SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk.

Quick Scoop

  • Founding year: 2002.
  • Founder: Elon Musk, who used part of his PayPal earnings to start the company.
  • Original goal: Dramatically cut launch costs to enable human settlement of Mars.

A Tiny Bit More Context

Legally, SpaceX was incorporated on March 14, 2002, though some sources note May or June 2002 as the practical “birth” of the company. From a timeline and business-history standpoint, all major references agree on 2002 as the year SpaceX was founded.

TL;DR: SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to make spaceflight cheaper and eventually help humans live on Mars.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.