Despite saying he couch surfs and currently doesn’t have a home, Elon Musk admits he does have one luxury – his $66.5 million private jet.
In 2016, the Tesla CEO purchased a Gulfstream G650ER, a favorite aircraft among the one percent – including soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Business Insider reported.
Musk’s flying habits have been well documented over the years, and in 2018 alone he flew on over 250 flights across the U.S, Europe and Asia and spent $700,000 on his plane, the Washington Post reported.
The world’s richest man, 50, said he rotates through friends’ bedrooms, and doesn’t actually own his own home
Musk pictured deboarding his $65 million Gulfstream G650ER private jet in February
Billionaire Elon Musk’s glamorous $66.5 million private jet pictured anded at Luton Airport last year
In 2016 Elon Musk purchased a $66.5 million Gulfstream G650ER, (model pictured) a favorite aircraft among the one percent – including Cristiano Ronaldo and Jeff Bezos
The Gulfstream G650ER jet (model pictured) features a spacious laboratory and four large living room spaces featuring cream-colored leather seats and wood furniture
Gulfstream G650ER jets (model pictured) feature fold up tables stowed at the side of the plane can be combined to form a large dining room table to feed any guest on board
There is even a Twitter account with the handle @ElonJet that tracks the location of the private plane and, according to the account, Musk’s jet landed in Austin, the new location of Telsa headquarters, last Thursday.
Earlier this week the world’s richest man, 50, revealed he does not own his own home and ‘literally’ couch surfs at his friends’ houses depending on where he needs to be.
Musk told TED’s Chris Anderson that he rotates through spare bedrooms, citing when he has to stay in San Francisco’s Bay Area.
‘In fact I don’t even own a home right now, I’m literally staying at friends’ places.
He said he did not spend huge sums on accommodation for himself but admitted his private jet was the exception.
‘I mean the one exception is a plane, but if I don’t use the plane then I have less hours to work,’ he said of his private jet.
Musk’s 99-foot-long luxury jet is a fair trade off for an actual home, coming equipped with multiple big-screen televisions, fresh air circulation and 195 square feet for luggage storage, Gulfstream said.
Gulfstream G650ER jets (model pictured) feature a total of 19 seats in the living spaces that all recline and have footrests and can be converted into beds
Musk recently said he did not spend huge sums on accommodation for himself but admitted his private jet was the exception (Gulfstream G650ER pictured)
The jet also features a spacious laboratory and four large living room spaces featuring cream-colored leather seats and wood furniture.
One of the living spaces includes a VIP cabin with a sliding door perfect for holding private meetings. It has a sofa as well as a flat screen television.
The total of 19 seats in the living spaces all recline and have footrests, and can be converted into beds. Fold up tables stowed at the side of the plane can be combined to form a large dining room table where guest on board can dine.
Musk’s living arrangements have been widely speculated in the past, with him tweeting last year his main home was a $50,000 rental from SpaceX in Texas.
But his post in June also saw him admit to owning an ‘events house’ in the Bay Area of San Francisco.
Yet the Wall Street Journal reported in December he had actually been staying in a mansion in Austin owned by his PayPal cofounder Ken Howery.
The house, believed to be 8,000 sq ft and worth $12million, was the most expensive place in the city when it was bought in 2018.
Meanwhile in May 2020 Musk tweeted: ‘I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.’
Four of Musk’s Los Angeles homes were listed on Zillow as a multi-property listing with an asking price of $62.5million in May 2020
In May 2020 Musk listed five more homes for sale, including four Los Angeles homes
Musk, who says he currently lives on his friends’ couches, listed one of his homes located on Somera Road in Los Angeles for sale in May 2020
That May he listed five homes for sale. Four of the Los Angeles homes were listed on Zillow as a multi-property listing with an asking price of $62.5million.
The fifth home, which is located in Hillsborough, California, was listed for $35million.
On Friday Musk revealed he was weighing up launching a tender offer for Twitter after the company ignored his acquisition offer.
He said he was exploring getting stocks directly from shareholders but admitted he ‘has not determined whether to do so at this time’.
The move signals Musk ramping up his commitment to seizing Twitter after back and forth between the entrepreneur and company.
The social media giant earlier this week filed its ‘poison pill’ defense with the SEC in a last ditch attempt to prevent him from increasing his stake in the firm further.
Musk, the world’s richest man, currently owns a 9.2 per cent stake in the tech giant and is trying to take it private with an unsolicited bid of $54.20 per share.
Musk filed the document with the SEC this morning showing how he planned to take over Twitter for about $46.5 billion.
He secured a debt commitment letter from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding to the tune of $13 billion in financing.
This was made up of a loan of $6.5 billion, a senior secured revolving facility for $500 million, a bridge loan of up to $3 billion and an unsecured bridge loan for up to $3 billion.
He also got a margin loan commitment letter from Morgan Stanley for $12.5 billion in margin loans. And Musk also got $21 billion through equity financing.
But he has used ‘a portion’ of his shares in Tesla as collateral in the high-stakes move, which analysts warned could have huge ramifications for the company.
Musk sent shockwaves through the tech world last Thursday with an unsolicited bid to buy the company.
He said the promotion of freedom of speech on Twitter as a key reason for what he called his ‘best and final offer’.
Meanwhile he teased on Twitter about his plans for the company, apparently referring to a tender offer in a tweet saying ‘Love Me Tender’.
He also appeared to suggest he would banish the board, saying its salary would be $0 ‘if my bid succeeds’.
He was also backed on social media by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, who has lashed out at the board for being ‘dysfunctional’.
Musk claimed to live in 375-square-foot box
Elon Musk previously said he was living in a 375-square-foot modular home made by the company Boxabl, according to the Musk fan blog Teslarati and the Houston Chronicle.
He had said he was renting the home for about $50,000.
Though Musk has not confirmed the name of the company that made his home, a Boxabl unit appears to be visible on the site on Google Earth.
A model layout of a Boxabl Casita)
The company’s homes are tiny but stylish, set up like a studio apartment with an open plan living area, kitchen and bedroom, with an adjacent bathroom.
The properties are assembled from a folded box made of concrete panels and steel.
Teslarati reported that the model Musk was renting was a mass-produced 20-foot-by-20-foot ‘foldable prefabricated home,’ named the Boxabl Casita.
Boxabl was not confirmed whether Musk was living in one of its homes but in November announced it had built a Casita for a ‘high-profile’ and ‘top secret’ customer in Boca Chica.
‘My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It’s kinda awesome though,’ he wrote in early June.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk