Where Elon Musk Lives Since He Pledged To Ditch ‘Almost All Physical Possessions’

After promising to sell nearly everything he owned last year including six mansions in California, Tesla’s billionaire CEO has taken up residence in a studio-apartment sized rental – here’s what it looks like inside and out.

If you’re looking for the world’s third richest person, you won’t find him living among the billionaires. After selling off most of his real estate assets and moving to Texas in the past year, Tesla cofounder and CEO Elon Musk revealed in early June that he now only owns one house (in the Bay Area)—and that his primary residence is a tiny box house that he says he rents from his rocket company, SpaceX. 

The house, which is around 400 square feet, is located in Boca Chica, Texas, where SpaceX produces its Starships. Musk, who has a net worth of $169.8 billion according to Forbes, rents a “foldable, prefabricated home” made by Boxabl, a housing startup company. The house, which Musk tweeted sells for about $50,000, typically has a setup akin to a small studio apartment: One large room partitioned into a living room area, bedroom area, kitchen and bathroom. In contrast to many other billionaires who own lavish mansions, Musk lives in an easily transportable 20x20 foot unit. 

The 50-year-old mogul first announced plans to sell all of his homes and most of his possessions last year, in response to criticism of his massive wealth. Musk has now nearly made good on his promise to do so, selling six of his seven properties.   

“Only house I own is the events house in the Bay Area. If I sold it, the house would see less use, unless bought by a big family, which might happen someday,” Musk said on Twitter last month. 

A few days later, he confirmed he had put it up for sale: “Decided to sell my last remaining house. Just needs to go to a large family who will live there. It’s a special place.”

“It’s kinda awesome though,” Musk said on Twitter last month.

The 47-acre property is located in Hillsborough, California—around halfway between San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The “over 100-year-old mansion” is a 16,000 square foot house that boasts nine bedrooms and ten bathrooms. It’s the last piece of real estate that Musk owns: He has listed it on the market for $37.5 million, having originally bought it for $23.4 million in 2017.

Musk has offloaded his Los Angeles real estate in the past year, often at slim profit margins—if any. He sold his first mansion, located on Chalon Road, for $29 million in June 2020; he had purchased it for $17 million in 2012. 

In October, he sold a 2,700 square foot ranch-style house that used to belong to Willy Wonka actor Gene Wilder for $7 million (Musk bought it for $6.75 million in 2013), with the stipulation that the house “cannot be torn down or lose any [of] its soul.”