Mask began to pave the way to success twenty years ago, just then, as a 24-year-old guy, he moved to California. In 1995, Musk and his brother, Kimbal, started Zip2, a web software company, with US$2,000 of their father's money. The company developed and marketed an Internet "city guide" for the newspaper publishing industry. Musk obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune and persuaded the board of directors to abandon plans for a merger with CitySearch. While at Zip2, Musk wanted to become CEO; however, none of the board members would allow it. Compaq acquired Zip2 for US$307 million in cash and US$34 million in stock options in February 1999. Musk received US$22 million for his 7% share from the sale.

In March 1999, Ilon Mask thought about the development of an online payment system. He wanted to get people an opportunity to send money via the Internet, believing that checks were extremely inconvenient to use. So, Musk founded the company X.com, which soon merged with its competitor Confinity, forming a successful company PayPal.

In May 2002, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. paceX develops and manufactures space launch vehicles with a focus on advancing the state of rocket technology. The company's first two launch vehicles are the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets, and its first spacecraft is the Dragon. The first launches of rockets into orbit were unsuccessful, however, the fifth launch of the missile in 2009 was able to deliver a commercial Malaysian satellite into orbit. On May 25, 2012, the SpaceX Dragon vehicle berthed with the ISS, making history as the first commercial company to launch and berth a vehicle to the International Space Station. Today the company is engaged in cargo transportation to the ISS, and also has contracts for the manufacture of space components and missiles.

In 2003, Ilon Mask invested most of his savings in the production of electric cars. That's when the Tesla Motors company was founded. Following the financial crisis in 2008, Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect, positions he still holds today. Tesla Motors first built an electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster in 2008, with sales of about 2,500 vehicles to 31 countries. Tesla began delivery of its four-door Model S sedan on June 22, 2012. It unveiled its third product, the Model X, aimed at the SUV/minivan market, on February 9, 2012; the Model X launch was however delayed until September 2015. In addition to its own cars, Tesla sells electric powertrain systems to Daimler for the Smart EV, Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive and Mercedes A Class and to Toyota for the RAV4 EV. Musk was able to bring in both companies as long-term investors in Tesla.

In 2009, Tesla Motors received a government loan of $ 465 million. The money went towards completing the development of its Modern S sedan and its electric power trains, which were being licensed by other car makers such as Mercedes. It is noteworthy that the loan was repaid not only much earlier than the expected date, but also the payment contained bonuses and interest that amounted to $20 million. So, the electric car Tesla Model S became the first electric sedan, which won the "car of the year" nomination according to the versions of authoritative auto magazines.

Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which was then co-founded in 2006 by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. SolarCity is now the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.

The underlying motivation for funding both SolarCity and Tesla is to help combat global warming. In 2012, Musk announced that SolarCity and Tesla are collaborating to use electric vehicle batteries to smooth the impact of rooftop solar on the power grid, with the program going live in 2013. On June 17, 2014, Musk committed to building in Buffalo, New York, a SolarCity advanced production facility that would triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States. Musk stated the plant will be "one of the single largest solar panel production plants in the world", and it will be followed by one or more even bigger facilities in subsequent years. In June 2016, Musk's car company, Tesla, formally submitted an offer to acquire SolarCity.

The main idea of the SolarCity project is the message to all mankind about the need to use "green" technologies. The company is run by Ilona Mask's cousins. The entrepreneur himself in numerous interviews reported that initially SolarCity was not a commercial project.

On August 12, 2013, Musk unveiled a concept for a high-speed transportation system incorporating reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on an air cushion driven by linear induction motors and air compressors. The mechanism for releasing the concept was an alpha-design document that, in addition to scoping out the technology, outlined a notional route where such a transport system might be built: between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area. After earlier envisioning Hyperloop, Musk assigned a dozen engineers from Tesla and SpaceX who worked for nine months, establishing the conceptual foundations and creating the designs for the transportation system. Hyperloop One, a company unaffiliated with Musk, had announced that it had done its first successful test run on its DevLoop track in Nevada on July 13, 2017. It was on May 12, 2017 and had lasted 5.3 seconds, reaching a top speed of 70 mph.

Ilon Mask is a unique businessman who seeks to look at the world globally and build his business taking into account the preservation of the ecology, developing the progress of all mankind.