Elon Musk’s First Cousin, Lyndon Rive
Elon Musk’s first cousin, Lyndon Rive is a South African entrepreneur who co-founded SolarCity and served as CEO until 2016. The company distributes solar-powered home systems and related services. He co-founded the company with his brother Peter in 2006.
Lyndon Rive is the founder and CEO of SolarCity
Lyndon Rive is a businessman from South Africa who founded SolarCity and served as its CEO until 2016. The company is a provider of photovoltaic systems and related services. He co-founded the company with his brother Peter in 2006.
Tesla acquired SolarCity in August 2012 for $2.6 billion. Rive grew tired of selling small business software and wanted to do something bigger. He had a vision for SolarCity that included a large solar panel installation business for homes. Rive felt solar power was a no-brainer for the company. He also believed the world needed to move away from fossil fuels because the resources are finite. Solar energy would have to be priced similarly.
The founder and CEO of SolarCity, a Tesla subsidiary, announced on Monday that he will leave the company to pursue a new startup. Rive was CEO of SolarCity for a year and a half and joined Tesla in late 2016. He led the company through growth to become the largest residential solar company in the U.S. and designed innovative financing programs. His departure from Tesla will free up his time to start a new company and spend time with his family.
Despite its growth, SolarCity is still a high-risk venture. SolarCity installs solar systems in 27 states and Mexico, and it takes on billions of dollars in debt every year. It’s a high-risk business, with the potential for a bubble bursting like the subprime housing bubble. So, how can SolarCity make its way out of the mess?
He is Elon Musk’s first cousin
Elon Musk is the most famous of the Musk family, having created numerous successful companies. He is the founder of PayPal and SpaceX, among many other notable companies. He is also the inventor of the Hyperloop concept. Each Musk-Rive cousin has achieved some degree of success. Kimbal Musk co-founded The Kitchen Community, a group that has helped to establish more than 250 community and school gardens that have impacted 140,000 kids each year.
Rive’s entrepreneurial skills are also a major reason he co-founded SolarCity with Elon Musk. After the company was sold to Dell for $120 million, he decided to pursue a bigger project. Musk was captivated by Rive’s vision and convinced him to invest in solar power. Rive eventually joined Tesla’s energy division and helped build the company from the ground up.
As a child, Rive had difficulty reading and spelling. His mother arranged for two hours each afternoon to tutor him. Once he was 14, Rive and his brother Russ started a company called Everdream, which offered an early version of IT software. Musk also stayed in Rive’s San Francisco apartment with Madeline and Russ. During this time, the two cousins met weekly to brainstorm new ideas.
In July, Musk’s solar-panel company SolarCity was acquired by the electric-car company Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk is the first cousin of. The acquisition was for $2.6 billion in stock but was denounced on Wall Street as nepotistic. As such, Rive and Musk are related by blood. Musk is the chairman and biggest shareholder of SolarCity.
He was smashed in a car accident
Lyndon Rive was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. It was a bad accident, but it did not kill him. He was only 16 years old. He had been in two motorcycle accidents before, including one in which he broke his leg. He had also fallen over a car that cut him off, but he escaped with his life. His sister, a competitive dirt biker, had been injured in the same accident. Rive was able to quickly change the subject and discuss his sister’s injuries.
In his new role as CEO of SolarCity, Rive aims to make solar-powered homes a reality. He owns 4 percent of the company, which is worth about $200 million. The company hasn’t made a profit yet, but Rive hopes that the regulation will be overturned. Rive, who is also the cousin of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, hopes to turn SolarCity into a billion-dollar business in 5 years.
In 2006, Rive and his brother Peter Rive started SolarCity, a company that sells photovoltaic systems. In 2010, they acquired SolarCity for $2 billion. Rive was the co-founder of SolarCity. His brother Peter Rive will continue his work at Tesla, focusing on SolarCity’s new solar roofing product. The accident has led to several questions about Rive’s future career.
He distributes homeopathic medications
In his early days, Lyndon Rive struggled with reading, spelling, and grammar, but his mother would set aside two hours of his afternoons for tutoring. At the age of 14, he began holding weekly business meetings with his mother, who ran a holistic health institute. In just two years, he had the idea to distribute homeopathic medicines. This idea grew into a successful business, and Dell purchased Everdream in 2007.
SolarCity, which IPOed in 2012 and was acquired by Tesla in 2016, was founded by brothers Peter and Lyndon Rive. The company was later acquired by Elon Musk, who is chairman of SolarCity and holds 22.5% of its stock. Rive was born in South Africa, but emigrated to the United States after visiting San Jose, California. In addition to founding SolarCity, Rive also co-founded Everdream.
He is a lifelong entrepreneur
Lyndon Rive is a successful businessman who has founded several companies. His first venture was in South Africa at the age of 17. He has also participated in sports, including national team underwater hockey and playing for the US underwater hockey team. He has built his businesses through hard work and innovation. His passion for entrepreneurship has resulted in several award-winning companies. He has also won numerous technology awards.
He is the co-founder of SolarCity, a company that has grown into the largest residential solar power provider in the U.S. in just eight years. The company has more than 2,000 employees and is responsible for installing one in three solar power systems in homes across the country. Prior to SolarCity, Rive founded Everdream, an industry leader in large-scale distributed computer management. The company was acquired by Dell Computer in 2007.
