It’s not a week without new headlines about Elon Musk (51) or one of his numerous companies. The South African-born triple citizen (who, in addition to South African Musk also holds Canadian and US citizenship), gained a lot of attention in the early 2000s when he amassed millions of fortunes by selling Paypal, the online payment system he developed, to eBay.
Shortly thereafter, Musk founded the space company SpaceX, which today is the world’s leading provider of commercial space flights, which also counts the US space agency Nasa among its customers. In 2004, Musk invested in Tesla, which he founded the year before. As CEO, he has become a defining figure of what is now the world’s largest electric car maker and helped realize the worldwide breakthrough of electromobility by, among other things, building the Tesla supercharger network.
Elon Musk is currently keeping the world busy with his $44 billion purchase of text messaging service Twitter. The richest person on the planet – estimated wealth: $209 billion – seems to have neither the stamina nor the motivation for new projects. Things can never go fast enough for Elon Musk – even on the street.
First BMW, then Jaguar
But looking at his automotive biography, even an Elon Musk starts small. That’s why his first car is said to be a BMW 320i from 1978. The purchase price on the occasion of 125 hp: almost 1400 dollars. But his dream car was Jaguar’s legendary E-Type: After an initial $40,000 bonus from the web software company Zip2, founded in 1995, he gave himself the 1967 E-Type. However, he was not entirely satisfied with the purchase of the classic car: “He was like a bad friend – he let me down and caused me a lot of trouble.”
flying McLaren
When the first million fell into his account after the sale of the Zip2 in 2000, sports car fan Musk immediately snatched up the British super sports car McLaren F1, which cost a million dollars. In a CNN interview, he said he later used the McLaren for day trips from San Francisco to Los Angeles. In his first year alone, he drove almost 18,000 kilometers in the 627 hp F1.
Until he went to a meeting, investor Peter Thiel (55) wanted to know what the car could do from the passenger seat. “Look here,” Musk replied and pressed the accelerator. According to Musk, the rear wheels immediately lost traction and slammed into a set before the McLaren took off and spun “like a disc.” Again it came to a complete stop. “It’s a miracle none of us were injured in the accident,” Peter Thiel, who wasn’t even wearing a seat belt at the time, told the New York Times in 2017. Musk and Thiel, businessmen, hitchhiked the rest of the way to the meeting. Musk had the uninsured F1 repaired, drove it until 2007, and then sold it – for a profit.
Audi sucks, Lotus dives
McLaren wasn’t the only combustion-engined sports car Musk bought. In addition to a BMW M5 from Tuner Hamann, a Porsche 911 has also been part of the car collection since 2012. Musk, meanwhile, was annoyed by the awkward access to the third row of seats with an Audi Q7 in his possession – here the idea for the upward-swinging gull-wing doors that Tesla later fitted to the car came up. Model X.
The Tesla boss should also have two real automotive rarities. In addition to the Ford Model T, the first car built on an assembly line from 1908, which Musk received as a gift in 2017, he auctioned off the original Lotus Esprit S1 used in the James Bond movie in 2013. 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me” became famous for his diving skills. At the presentation of the futuristic Cybertruck in 2019, Musk showcased the Esprit and later confirmed that its angular design was the inspiration for the Cybertruck’s look. While still a long way from the launch of the electric pickup truck – announced in late 2021 – it created a stir when Elon Musk drove a prototype of the Cybertruck to Malibu luxury restaurant Nobu in December 2019 – including an involuntary demonstration when he cut a street sign while turning.
Faster, higher, roadster
Almost no one can draw attention to himself like Elon Musk: For the first flight of the new SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2017, ordinary test weights were not loaded – a Tesla Roadster was supposed to be used as the test cargo, which revolved around the sun. since. The Roadster was allegedly Musk’s personal vehicle.
According to his own statements, he prefers to drive the Model S P100D today. The performance variant is an absolute electric rocket with a speed of 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds. He drives the Model 3 as a second car and the large Model X for family outings – according to various media reports, Musk is said to be the father of nine children. Next title? It’s only a matter of time.