Tesla CEO Musk was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Engineering

On the morning of February 10, Beijing time, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) released the list of additional academicians of the National Academy of Engineering in 2021, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk was officially elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Elected to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest professional honors awarded to engineers. Academy members recognize those who have made "outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, to the engineering literature," as well as those who "pioneer new and developing areas of technology, make significant progress in traditional engineering fields, or develop/implement innovative approaches to engineering education."

As the CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX, Musk is believed to have achieved breakthroughs in the reusability of rockets and the design and manufacture of new energy systems.

At present, the total number of academicians of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States has reached 2388, and the number of international academicians has reached 310. According to public information, the National Academy of Engineering is the highest level of academic institutions in the field of engineering science and technology in the United States, founded in December 1964, it is one of the more influential engineering institutes in the world. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest professional honors for experts in the field of engineering. Musk said on social media: "I usually describe myself as an engineer. It's basically something I've been doing since I was a kid. ”

It is worth noting that Musk's highest academic qualification is a bachelor's degree. According to public information, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa, briefly studied at the University of Pretoria, and then moved to Canada at the age of 17 to study at Queen's University. Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in economics and physics. In 1995, he moved to California and attended Stanford University, but he dropped out of school shortly after and decided to pursue a career in business.

In June 2002, Musk invested $100 million to found Space Exploration Technologies, inc., where he served as CEO and chief technology officer. In 2004, Musk invested $6.3 million in Tesla Motors as chairman of the company. In recent years, due to the development of the new energy automobile industry, Tesla Motors' market value has soared, and on March 2, 2021, the Hurun Research Institute released the "2021 Hurun Global Rich List", and Musk became the world's richest man for the first time with a wealth of 1.28 trillion yuan.

In terms of space exploration, on May 31, 2012, the "Dragon" capsule of Musk's company SpaceX successfully docked with the International Space Station and returned to Earth, opening the era of private operation of space delivery. At 4:45 on February 7, 2018, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy carrier rocket was successfully launched for the first time at the Kennedy Space Center in the United States, and successfully completed the complete recovery of two first-stage booster rockets.

Image source: Tesla