HE might be one of the world’s richest men, but Elon Musk lives a surprisingly humble existence… for a billionaire.
The tech billionaire – worth $215.4billion – swore in 2020 to give up all his possessions, but how true is he to his word?
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Unlike Amazon’s Jeff Bezos who has spent $42million building a clock or former Google CEO Larry Page’s 60-metre yacht, Musk can be surprisingly tight with his fortune.
The 51-year-old says while he is asset rich with Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX, he insists he is cash poor.
He told: “It’s important to understand, what is this wealth?
“It’s not like I have some massive cash balances.
“My cash balances are very, very low, and at least until I sold stock.”
So it’s no surprise, the South African makes every penny count with his eccentric spending habits.
From his tiny house in Texas to lavish costume parties, we bring you what Musk spends his billions on.
‘Tiny’ $45k house
This March Musk sold the last of his seven luxury properties in Los Angeles.
The sale included his mammoth Bel Air property, which went for a staggering $29million.
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In 2020, the billionaire tweeted: “I am selling all physical possessions. Will own no house.”
But needing a place to crash near SpaceX near Boca Chica in Texas, Musk initially rented a 20ft x 20ft prefab, made by tiny house company Boxabl.
But he set down roots when he invested in a $45,000 ‘tiny’ house close to the office.
He admitted: “It’s small. It’s very small. It’s a tiny… it’s a small, small house.”
He added: “It’s right next to the rocket factory, so I can just literally walk to the rocket factory, it’s like half a mile away.”
Elon even mucked in with a bit of handiwork to give him a little more space.
He said: “It’s technically a three-bedroom, but it used to be a two-bedroom.
“I converted the garage into a third bedroom.”
Ditches essentials
His former girlfriend singer Grimes – who lived with him in Boca Chica – was not happy with his stinginess and unwillingness to even buy food.
She told Vanity Fair this year: “Bro does not live like a billionaire… Bro lives at times below the poverty line.
“To the point where I was like, ‘Can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house?
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“Where the neighbours, like, film us, and there’s no security, and I’m eating peanut butter for eight days in a row?'”
She added that the billionaire even refused to buy them a new mattress when theirs broke.
Will splash out to party
However, Musk isn’t afraid to splash out for an elaborate bash – particularly a costume party.
He is said to have rented a whole English castle for his medieval themed 30th birthday.
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Guests were said to have played hide-and-seek, according to Ashlee Vance‘s book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.
He also threw a company bash in Venice and dressed up as a knight.
In 2015, he dressed as an ancient Egyptian god to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion Halloween party.
His then-wife Talulah Riley wore an Alice in Wonderland outfit while his pal and creator of Napster Sean Parker dressed as a mushroom.
Very reasonable wardrobe
Musk’s trademark uniform is black or blue jeans with a black T-shirt.
He occasionally mixes it up with a graphic tee – including his company’s “Occupy Mars” shirt.
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The top can be bought for just $30 on the SpaceX website which will go towards lining his pockets. Knock-offs are available online for as low as £11.
Although he mostly dresses down, Musk is a fan of a white tie red carpet.
He has been spotted wearing TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 1887 SpaceX Chronograph – worth around £4,950.
No holiday rule
When Musk hitched a free ride on Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel’s yacht in Greece this summer, his pasty skin became the butt of jokes.
But it’s hardly any wonder Musk is so pale when he swore off holidays in 2003.
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Since founding SpaceX, he has reportedly only took two weeks off in 12 years.
In 2018, he told The New York Times: “There were times when I didn’t leave the factory for three or four days — days when I didn’t go outside.
“This has really come at the expense of seeing my kids. And seeing friends.”
His priciest spend? Getting married
One of the biggest drains on Musk’s finances has been his three rather expensive divorces.
His first divorce from Canadian writer Justine Musk cost the tech boss around $20million in 2008.
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Following the payout, Musk had to borrow from friends after piling all his money into SpaceX, according to Business Insider.
He went on to marry Pride & Prejudice actress Talulah Riley in 2010 but they then went on to divorce twice – once in 2012 and a year after remarrying in 2013.
Both splits from Talulah cost Musk a cool $16million and the pair remain friendly.
Weak spot for pricey cars
Before selling off all his worldly possessions in 2020, Musk had a penchant for a fancy car.
He shelled out $1million in 2013 on the aquatic transformer car from The Spy who Loved Me known as “Wet Nellie”.
But Musk didn’t realise the car was just a prop for cinematic purposes.
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He said: “I was disappointed to learn that it can’t actually transform.
“What I’m going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real.”
He also bought a $1million McLaren F1 in 2000 but crashed it on his way to an investor meeting.
He later revealed he had ditched the car, explaining: “The McLaren is a great car.
“It’s a work of art, a really beautiful piece of engineering, but I didn’t want people always writing that I have a high-performance gasoline sports car so I decided to sell it.”
Musk sold the McLaren at a profit – despite having to shell out for repairing the front end and glass.
Relatable hobbies
In his spare time, Musk prefers to loaf around and stream TV.
He reportedly pays a $8.99 Netflix monthly subscription like the rest of us – with Black Mirror a favourite.
The CEO also spends his weekends bingeing anime and historical documentaries.
In one New York Times interview his then-girlfriend Grimes said: “Right now, we’re going back to Genghis Khan for like the third time, and the Mongols, I guess.”
