Where Does Elon Musk Live? Inside the Properties of the World’s Richest Man
Photo: Getty Images/Saul Martinez
The question begs to be asked: Where does Elon Musk live? One might think the billionaire, who currently holds the title of the richest person in the world, would have the real estate portfolio to end all real estate portfolios. At the time of publication, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO has a net worth of $424.1 billion, thanks to his advancement of electric cars, space exploration, and AI technology. But unlike most billionaires who tend to buy up extravagant properties and homes throughout the world, Musk resides in an unassuming $50,000 ranch-style house on a tree-lined street in Texas. Read on as we share the scoop on where Musk calls home and why.
Selling his seven former mansions
Taking to Twitter (now known as X) in 2020, Musk vowed, “I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house” and promptly went on to list the seven California properties he owned at the time. When one of his followers asked why, he had a one word answer: freedom. Combined, the asking prices for the seven homes was over $100 million.
Six of Elon Musk’s former houses were in the Los Angeles region. The first was a 16,251-square-foot home with six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. The palatial estate was built in 1990 in an architectural style reminiscent of a French château, and featured a two-story library, wine cellar, tennis court, pool, and home theater. The home sold for a staggering $29 million, according to Zillow.
Property number two was a low-slung white-shingled house that was once the home of actor Gene Wilder. The 2,800-square-foot home had five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and decades of rich Hollywood history. Jordan Walker-Pearlman, the nephew of Wilder, had once thought the home had been demolished, until a drive through the neighborhood with his wife showed him otherwise. About a year later, a friend sent Walker-Pearlman a screenshot of Musk’s tweet stating he would sell his home. Musk sold the historic house back to the late actor’s family for $7 million with one stipulation—that the property be preserved. Per Musk’s tweet, “it cannot be torn down or lose any of its soul.”
The final four Los Angeles properties were all a stone’s throw away from each other in Bel-Air, with three being on the same road. According to The Wall Street Journal, the first was a six-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot house that was originally built in 1954; the second was a modest ranch house on an adjacent street; the third was a large, unfinished contemporary home three doors down; and the fourth was a white brick Colonial next to that. While the parcels were four separate homes, they were listed together on Zillow with a price of $62.5 million and sold to developer Ardie Tavangarian, owner of Arya Group. The group made a statement saying they plan to redevelop the properties into “a new single development project to make it truly one of a kind,” according to Mansion Global.
The final property Musk sold was a 16,000-square-foot mansion in Hillsborough, California—an affluent area in Silicon Valley. The Mediterranean-style residence, also known as Guignécourt, sat on more than 47 acres of land and boasted seven bedrooms, nine and a half bathrooms, a professional-grade kitchen, a library with leather walls, its own reservoir, and far-reaching views of the San Francisco Bay Area and skyline, according to Maison Global. Not to mention a ballroom with 20-foot ceilings featuring crown moldings, complete with gold leaf detail. The home sold for $40.8 million in 2021.
The tiny home
Starship Launch
After shedding his vast portfolio of properties, the billionaire moved into a compact tiny home in Boca Chica, Texas, where his SpaceX headquarters are located. A report by fan blog Teslarati and the New York Post revealed that the home is actually a foldable, 20-foot-by-20-foot prefabricated home made by Boxabl, a housing startup company. The Boxabl casita home Musk reportedly lived in was set up like a studio apartment, with one large room partitioned into a living room and bedroom area, a fully equipped kitchen, and a bathroom with a tub shower, according to Chron.com. Though never officially confirmed, the company hinted in a promotional video that one of the casitas was installed “for a top-secret customer.”
Musk’s biographer, Walter Isaacson, shared a post on social media giving a rare inside look at the home. The house appeared minimal, uncluttered, and simple, especially in comparison to Musk’s former properties. The caption read, “In 2020, Musk decided to sell his five grand houses and to have as his primary residence be this spartan two-bedroom house in Boca Chica, TX, where we would meet and he would sit at this wood table and make phone calls.” With plans to spend more time in space than Earth, it came as no surprise that Musk downsized and shed most personal possessions.
The humble ranch
In 2021, Musk revealed in a post on X that he was living in a three-bedroom ranch, also in Boca Chica. He claimed to be renting the $50,000 property from SpaceX. Like his tiny home, the property is a short drive from this from his company’s beachfront launch site, SpaceX Starbase.
The secret compound
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, Arrivals, New York, USA - 07 May 2018
In October of 2024, the New York Times reported that Musk purchased multiple properties in Austin for $35 million. The world’s richest man was rumored to be creating a massive family compound for his 11 children and two of their three mothers, according to the outlet. “That way, his younger children could be a part of one another’s lives, and Mr. Musk could schedule time among them,” a source familiar with his plans said. The newspaper reported that Musk owned three homes on (or near) the compound in the making: a 14,400-square-foot Tuscan villa, a six-bedroom mansion, and a third mansion just a 10 minute walk away. The report stated that one of the three mothers, Shivon Zilis, an executive at another one of his companies, Neuralink, already calls the compound home. Soon after the story was published, Musk denied the existence of said compound. “I don’t own nor am I building a compound in Austin,” Musk told Page Six. “No grand family home has been built or is expected to be built.”
His very own city in Texas
After denying claims of a family compound, Musk has set his sights well beyond the confines of four walls. Instead, he has reportedly started the process of creating his very own company town—Starbase, named after his rocket launch site in south Texas. Creating a new municipality requires a certain number of residents, which Musk already has thanks to the numerous employees residing in newly refurbished homes and temporary housing near the company headquarters. These same employees have already gotten to work gathering signatures and filing an official petition to hold an election, thus instating Starbase as a new city in Texas. According to The New York Times, “the Starbase petition describes a community of around 500 current inhabitants, including at least 219 primary residents and more than 100 children, in an area at the very end of State Highway 4 by Boca Chica Beach, where SpaceX launches many of its rockets.” The town, if formalized, is expected to be roughly 1.5 square miles.
FAQ
Is Elon Musk the richest person in the world?
As of January 2025, Elon Musk is the world’s richest person, with a net worth of over $421 billion. In December 2024, a $91 billion increase in his wealth was driven by a significant rise in SpaceX’s valuation. Following Elon Musk on the list of the world’s 10 richest people are Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, Sergey Brin, Warren Buffet, Steve Ballmer, and Jensen Huang.
Where is Elon Musk from?
Musk is from Pretoria, South Africa. He moved to the United States in 1992 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in economics and physics.
Is Elon Musk a US citizen?
Musk became a US citizen in 2002.
What kind of car does Elon Musk drive?
In 2019, Musk took to X and said, “I mostly drive Model S Performance with dev version of FSD computer. Our new Raven powertain & adaptive damping suspension is great! Next is Model 3P & then X if driving with my kids. Acceleration is fun on tap!”
Where does Elon Musk live?
Boca Chica, Texas.
Why does Elon Musk live in such a small house?
When one of his followers asked why he chose to tell his seven large-scale homes, he had a word word answer—freedom.
Does Elon Musk have children?
Elon Musk has 12 children. His first child with his ex-wife, Justine Wilson, died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in 2002. Musk and Wilson went on to welcome five more children, including one set of twins and one set of triplets. Musk shares three more kids with the musician Grimes, and three more with tech executive Shivon Zilis, including one set of twins and one baby born earlier this year.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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