Elon Musk, World’s Richest Man, Lives in an Airstream Trailer

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of $930 billion, is living in an Airstream trailer. Speaking at the All-In Summit, Musk said he is staying in the trailer while he supervises a SpaceX data center buildout in Memphis, Tennessee, and jokingly called it his “palace.”

The remark drew laughter from the audience, including SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell. She added that Musk does sleep on the factory floor and pitches in on construction work in Memphis.

Why Musk Prefers Living at the Worksite

SpaceX absorbed Musk’s AI startup, xAI, earlier this year, placing the Memphis data center at the heart of its wider AI strategy. Staying in a trailer keeps Musk steps away from the servers and construction activity, sparing him a daily commute.

A Long History of Sleeping at Work

This is not the first time Musk has bunked down at work. In 2018, when Tesla struggled to ramp up Model 3 output at its Fremont, California, plant, he said he worked long hours on the production line and slept on the factory floor, sometimes on a couch or desk. He presented it as a way to stay close to problems and share the strain with employees.

The trailer fits a pledge Musk made in May 2020, when he said on X that he would sell almost all his possessions and own no house. He went on to sell all seven of his California homes between June 2020 and November 2021 for about $127.9 million, according to property records cited by The Wall Street Journal. He later rented a modest Texas home near SpaceX’s Starbase, though reports suggest he still has access to other residences, including homes in Austin.

Airstream, founded by Wally Byam in Culver City, California, in 1931, makes trailers from 16 to 33 feet long. The Museum of Modern Art holds a 1963 model in its collection.