Elon Musk
Brendan McDermid / Reuters
Going Public
As if tackling rocket science weren't enough, Musk's Tesla Motors held its initial public offering on June 29, 2010. The first American car company to go public since Ford in 1956, Tesla raised $226 million, according to Bloomberg. The injection of capital will allow the company to continue its rapid expansion from its luxury car niche and into the mass markets.