is not only the richest person on Earth but arguably the most powerful civilian in shaping its—and space's—future.The full video reveals a remarkably consistent vision: even in those early days, Musk was driven by a cosmic goal. 'I think there's only so much we can learn by looking through a telescope, and eventually we need to go out there if we're to find the answer,' he says earnestly, speaking of the stars like someone speaking of a childhood home yet to be visited.That belief, it turns out, wasn't just a passing fancy. In 2002, the same year he became a U.S. citizen, Musk founded SpaceX with $100 million from his PayPal earnings. Despite multiple failed launches that almost bankrupted him, SpaceX succeeded—and the rest is spacefaring history. Today, SpaceX is not only sending cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station but also spearheading efforts to deorbit the ISS and colonize Mars through its Starship program.But Musk's empire doesn't end with rockets. His name is synonymous with Tesla , the EV company he joined in 2004 and transformed into the world's most valuable automaker. Then there's Neuralink , The Boring Company, OpenAI (which he co-founded but later left), and its rival xAI. His $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022 and rebranding of it as X brought him into the cultural and political mainstream—with all its complexities.While his supporters hail him as a genius visionary, critics point to his erratic behavior, promotion of conspiracy theories, and controversial policies, especially since his control of X.The resurfaced video is more than nostalgia—it is a startling juxtaposition. It reminds us how identities in Silicon Valley are often forged not just through funding rounds, but relentless ambition and near-messianic self-belief. Just two decades ago, Musk was a man trying to get investors to remember his name. Today, presidents remember his number.As the richest man in the world, the father of Starlink and Cybertrucks, and the digital czar of X, Musk now doesn't need to introduce himself. But for anyone feeling invisible in the crowd of dreamers, this throwback offers a rare, powerful truth: even Elon Musk once had to spell it out.