Elon Musk Caught Trying to Build a 'Yuri Jeotaek' Mansion with Company Funds

by Lee Jieun

Published 12 Jul.2023 07:28(KST)

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, reportedly faced internal opposition after attempting to use Tesla's personnel and resources to build a residence for himself.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla <br>[Photo by Yonhap News]

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time) that Musk planned to construct his home near Tesla's headquarters in Austin, Texas.

According to internal documents confirmed by WSJ, Musk's residence, to be built on a hexagonal plot near the Tesla factory, features an exterior reminiscent of a massive glass box, with a waterfall planned nearby.

It was confirmed that Musk utilized company resources to build his house. WSJ stated, "Musk secretly assigned Tesla employees to the house construction under the name 'Project 42' and ordered special glass for the building's exterior through Tesla." The cost of the ordered glass is said to amount to several million dollars.

The Tesla board became aware of this last year and launched an investigation to determine whether company resources were diverted for Musk's home construction and the extent of Musk's involvement.

Subsequently, Tesla considered canceling the special glass order, but WSJ reported that it is unclear whether the order was actually canceled. The conclusion of the internal investigation has not been confirmed.

Previously, in 2020, Musk declared that he would not own a house and sold seven properties he held in California. At that time, after facing criticism for paying less tax relative to his income, Musk left California and moved to Texas, where the income tax rate is lower.

Since then, Musk has planned to build a kind of 'utopia' on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, where employees can both work and live, and has begun constructing actual housing and outdoor leisure facilities.