Top 5 Things Elon Musk Thinks Poor People Waste Money On
Written by
Caitlyn Moorhead
Edited by
T. Woods
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
You would have to be living under a rocket ship to not know who the richest person in the world is, as even the most news-avoidant folks know it’s Elon Musk.
Though Musk’s take on what it means to be poor may seem at best out of touch and at worst tonedeaf, it doesn’t stop him from sharing some opinions. If there’s one thing you can say with certainty, though, it’s that the SpaceX and Tesla CEO knows how to stir the pot like few others.
Musk’s chainsaw wielding influence and business acumen may be up for debate, especially when you factor in his helming of DOGE and his approach to cutting spending. However, there aren’t a great deal of wasteful money moves by Musk, who has consistently talked about the need to trim excessive consumer spending by selling off unused real estate and driving his Teslas (although he has owned a number of valuable collectible cars himself).
Simply put, it’s better to spend money wisely when, you know, you have it. Here are the top five things Musk would advise lower-income people to avoid, as apparently he can somehow relate.
No. 5: Overpriced Real Estate
Take this with a grain of salt, as everything is relatively inexpensive when you’re a billionaire, but overpriced real estate is a Musk no-no. In other words, he believes people in poor houses shouldn’t throw loans.
Musk has owned four properties in the Los Angeles area worth around $40 million at the time. However, this was after selling off a few Bel-Air properties and after announcing he vowed to “own no house” as a dedication against being seen as materialistic.
He now resides in a modest, if not downright frugal, two-bedroom house in Boca Chica, Texas, near SpaceX’s HQ. However, he also stays at The White House part-time, and he has made no public plans to date to fulfill his vow of homelessness.
No. 4: Pricey Cars
Many Americans get into serious debt by buying a vehicle out of their income range, because unlike Musk, they don’t have a net worth of an estimated $420 billion. Like most billionaires, it’s unlikely that Musk would buy overpriced, depreciating assets with additional financial commitments like fuel, insurance, repairs and maintenance.
Though he owns or has owned a 1920 Ford Model T, a Jaguar Series 1 1967 E-type Roadster, a 1978 BMW 320i and a rare McLaren F1, he mainly sticks to driving a Tesla Model S or a Cybertruck for now. Though to be fair, owning the latter may be an occasional hazard — financial and otherwise.
No. 3. Food
Eating is overrated anyway, right? Those without a lot of money don’t often throw cash at expensive discretionary items, but have you tried just having sleep for dinner? It will save you so much.
Musk is notorious for living modest. He supposedly adheres to a strict vegan diet, and also to be driven by work at the expense of the finer things in life. He’s even claimed that he lived off a dollar a day for food when he first lived in North America.
“Bro does not live like a billionaire. … Bro lives at times below the poverty line,” said his former partner, Grimes. “To the point where I was like, ‘Can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house? Where the neighbors, like, film us, and there’s no security, and I’m eating peanut butter for eight days in a row?'” So brave.
No. 2: Fancy Apparel
It’s one thing to respect quality, but Musk rarely buys expensive consumer goods and luxury items for the sake of owning those brands.
Though he does have an unfortunate amount of reasonably priced hats and belt buckles, purchasing high-end clothing, accessories and other luxury goods that depreciate quickly is often unnecessary and can strain finances — and it certainly looks like Musk avoids this.
No. 1: Debt
And the number one thing Elon Musk thinks poor people waste money on is … not having it.
Billionaires like Musk often ask people making an average salary what it is like to be in debt, as if they can just try not being poor instead. Though accumulating high-interest credit card debt is a significant waste of money for those who can’t afford it, no one is thrilled when it’s the only option. Interest payments can quickly exceed the original amount to become the metaphorical equivalent of the quicksand most millennials have feared since childhood.
Musk has said himself that he’s cash-poor, audaciously adding, “Some people think I have a lot of cash. I actually don’t.” To which someone taking out a third mortgage to pay a medical bill might reply, “Fascinating.”
More From GOBankingRates
