Elon Musk, world's first trillionaire, lives in a 400 sq ft house in Texas: 'No food in fridge'
As the SpaceX IPO pushes Musk's net worth into uncharted territory, his mother shares insights into his unglamorous lifestyle—leaving netizens deeply divided
American entrepreneur Elon Musk scripted history on Friday (June 12) by becoming the first man on the planet to accumulate a trillion-dollar fortune. This happened after SpaceX made a blockbuster debut in the stock market, raising $75 billion through its initial public offering (IPO) the day before (June 11).
However, despite this staggering level of wealth (Musk has been the world’s richest individual by far, even before the AI and rocket company’s IPO happened), his personal living arrangements have remained remarkably understated.
Also read: What Elon Musk's trillion means in real terms
Even as his combined net worth (Tesla included) went past the trillion-dollar threshold, the world’s first trillionaire reportedly calls a modest, prefabricated house in Texas, US, his primary residence, said Fortune magazine. And it measures around 400 square feet!
In 2021, Musk revealed that his primary home is a $50,000 house located in Texas’s Boca Chica, rented from SpaceX, headquartered in nearby Starbase town, the magazine said. “It’s kinda awesome though,” he said in a post on X then.
Musk also purchased a prefabricated house built by Boxabl, a housing startup, that he uses as a guest house at Boca Chica. The accommodation measures just around 400 square feet. According to Txas-based news website Chron, it features a living area, bedroom space, kitchen and a bathroom including a tub-shower.
In contrast, companies tied to Musk own at least three large Austin homes — each 6,000 to 9,000 square feet — with swimming pools, the Wall Street Journal reported. Musk’s biographer Walter Isaacson described the Boca Chica interior as a "spartan two-bedroom" where the trillionaire makes phone calls. He sold his five grand properties in California in 2020 before moving to the humble abode in Texas.
Recently, in March, Maye Musk, the businessman’s mother, offered her own account of his unglamorous lifestyle during a visit to his house.
Musk's mother vouches
Reposting a post by Dima Zeniuk, who follows Musk’s companies, that included a picture of the interior of the latter’s modest house, saying “no fancy things, only what’s essential for living,” Maye added, “There is no food in the fridge. The garage where I slept is on the right. The shower only has one towel so I left it for Elon. That was okay with me. When I was a child, I’d spend three weeks in the Kalahari Desert without showering. Many times. There was no water. I think my parents prepared me for this luxury.”
There is no food in the fridge. The garage where I slept is on the right. The shower only has one towel so I left it for Elon. That was okay with me. When I was a child, I’d spend three weeks in the Kalahari Desert without showering. Many times. There was no water. I think my… https://t.co/8XT04q5DQg
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) March 10, 2026
For context, during her childhood days in South Africa, Maye’s father, Joshua Normal Haldeman, used to take her and the entire family on annual treks to discover the “Lost City of the Kalahari Desert” every July for almost a decade.
Also read: Elon Musk predicts AI will replace all jobs, ‘working will be optional’
The simple approach to living is, however, not new for Musk. When Tesla, known to be a workaholic, was undergoing a turbulent production phase for its Model 3, he reportedly slept on the floor of the company’s California factory rather than leaving the site.
Netizens divided over Musk's lifestyle
However, the internet was divided over the trillionaire’s lifestyle. Some admired Musk for not flaunting wealth and appreciated him for keeping almost his entire net worth tied up in company performance, saying such a person deserves a trillion-dollar fortune.
Also read: Elon Musk drops fraud charges against OpenAI, co-founders trial looms
Some were sceptical. One, for example, said that the modest-living narrative is a carefully curated image, suggesting that routing property ownership through controlled companies allows Musk to make technically accurate claims while still enjoying considerable privilege — all while cultivating a "man of the people" persona among his supporters.