In early 2016, Elon Musk was already a household name, but he wasn’t the "Main Character of the Internet" yet. Not like now. Honestly, back then, most of the world still looked at him as a brilliant but incredibly stressed-out car guy who happened to have a side hobby with rockets. He hadn't even reached $15 billion in net worth—a figure that seems like a rounding error compared to his 2026 valuation of over $700 billion.
It’s wild to look back.
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He was at a crossroads that year. If you look at Elon Musk 10 years ago, you see a man trying to prove that electric cars weren't just for rich people in Palo Alto and that rockets could actually land on their feet like something out of a 1950s comic book.
The Model 3 Moment
March 31, 2016. That was the day the world changed for Tesla. Before that, they had the Model S and the Model X, which were cool but way too expensive for most humans. Then came the Model 3.
Musk walked onto a stage in Hawthorne, California, and promised a $35,000 electric car. Within 24 hours, 115,000 people handed over $1,000 deposits. By the end of the week, that number hit 325,000. People were literally camping outside Tesla stores like it was a new iPhone release. It was pure madness.
But behind the scenes? Total chaos. Musk eventually called this "production hell." He was basically living at the Fremont factory, sleeping on the floor because he didn't want his employees to see him leaving while they were struggling. He looked exhausted. You’ve probably seen the photos—dark circles under his eyes, messy hair, looking like he hadn't seen sunlight in a month.
Landing on a Robot 10 Years Ago
While Tesla was trying not to go bankrupt, SpaceX was busy trying to stop its rockets from exploding.
Before April 8, 2016, SpaceX had tried to land a Falcon 9 on a drone ship at sea four times. They failed every single time. The rockets would hit the deck and just… kaboom. Critics were having a field day, calling it a "vanity project" that defied the laws of physics and economics.
Then, during the CRS-8 mission, it finally happened.
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The first stage of the Falcon 9 came screaming back from space and touched down perfectly on the deck of Of Course I Still Love You. If you watch the footage now, the SpaceX employees in the background are losing their minds. It was the first time people realized that reusable rockets weren't just a dream. They were a business model.
The SolarCity Drama
Not everything was a win in 2016. One of the weirdest things Elon Musk 10 years ago did was push for Tesla to buy SolarCity for $2.6 billion.
SolarCity was founded by his cousins, Lyndon and Peter Rive. It was struggling. Hard. Wall Street hated the deal. Analysts called it a "bailout" and a "clear black eye" for Musk’s reputation. Even some of his biggest fans were scratching their heads.
He eventually won the shareholder vote, but it led to years of lawsuits. Looking back from 2026, the solar roof hasn't exactly taken over the world like he said it would, though the Tesla Powerwall has become a massive part of the energy business.
Starting the Side Quests
2016 was also the year Musk started planting the seeds for the stuff we talk about today.
Basically, he got stuck in traffic in LA one afternoon and tweeted, "Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging." Everyone thought it was a joke. It wasn't. That was the birth of The Boring Company.
He also co-founded Neuralink that year. While people were focused on the Model 3, he was already hiring neuroscientists to figure out how to put chips in brains. Plus, OpenAI (which he co-founded in late 2015) was just starting to hire its first researchers.
How the Money Stacked Up
It’s kinda funny to look at the numbers.
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| Year | Net Worth (Approx) | Major Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $12-14 Billion | Model 3 Unveil |
| 2026 | $717 Billion | Starship & AI Dominance |
The scale of wealth growth is just stupid. Ten years ago, he was a "regular" billionaire. Today, he's the first person to realistically look at a trillion-dollar net worth.
Why Does This Matter Now?
Understanding the Musk of 2016 helps explain the Musk of 2026. Back then, he was desperate for validation from the "establishment." He was joining Trump's advisory councils and trying to play the corporate game.
Eventually, the stress of that year—the explosions, the "production hell," the SolarCity lawsuits—sorta changed him. He stopped trying to be liked and started leanng into the "techno-king" persona.
What you can learn from 2016 Musk:
- Bet on reusability: Whether it's code, content, or rockets, if you can't reuse it, you're losing money.
- Scale or die: The Model 3 was a "make or break" moment. If they hadn't scaled, Tesla would be a footnote in history.
- Ignore the "bailout" noise: If you believe in a vertical integration (like solar plus cars), you have to take the hits on the way there.
If you want to track how these 2016 bets paid off, start by looking at the current SpaceX launch manifest. You'll see that almost every flight today uses a booster that was "impossible" to land just ten years ago.
Go watch the 2016 Falcon 9 sea landing video again. It’s still the best way to understand the sheer grit it took to get here.