Elon Musk, Who Said He Wouldn't Buy a House, Secretly Searching for Luxury Homes?

▲Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who moved to Austin, Texas, has become the center of an unexpected controversy for staying in a luxury home. This is because last year, amid a wealth controversy, Musk sold all the expensive houses he owned and declared that he would not own a house.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 22nd (local time), Musk has been living for nearly a year in a luxury mansion in Austin owned by his billionaire friend Ken Howery.

Earlier, in June, Musk revealed on Twitter that he was living in a $50,000 (about 59.6 million KRW) house near the Boca Chica launch site of SpaceX, the space exploration company he founded.

Ken Howery is one of the co-founders of PayPal and has been a friend of Musk for decades. This mansion, owned by Howery, is about 8,000 square feet (approximately 740㎡) and was sold for more than $12 million (about 1.43 billion KRW) in 2018, making it the most expensive house in Austin at the time.

Howery is currently traveling the world and is presumed to have lent the house to Musk while being away for an extended period. However, it has not been confirmed whether Musk is paying rent to him.

Moreover, despite Musk's declaration that he would not own a house, it is known that he is secretly looking to purchase a high-end home.

According to reports, Musk is currently in contact with real estate agencies to buy a house in Austin. He has personally visited several candidate properties, and sources reported that the house he showed the most interest in is owned by jewelry designer Kendra Scott.

The WSJ pointed out, "Musk's top priority is privacy," and noted that this is a move contrary to his earlier declaration of not owning a house.

Meanwhile, last year, amid the wealth controversy, Musk sold three houses in the affluent Bell Air neighborhood near Los Angeles (LA), California. He also sold another house near San Francisco.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.