6 eccentric things billionaire Elon Musk spends his money on: from James Bond submarines and McLaren supercars, to private jet travel and his obsession with Diet Coke – but not property

Oct 30 , 2023

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla, has billions to spend – so what are his passions? Photo: DPA

The Tesla founder’s former partner Grimes admitted Musk didn’t even want to replace a mattress with a hole in it when they lived together – and yet the he continues to fly on a Gulfstream private jet

Despite being luxury car mad – he’s owned everything from a Jaguar E-Type to a submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me – Musk sold his entire property portfolio to support his vision to live on Mars

Elon Musk, the richest man on Earth according to Forbes, lives in a rented US$50,000 “box home”, sold most of his luxury properties, and once told his former partner Grimes she couldn’t buy a new mattress when she discovered a hole in the one they were sleeping on.

But that doesn’t mean Musk doesn’t splurge at all – quite the contrary. He indulges in hobbies and vices like everyone else – his choices just tend to be a little less conventional than most.

Elon Musk’s ambitions to colonise Mars

Elon Musk has been passionate about humans settling on Mars since he had enough money to try to make his dreams a reality. Photo: Getty Images

Since his first brush with fame, Musk has been clear that it is his personal mission to colonise Mars, and he created SpaceX with exactly that goal in mind. The billionaire believes humans need a contingency plan should Earth become non-viable, and announced in 2021 that he wants as much of his US$225 billion net worth as possible to go into the project.

Per Insider, Musk said that building a city on Mars would require “just a lot of capital” and that he wanted to “be able to contribute as much as possible”. To illustrate his seriousness about investing his fortune for “the sake of humanity”, Musk said he was eschewing material possessions, including his impressive property portfolio.

The property portfolio that disappeared

Back in 2012, Musk made headlines when he dropped US$17 million on a 20,248 sq ft mansion in Bel Air, California. According to the Los Angeles Times, the home had a two-story library, a study, wine cellar, tennis court, seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. At the time, he dropped millions investing in at least five other neighbouring properties, according to Observer.

Then, in May 2020, he had a change of heart, vowing to “own no house” so as not to be seen as materialistic by his critics, and prove his dedication to his companies. According to Sky News, he then sold seven of his homes in California for a combined US$128 million. Musk’s primary home is now a US$50,000 dollar home in Boca Chica, Texas, which he rents from SpaceX.

The James Bond submarine car

The Lotus Esprit submarine car from the JamesBond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Photo: 007.com

It’s no surprise that the Tesla and SpaceX boss has an interest in unusual cars. Per Insider, Musk bought the Lotus Esprit submarine car in 2013. The car is famous for its appearance in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. According to reports, Musk paid US$920,000 for the car at an auction.