Introduction
Griffin Musk, eldest son of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has largely stayed out of the public eye as he’s grown up. But at 21 years old, Griffin is all grown up and starting to make a name for himself outside of his famous father’s shadow. Keep reading to learn more about Griffin Musk’s life so far and what he’s been up to recently.
Griffin’s Early Life and Education
Griffin Ernst Musk was born on April 10, 1999 in Pretoria, South Africa to Elon and Justine Musk. When Griffin was just an infant, the family immigrated to Canada before eventually settling in Los Angeles. Griffin lived with his mother Justine after she and Elon divorced in 2008. He attended Bel-Air Prep, a private school in Los Angeles, where he was known to be a dedicated student focused on his studies.
In 2017, Griffin graduated high school and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where his father also attended. He chose to study business and physics at the prestigious Ivy League university. During his time at Penn, Griffin kept a low profile and was not very active on social media, preferring to focus on his studies rather than gain public attention. In 2021, Griffin graduated from UPenn summa cum laude with a dual bachelor’s degree in business and physics.
Starting His Career in the Tech Industry
After college, Griffin Musk decided to follow in his father’s entrepreneurial footsteps and break into the tech industry. In 2022, he interned at Neuralink, the neurotechnology startup co-founded by Elon that is developing implantable brain-machine interfaces. While there, Griffin assisted the research teams by studying the technical and medical aspects of the Neuralink devices.
This experience sparked Griffin’s interest in biotechnology. In late 2022, he took on his first full-time role as an associate product manager at Anthropic, an AI safety startup based in San Francisco. Anthropic is working on neural network techniques like constitutional AI to help ensure AI systems are beneficial to humanity. At the company, Griffin is helping oversee product development and partnerships.
While starting out his career, Griffin has been careful not to rely too heavily on his last name. He got both the Neuralink and Anthropic internships and jobs through traditional applications and interviews, without leveraging his family connections. Griffin wants to prove himself based on his own merits and skills in the tech space.
Education Advocacy and Low Profile
Outside of his work, Griffin Musk has begun to take on education advocacy as a cause. Like his father Elon, he is passionate about the role emerging technologies could play in improving access to learning. Griffin has spoken at a few conferences on using augmented reality and artificial intelligence to help make education more engaging and effective for students around the world.
Overall though, Griffin continues to keep a fairly low personal profile compared to his famous father. He is not very active on social media platforms and prefers to let his work and interests speak for themselves rather than basking in fame. Griffin wants to avoid undeserved attention or assumptions due simply to being Elon Musk’s son. He is focused on paving his own path in the tech industry through hard work and initiative.
Balancing Work and Education
While Griffin Musk has begun a career working at AI safety startups, he also continues his education. In 2023, he enrolled in a master’s program at New York University, studying machine learning and business analytics part-time. Griffin splits his time between his work at Anthropic in San Francisco, and taking graduate courses in person and online from NYU.
Balancing his career and further education has been challenging but rewarding for Griffin. He finds the dual commitments keep him constantly learning and growing in both technical skills and business acumen. Griffin hopes to someday found his own AI startup applying what he’s learned from prestigious universities as well as established companies like Neuralink and Anthropic. His long term goal is to use advanced technologies to have a positive social impact.
A Low-Profile Childhood
Griffin Musk spent much of his early childhood largely out of the public eye. As the son of two high-profile entrepreneurs, his parents made efforts to give him as normal an upbringing as possible. Griffin was involved in various youth sports and activities through school like many other children. He developed a passion for coding and robotics at a young age, which would later influence his career path.
Bond with Siblings
Griffin Musk has six younger siblings that he shares a close bond with – twins Vivian and Knox born in 2004, as well as triplets Damian, Saxon, and Kai born in 2006. Although there is an age gap, Griffin dotes on his siblings and helps look out for them. He is reportedly very close with Vivian in particular, who he mentors. Family is very important to Griffin, and he strives to be a good role model for his younger brothers and sisters.
Enthusiasm for Emerging Tech
From a young age, Griffin Musk has had a natural curiosity and enthusiasm for topics like renewable energy, space technology, and artificial intelligence. He enjoyed visiting his father Elon at SpaceX facilities and peppering him with questions. These interests informed Griffin’s choice to study physics and machine learning in university. He is excited about the possibilities of technologies to transform industries and better humanity.
Spare Time Hobbies
When he has free time outside of work and school, some of Griffin Musk hobbies include hiking, learning foreign languages, and muscle car restoration. An internationally-minded global citizen, Griffin is conversational in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. In his Los Angeles garage he works on restoring classic 1960s Ford Mustangs. Interacting with mechanics fulfills his analytical problem-solving nature.
Travel and Cultural Exposure
Griffin Musk has accompanied his family on international vacations and trips abroad since childhood. Experiencing diverse cultures has helped him develop an open and worldly perspective. As an adult, Griffin backpacks and explores new places independently in South America, Asia and Europe whenever he gets a break from work. He aims to constantly broaden his horizons outside of technology.
Discretion About Family
While openly discussing his career interests, Griffin Musk tends to be more private about personal details regarding his famous father Elon Musk and family life. He does not court public attention or spread private information. Griffin’s personal social media presence is also very minimal. He seems to prefer letting his accomplishments stand on their own rather than relying on nepotism or fame.
Conclusion
In summary, Griffin Musk has grown into a talented young professional pursuing opportunities at the cutting edge of technology. While starting from a privileged background as Elon Musk’s eldest son, Griffin has worked diligently to make his own way in the business world based on merit. He continues to hone his skills and education, taking on education advocacy causes along the way too. With drive, intelligence and humble ambition, Griffin Musk seems poised to achieve great success of his own in the coming years outside of his famous father’s shadow. It will be exciting to watch where his promising career path leads in the future.
