In 2025, Elon Musk is a name most people recognise. He runs companies like SpaceX,

Tesla

, and X (formerly Twitter). His net worth is well over $400 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes. He’s often in the news whether for launching rockets, commenting on politics, or reshaping social media. But it wasn’t always this way.A resurfaced video from around 2002, now featured by The Economic Times (June 2025), shows Musk at a time when few knew who he was. In the short clip, Musk is seen introducing himself in a calm, straightforward tone. He says, “Elon Musk. E‑L‑O‑N M‑U‑S‑K.” He even explains what his company does, calling it “Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX.” This early footage shows a very different side of someone who would go on to become the richest person on the planet.

The video captures Musk during the early days of SpaceX, the rocket company he founded in 2002. At the time, he had just sold PayPal and used $100 million of his own money to start the space venture. The clip, shared in The Economic Times, is a rare look into Musk’s early efforts to explain his mission and gain public interest in space exploration.

Back then, SpaceX was a small, unknown startup. It had no major launches, no contracts with NASA, and no working rocket. Musk believed humans needed to become a “multi-planetary species,” and SpaceX was his bet on that future. In the clip, he talks about how using telescopes isn’t enough: "You have to actually go there." That simple belief would guide SpaceX through multiple failed launches before its first major success in 2008.

The video may seem minor, but it captures a time before the fame. Musk wasn’t a household name. He was an entrepreneur introducing himself on camera because almost no one knew how to pronounce his name, let alone what his company did.That moment is now hard to imagine. As of 2025, Musk runs multiple high-profile ventures. SpaceX is regularly launching rockets to the International Space Station. Tesla leads in electric vehicle production.

Neuralink

is developing brain-machine interfaces. X (formerly Twitter) is being rebuilt into what Musk calls an “everything app.”He’s also behind xAI, an artificial intelligence company aiming to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. His influence extends into global politics, defense contracts, cryptocurrency, and infrastructure.

What stands out in the 2002 clip is Musk’s tone—measured, even quiet. He didn’t talk about colonizing Mars or merging humans with AI. He just explained who he was and what his new company planned to do. It’s a rare reminder that even the most powerful people start out explaining themselves, sometimes letter by letter.The resurfacing of this video, shared widely on platforms like X and Reddit in June 2025, struck a chord online. Many users pointed out how far Musk has come from spelling out his name to influencing everything from global space policy to the direction of AI research.Others noted that the clip reflects how much of his early vision has remained unchanged. He still talks about space. He still speaks about building a future worth living in. But now, billions of dollars, hundreds of launches, and millions of followers later, far more people are listening.