Elon Musk courtesy SpaceXIn early September, we announced Matthew Inman as one of the four keynote speakers for the 2013 SXSW Interactive Festival. Today, we are extremely happy to reveal that Elon Musk, the CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and the CEO / CTO of SpaceX, will serve as our second keynote next March in Austin.
At SpaceX, Musk is the chief designer, overseeing development of rockets and spacecrafts for missions to Earth's orbit and ultimately to other planets. In 2008, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft won the NASA contract to provide a commercial replacement for the cargo transport function of the Space Shuttle, which retired in 2011. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low Earth orbit, which it accomplished in December 2010. In 2012, SpaceX became the first commercial company to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station – a feat it completed twice in one year. SpaceX is currently modifying its Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from the station as well.
At Tesla, Musk has overseen product development and design from the beginning, including the all electric Tesla Roadster, Model S and Model X. Transitioning to a sustainable energy economy, in which electric vehicles play a pivotal role, has been one of his central interests for almost two decades, stemming from his time as a physics student working on ultracapacitors in Silicon Valley.
Additionally, Musk is the non-executive chairman and principal shareholder of SolarCity, which he helped create. SolarCity is now the leading provider of solar power systems in the United States.
Prior to SpaceX, Musk co-founded PayPal, the world's leading Internet payment system, and served as the company's Chairman and CEO. Before PayPal, he co-founded Zip2, a provider of Internet software to the media industry.
Fans of the movie Iron Man will remember that the Tony Stark character played by Robert Downey, Jr. is patterned after this dynamic South African entrepreneur. Finally, read about how Musk's early goal to put a small greenhouse on Mars led to the creation of SpaceX, via his interview with Chris Anderson in WIRED.
The exact date and time of the Elon Musk keynote will be announced soon. Stay tuned to SXSW website for information on this keynote, as well as info on other content for the 2013 event. Register today for a SXSW Interactive, Gold or Platinum badge to attend this keynote. Hurry, as the next registration discount deadline is at the end of the day on Friday, November 9.
