Elon Musk cars: From his first BMW, a Mclaren F1 that he totalled to Tesla Roadster launched into space

Despite being the CEO of electric car company Tesla, Elon Musk is a big fan of traditional four-wheels (especially if they can go fast or underwater), and over the years has had his fair share of cool cars.

Tesla Model 3 is likely to be priced in the Rs 55-60 lakh range. (Photo: Reuters)

Looking at car collections of avid collectors or those who own a lot of them, well, because they can, is interesting. But then if it is about one of the richest people on the planet who also owns a car company, things get a little more gripping. So, what does the head honcho at Tesla own? What was his first car before Tesla happened? The electric car company owner drives around in massive petrol-powered supercars? Well, if it is a McLaren F1, wouldn’t you too?

Musk’s very first car was a 1978 BMW 320i which according to a Forbes video, he bought in 1994 and had it for two years. When Musk got his first bonus from his first company Zip2, a software company he founded with his brother, he used the money to buy himself a 1967 Jaguar E-Type.

A 1967 Jaguar XK-E E-Type (Photo: AP)

“That one was like a bad girlfriend – it kept breaking down on me and causing me all sorts of trouble,” Musk said of the car in the Forbes video.

He went on to buy a McLaren F1 after he sold PayPal. The F1 that would’ve cost him about USD 1 million was later totalled. “I had it for several years and I put 11,000 miles on it and I drove it from LA to San Francisco. I had it as a daily driver,” Musk said of his McLaren F1 in an interview with Pando Daily seven years ago.

1994 McLaren F1 (Photo: RM Sotheby’s)

Fast forward to 2013, Musk bought the Lotus Esprit ‘submarine car’ that was used during the filming of James Bond classic The Spy Who Loved Me.

“It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater,” Musk said in a statement to Huffington Post.

Lotus Esprit S1 in The Spy Who Loved Me

Speaking of classics, Musk also has a Ford Model T. He revealed on Twitter in 2017 that the vintage was gifted to him by a friend.

Also read: Tesla to launch in India ‘next year for sure’: Elon Musk

In his more bonkers endeavours, Musk strapped a Tesla Roadster onto a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and now the car floats around in space and will do for millions of years. The car also has a passenger – an astronaut dummy named Starman.

Today, Musk is usually seen driving around in his Tesla Model S or the Tesla Model X if he’s with family. He’s also been spotted driving a Tesla Cybertruck in Malibu.

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