Elon Musk creates the world's most exclusive school: Entrepreneur reveals he bought a mansion to house 20 pupils (including his five kids) and three teachers

• California school is named Ad Astra, which is Latin for 'to the stars'
• It is shrouded in secrecy, with no known websites or social media accounts
• Billionaire has five sons, nine year-old twins, and seven year-old triplets
• School doesn't provide grades and caters to students' particular skillset
• Musk had a difficult childhood after being severely bullied at school

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:31 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 17:40 EST, 24 September 2015

If Elon Musk doesn't like something, he'll create his own, better version.

From reusable space rockets to revolutionary home batteries, it seems there's not much the billionaire can't improve.

Now, Musk is trying to do the same with his children's education by starting a radical school, with no grade structure, for just 20 pupils.

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Elon Musk has started a secretive school for his five sons, and 15 other pupils who are the children of select Space X employees. He is pictured here with his boys Griffin, left, and Xavier, right, and wife Talulah Riley

The school is named Ad Astra, which is Latin for 'to the stars,' and it's in southern California, in a mansion he purchased several years ago. 

'It has all these funny nooks and crannies and cute cupboards,' Musk said in a recent interview with Vogue. 

'It also feels quite like a little schoolhouse on the prairie - except in Bel-Air on a golf course.' 

The school is shrouded in secrecy, with no known social media accounts, websites or an application process.

In an April interview with Beijing TV, Musk said his school does away with the traditional grade structure of American primary education.

'They weren't doing the things I thought should be done,' Musk said during the interview. 

In an April interview with Beijing TV, Musk says his school does away with the traditional grade structure of American primary education. 

'I thought, well, let's see what we can do. Maybe creating a school would be better.' 

Musk has five boys with his former wife Justine; a set of twins, Griffin and Xavier who are nine, a set of triplets, Damian, Saxon, and Kai aged seven, conceived using IVF.

He told Vogue that he is about about to take his children camping for the weekend, despite not enjoying the activity himself.

'I do it because I think they should have occasional arduous things,' he said. 'They have to cook and clean up: camping things.'

With the new school, which has three teachers, his goal is to cater for his students particular set of skills, rather than force them to follow an arbitary schedule.

'It's important to teach problem solving, or teach to the problem and not the tools,' Musk said. 

'Let's say you're trying to teach people about how engines work. 

'A more traditional approach would be saying, 'We're going to teach all about screwdrivers and wrenches.' This is a very difficult way to do it. 

'A much better way would be, like, 'Here's the engine. Now let's take it apart. How are we gonna take it apart? Oh you need a screwdriver.'' 

Since Musk opened the school, 15 other pupils have joined his five boys, and the school may grow larger in the future. 

Most of the other pupils are believed to be children of selected Space X employees, which is hoping to establish a human colony on Mars someday. 

Musk took his children out of Los Angeles' Mirman School, along with of its teachers.

On its website, it describes itself as 'one of the few schools in the nation, and the only school in Los Angeles, that serves highly gifted children.'

Talulah Riley with her husband Elon Musk and his sons Griffin, left, and Xavier, right. With the new school, Musk's goal is to cater for his students particular set of skills

'Some people love English or languages. Some people love math. Some people love music. Different abilities, different times,' said Musk.

'It makes more sense to cater the education to match their aptitudes and abilities.'

A new Musk biography from author Ashlee Vance, reveals Musk's childhood in South Africa was difficult as a result of severe bullying. 

In one incident, his classmates pushed him down a concrete stairwell. 

In his biography, Musk recounts the experience: 'They got my best f******* friend to lure me out of hiding so they could beat me up. And that f******* hurt.

'For some reason they decided that I was it, and they were going to go after me nonstop. That’s what made growing up difficult. For a number of years there was no respite. 

'You get chased around by gangs at school who tried to beat the [expletive] out of me, and then I’d come home, and it would just be awful there as well.'

But as far as his own children's experience at school, so far, Ad Astra 'seems to be going pretty well,' according to Musk. 'The kids really love going to school.' 

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