Elon Musk’s trailer on Starbase

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In Texas, where Musk’s private space company, SpaceX, is manufacturing its Starships, the Tesla founder is apparently staying in a humble prefab home that Teslarati claims can be towed by a Model X.

The Tesla CEO is staying in a Boxabl Casita, a foldable, prefabricated home designed for quick installations and maximum affordability. A 20×20 unit such as the one that Elon Musk reportedly owns is priced at $50,000, less than the cost of a Model Y Long Range Dual Motor AWD. Reminds us of the time Tesla fans bought Elon Musk a better couch to sleep on.

teslarati.com

Elon Musk Embraces Tiny House Living in Starbase, Texas

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When one thinks of celebrities and their homes, one’s mind is likely to think of a vast estate or a luxurious space with a great location. Celebrities and tiny houses aren’t quite as much of a natural combination. While there have been some instances of the two converging — such as Brad Pitt’s work on a tiny house in New Orleans — they’ve tended to be on the design or investment side.

One notable exception to that trend comes from — wait for it — Elon Musk. A recent report from Teslarati offers details on the home Musk brought with him to Tesla’s facility in Starbase, Texas. As Simon Alvarez writes, Musk’s Texas home is a Boxabl Casita — a 20′ by 20′ home that sells for just under $50,000, features an energy-efficient design and can be set up in a day.

The Teslarati report includes some other interesting details about the site as well — including the fact that Musk is using a standard version of the Casita, albeit with a few modifications he’s added after the fact.

For his part, Musk described living in the house as “kinda awesome though.” And, from looking at the design on Boxabl’s website, it’s not hard to see why. For a 375 square foot space, it looks reasonably spacious — and the way the design puts windows front and center suggests it’s an impressively lit space as well. All told, it has a blend of efficient use of space with effectively utilized technology. It’s not a bad combination, whether you’re an automotive mogul or just looking for a modest place to call home.

Elon Musk is living in a $72,000 tiny prefab house in Texas

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As one of the world’s richest multi-billionaires, Tesla CEO Elon Musk could afford to live anywhere, in any sort of lavish abode he desires.

But he seems to have delivered on a vow to exit California and “sell almost all physical possessions” – including six Californian mansions – in the pursuit of “freedom”.

Musk – who has an estimated net worth of $162 billion, per Forbes– is now living in a US$50,000 (NZ$72,000), 37-square-metre prefab guest house in Boca Chica, Texas, where his SpaceX headquarters are located.

Susan Walsh/AP Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to have delivered on a vow to exit California and “sell almost all physical possessions” – including six Californian mansions – in the pursuit of “freedom”.

He announced the news in a tweet last month: “My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica/Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It’s kinda awesome though,” he said.

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He continued: “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 some day.”

Although, he joked in a reply to another tweet that his rental might now be worth US$69,000 because of some home improvements he’s made.

The Casita is an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) made by housing startup company Boxabl that is only about 37 square metres.

The houses are set up like studio apartments, with a “full-size” kitchen and bathroom, featuring a sliding glass barn door, on one side, and a living area and bedroom on the other.

The kitchen island extends around a corner to double as a dining table for two. The built-in wardrobe/shelving doubles as a half wall between the bedroom and living space, with a TV placed on top.

A washing machine and dryer is tucked into the remaining corner by the bathroom, with no inch of space unaccounted for.

According to the website, the foldable prefabricated homes are towed into site and assembled in just one day, popping out a fully-equipped interior. Marketing by the company also shows that multiple Casitas can be joined or stacked to create different layouts.

Though this has yet to be officially confirmed, the company hinted in a promotional video posted last November that they had installed a unit “for a top-secret customer”.

They appear to have been courting Musk for over a year, asking in an April 2020 video: “Should we make space-Boxabls for Elon Musk? Or solve the world’s affordable housing crisis? Why not both?”

Fan blog Teslarati first discovered the connection between the startup and SpaceX, Musk’s rocket firm, which has been met with staunch resistance in the small seaside town near the Mexican border and Gulf of Mexico beaches.

Boca Chica locals who have refused to sell their houses are accusing Musk’s company of bullying, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 50-year-old mogul’s move comes more than a year after he announced on Twitter he “will own no house.”

Musk has since fulfilled that promise, selling most of the properties in his real estate portfolio. Most recently he listed his “special place” in San Francisco, tweeting the US$37.5 million estate “just needs to go to a large family who will live there”.

There are some unanswered questions about Musk’s specific living situation. Can we assume his girlfriend Grimes is there too? Is she getting her own box? What about the baby?

Boxabl is looking for investors, and it’s likely the company will find them following Musk’s announcement, if the mogul hasn’t already bankrolled the company himself. Given his propensity for futuristic inventions, it’s not hard to imagine a formal partnership will eventuate.