Musk did well when he got started, creating minor software tools, as part of a small group of men, that included his brother.
But he dd not invent the things he became famous for.
Tesla was started by someone else, and was small company when Musk found them. He used the small amount of cash he had, to buy a majority of shares.
He hen convinced the Obama administration to give him $285M as Obama was kicking off the Green Revolution.
Thanks to excitement of the Obama era, Musk found a wild following that bough Musk's story of a car that runs on electricity, goes hundreds of miles on a single charge and costs $10.
He went public, and was able to use the mini to hire experts, who were able to talk competently, while the team built the first car. People pre-paid and waited for years.
I got tired 3 years later and demanded a refund without seeing a car.
Tesla's stock skyrocketed and Musk took the money to eventually ship a car.
Similar story with SpaceX. Stripping NASA from its space exclusivity was also part of Obama's plan. Musk invested in this other company, and was a hair from bankruptcy. The government to the rescue following Obama's plan to jump start the private space industry, with a $1.2B handout.
Musk likes to pretend this never happened and it was all him.
