Last week, I, along with millions of others, held my breath as we watched SpaceX’s large Starship make its second test flight. It looked to be a successful launch as Starship traveled farther than ever before, successfully reaching space only to blow up shortly after separating from its booster. Was it a success? Absolutely. But SpaceX has a ways to go before realizing Elon Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars.
SpaceX is just one of the many companies founded or led by Musk, the mercurial billionaire who has launched at least 10 companies in the past quarter century. Fortune has set out to accomplish its own herculean goal: mapping out Musk’s myriad ventures. We wanted to show you where all of Musk's companies, that we know of, are located. This task was made more complex because none of them returned our requests for information. Most of the data for our map came from the websites of various companies, SEC filings, state corporation documents, and press reports.
What we discovered was mesmerizing. Beautifully displayed by Nicolas Rapp, Fortune’s director of information graphics, our Musk business map shows that his companies span at least six countries: the U.S., Canada, China, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands. (The Tesla factory in Mexico isn’t built yet, and it’s unclear whether X offices in London or Singapore are still open.)
Most Musk businesses are U.S. based. The billionaire lived in California with his family for many years, and several of his firms—xAI, Twitter/X, and SpaceX—have facilities there. Musk also is building his own town on acres of land outside of Austin, the Wall Street Journal reported in March, which is also near facilities or offices for Tesla, The Boring Co., and SpaceX.
We also set out to determine who is working for him. Musk is self-made but he’s relied on several trusted advisors or lieutenants to help him build and lead his companies. Again, none of them responded to requests for information. The data for our employee org charts came from SEC filings, LinkedIn, state corporation documents, press reports, and Walter Isaacson’s book, Elon Musk.
One power player connected to several Musk companies is Jared Birchall, a former Morgan Stanley banker. There’s also Steve Davis, a former SpaceX engineer who’s head of the Boring Co. but who also led the reorganization at Twitter, now known as X. Perhaps the most famous Musk lieutenant is Gwynne Shotwell, who joined SpaceX in 2002 as vice president of business development. She currently oversees day-to-day operations at SpaceX as COO and president. Last year, Shotwell and Mark Juncosa, another Musk lieutenant, were put in charge of overseeing the facility and operations of Starbase, one of four active SpaceX launch sites. (See who else made the SpaceX org chart.)
Musk’s most well-known company, Tesla, has relied on several executives to help make it the biggest EV manufacturer in the world. There’s Andrew Baglino, a senior vice president for powertrain and energy engineering, who’s considered a top candidate to succeed Musk. (Baglino, who has spent nearly 18 years at Tesla, is also the company’s most senior engineer behind Musk.) Musk famously allows his executives to move around. Consider Omead Afshar, a former ski instructor, who oversaw construction of Gigafactory Texas but moved to SpaceX last year. (Find out who else made the Tesla org chart here.)
We also have those for X, the Boring Co., Neuralink, and xAI.
OpenAI update: Less than a week after OpenAI's firing of Sam Altman, its CEO and cofounder, the company announced they've reached an agreement for Altman to return as CEO with a new initial board. The new board will include former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, and Adam D’Angelo, CEO of Quora. Altman is replacing Emmett Shear, cofounder of Twitch, who was appointed interim CEO for roughly 72 hours.
Moving on: Scott Shleifer, the private investment chief at Tiger Global Management, is transitioning to a senior advisor role at the firm effective Jan. 1, according to The Information. Shleifer is a cofounder of the private equity investing unit at Tiger and has been a leader of its hedge and venture fund for two decades, the story said. Tiger Global was one of several firms that took part in a flurry of dealmaking during the go-go days of 2021 but saw its fortunes reverse in 2022 when net assets under management shrunk, as reported by my colleagues Jessica Mathews and Anne Sraders.
A sale: McDonald's is buying Carlyle Group’s minority stake in the partnership that operates and manages McDonald's business in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, according to a statement. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but the deal is valued at $1.8 billion, according to a person familiar. McDonald’s will boost its stake in the China business to 48% from 20%, according to a statement. The sale is believed to be one of Carlyle’s best private equity deals in China.
Term Sheet will not publish on Thursday and Friday in recognition of the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back in your inboxes Monday, Nov. 27.
Luisa Beltran
Twitter: @LuisaRBeltran
Email: luisa.beltran@fortune.com
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Joe Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
