MarketWatch logo

2022-06-15 14:17:24 By : Ms. Cora Willita

Elon Musk may be one of the world’s richest people, but he’s not living large.

After selling much of his real-estate portfolio in the past year and listing his final property earlier this month to focus on his mission to Mars, the Tesla TSLA, +2.24% and SpaceX CEO is taking the retirement-saver dictum “Live below your means” to another level.

Musk, who turned 50 in June, revealed in a tweet that he is now living in a humble $50,000 home that he rents from SpaceX on its launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.

Barron’s on MarketWatch (February 2021): Texas’s power disaster had nothing to do with green-energy initiatives

“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 June.

It’s rumored that the entrepreneur, who was named the richest person in the world this year, is living in a 375-square-foot modular home worth exactly $50,000 from Boxabl, according to Musk fan blog Teslarati and the Houston Chronicle.

The Margin: Here’s what Elon Musk has to say about becoming the richest person in the world

See: Fort Lauderdale, Fla., approves proposal from Elon Musk’s company for beach tunnel

Also: Elon Musk hopes SpaceX’s Starlink internet service can get to 500,000 users in a year

The tiny homes are made up of the bare necessities: a living area, bathroom, bed and kitchen — all from a folded box.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s co-founder, Galiano Tiramani, could not confirm to the Post whether Musk was living in a Boxabl home, but gave the New York Post a peek inside a typical Boxabl residence.

The pioneering Las Vegas–based company, co-founded by Galiano and his father, Paolo Tiramani, in 2017, manufactures compact homes that can be shipped anywhere.

“[Paolo] had built a modular home back in Connecticut, dealt with all the oversize shipping issues, and came up with the folding solution,” Galiano told the New York Post. “After that, we kept working on it and things got better and better. As we started experimenting with new manufacturing methods and building materials, it became clear that the product had huge potential.” 

The first model of the construction technology startup is called “Casita,” but they’ve already created other designs to fit different families and meet individual needs.

“The system doesn’t end at the ‘Casita,’ ” Galiano said. “We have plans for different room modules that stack and connect to build any building on the planet.”

See: Amid dry hillsides and catastrophic fires, California tests off-the-grid solutions to power outages

Also: Why vacation homes have become more work and less play

In fact, the tiny-house company has even bigger plans.

“The goal of the company is to mass-produce housing on a scale and at a cost that’s never been done before,” Galiano added. “We want to make housing dramatically more affordable for the world.”

When asked what he thought of Musk living in his creation, Galiano told the New York Post he was unable to comment on the matter.

But a Boxable does appear to have residences on the Starbase site in Texas.

Upgrade (June 2019): Amazon is selling entire houses for less than $20,000 — with free shipping

Also: How to finance a tiny house

Musk began unloading his real-estate portfolio last summer after revealing he would give up all tangible assets to focus on his mission to Mars.

“I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house,” he tweeted in May 2020.

Visit NYPost.com for more photos and the original version of this story.

MarketWatch First Take: John McAfee was one of the original genius-but-bizarre CEOs — and Elon Musk should take note

Altos Research says that the sector is finally returning to 'normal' conditions.

Visit a quote page and your recently viewed tickers will be displayed here.