Tesla Motors CEO and PayPal co-founder Elon Musk will speak at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View tonight about his life, from his South African roots to his success as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

Musk, who is also chief executive of SpaceX, a spacecraft launch firm out of Hawthorne, Calif., and chairman of solar energy company SolarCity, of San Mateo, will address what it is like to oversee three innovative firms at once, museum spokeswoman Carol Stiglic said.

Musk also will discuss what he learned while at the helm of San Jose online transaction firm PayPal and the Palo Alto-based electric car builder Tesla, Stiglic said.

He'll also give his thoughts on the future of electric-powered autos and his vision for SpaceX, which includes a $36 billion space station on the surface of Mars.

Musk will be joined in the 7 p.m. sit-down conversation in the museum's Hahn Auditorium by Alison van Diggelen of the Silicon Valley technology interview website Fresh Dialogues, Stiglic said.

All 800 of the free passes to the event have been given out already, but the public may still view Musk's talk on a screen inside the museum's overflow room, Stiglic said.

Musk is speaking as part of the "Revolutionaries" series of conversations with high-tech executives and company founders that is now in its third year at the museum, Stiglic said.

The conversation with Musk will be broadcast on Thursday at 8 p.m. on radio station KQED-FM 88.5, and will be available on the museum's YouTube channel sometime next week, Stiglic said.

The Computer History Museum is located at 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View.

— Bay City News Service

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