Elon Musk
There are “the best clubs” in Berlin
In a new interview, star entrepreneur Elon Musk talks about Berlin, wealth and smartphone addiction, among other things.
Tesla boss Elon Musk (49) is one of the most famous entrepreneurs on the planet and one of the richest people in the world. According to the “Bloomberg Billionaires Index”, he has an estimated fortune of almost 128 billion US dollars and has now even overtaken Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (65). In an interview with “Welt am Sonntag”, the Tesla boss has now explained, among other things, how he feels about Berlin and that he doesn’t think much of material property.
Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is to be built in the municipality of Grünheide by summer 2021. Musk is personally involved, currently he spends “more time with Giga Berlin than with anything else at Tesla”. But why Berlin?
In addition to logistical considerations and the environment, the city itself apparently also played a role in the choice of the location for the new factory. “I have a personal preference for the greater Berlin area, the city is just fun (…) I’m looking forward to coming to Berlin.” Musk goes on to explain that Munich would also have been “a good choice”. “We’re up here in Prussia! I like that, I’m a big history fan”. He might like Frederick the Great (1712-1786), who, according to Musk, was “a really great man”. In addition, there are “the best clubs” in Berlin.
He wants to sleep in a conference room
But he will probably not live permanently in Berlin. Musk has “already developed into quite a vagabond”, but he will spend a lot of time in the German capital. He doesn’t want to buy real estate and instead “just sleep in the factory, in one of the conference rooms”.
He sold his main residence in Los Angeles. “And now we’re in the process of selling my other houses,” he continues. “In fact, I will have almost no holdings of great value other than company stocks.” He believes that this makes him a free man: “I don’t want to own anything but shares in Tesla and SpaceX. Those are all of my wealth.”
The house for the children is rented
The entrepreneur only needs a house if his children are with him, and he wants to rent one for that. Together with the Canadian author Justine Musk (48), with whom he was married from 2000 to 2008, he has the twins Griffin and Xavier (born 2004) and the triplets Saxon, Kai and Damian (born 2006). His son Nevada, born in 2002, died just a few weeks after he was born. In May 2020 he and his new partner, the singer Grimes (32, “Realiti”) had another son with the unusual name X Æ A-Xii.
In the interview, the technology entrepreneur also gives an interesting answer to the question of whether machines are more likely to serve mankind in the long term or will turn them into slaves. “When I look at people with their cell phones, I honestly already ask myself who is in charge of whom here (…) We think we have our cell phones, but we should rather ask ourselves whether the cell phone is has not taken possession of us, “says Elon Musk.