Maye Musk, mother of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, offered a glimpse into her son’s minimalist lifestyle at his Boca Chica, Texas, home near SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in a post on X Tuesday.
“There is no food in the fridge,” the 77-year-old said. “The garage where I slept is on the right.” She added with a laugh, “The shower only has one towel so I left it for Elon. That was okay with me.”
Maye explained that her upbringing had prepared her for such austere conditions, recalling weeks spent in the Kalahari Desert as a child without access to a shower. “I think my parents prepared me for this luxury,” she wrote, adding a laughing emoji.
Elon Musk’s Boca Chica home, a modest three-bedroom property, was valued at $45,000 according to a 2022 podcast interview. This is not the first time Maye has highlighted her son’s frugal lifestyle. In 2023, she shared memories of sleeping on mattresses or blankets on the floor, couches, or in garages during visits to Texas, noting that “it was still better than on the ground in the Kalahari Desert with lions or hyenas nearby.”
Despite being the world’s richest man, currently worth around $664 billion, Musk is known for his spartan habits, including sleeping on the floor in his offices and maintaining late nights, often working around the clock. “Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” he wrote in a May post on X after leaving the Department of Government Efficiency to focus on his companies.
Although his towel collection may be minimal, Musk has noted that showering remains the habit with the most positive impact on his daily life.
