In a world where billionaires are often synonymous with lavish mansions, private jets, and extravagant lifestyles, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, stands out as an enigma. Known for his audacious ventures like Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, Musk has built a fortune estimated at over $250 billion. Yet, a recent revelation from his ex-girlfriend, singer Grimes, has stunned the public, painting a picture of a billionaire who lives not in opulence but in surprising simplicity. From sleeping on a torn mattress to eating peanut butter for eight days straight, Musk’s frugal habits have sparked fascination and debate, offering a glimpse into the unconventional life of a man who dreams of colonizing Mars while living, at times, like a struggling student.
A Shocking Confession from Grimes
The bombshell came in a candid interview with Vanity Fair, where Grimes, Musk’s on-again, off-again partner and mother of three of his children, pulled back the curtain on their life together. Far from the glitz and glamour one might expect, she described living in a “very insecure $40,000 house” in Los Angeles, where neighbors filmed them and security was nonexistent. “Bro does not live like a billionaire,” Grimes said, her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement. “To the point where I was like, can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house? Where I’m eating peanut butter for eight days in a row?”
The most jaw-dropping detail? When Grimes complained about a hole in her side of their shared mattress, Musk didn’t rush to buy a new one. Instead, he suggested swapping it with a mattress from her own home. “Like, bro wouldn’t even get a new mattress,” she recalled, highlighting a level of thriftiness that seems almost absurd for a man of Musk’s wealth. These revelations, which surfaced in 2022, have since ignited a firestorm of reactions on social media, with some praising Musk’s frugality as a sign of humility and others questioning whether it’s simply eccentricity taken to an extreme.
A Billionaire’s Minimalist Mindset
Musk’s frugal lifestyle isn’t a new phenomenon. Long before he became the world’s richest person, he was known for his Spartan habits. As a 17-year-old student at Queen’s University in Ontario, Musk once challenged himself to live on just $1 a day for food, subsisting on hot dogs, oranges, and pasta. “You get really tired of hot dogs and oranges after a while,” he later told Neil deGrasse Tyson in a 2015 podcast, reflecting on his experiment in sustainable consumption. This early experience seems to have shaped his approach to life, even as his wealth skyrocketed.
In 2020, Musk took his minimalism to new heights when he announced on X that he would sell all his possessions and “own no house.” True to his word, he sold off his multimillion-dollar California estates and began living in a $50,000 prefab tiny home rented from SpaceX in Texas. He’s also been known to crash on friends’ spare beds when working in the Bay Area, eschewing luxury hotels for the simplicity of a couch or guest room. “I don’t have a yacht, I don’t take vacations,” Musk said in a 2022 TED interview, emphasizing that his only indulgence is a private plane, which he justifies as a tool to maximize work hours.
For Musk, this frugality isn’t about deprivation—it’s about focus. Grimes revealed that much of his wealth is funneled into ambitious projects like SpaceX’s Mars program, which she described as “dangerous and expensive” with no immediate financial return. “He’s spending everything on R&D,” she said, defending his choices. “It’s for the benefit of humanity.” This relentless drive to prioritize his companies over personal comfort has become a hallmark of Musk’s persona, earning him both admiration and criticism.
The Torn Mattress and Peanut Butter Saga
The image of Elon Musk, a billionaire with a net worth larger than the GDP of some countries, sleeping on a mattress with a hole in it is almost comical. Yet, it’s a vivid illustration of his unconventional priorities. Grimes recounted how their Los Angeles home, valued at a modest $40,000, was so “insecure” that neighbors could film them, and basic amenities were often overlooked. The peanut butter saga—eating it for eight days straight—wasn’t a quirky choice but a reflection of Musk’s indifference to material comforts when consumed by work.
Social media reactions to these revelations were swift and polarized. On X, some users hailed Musk’s frugality as a sign of discipline and dedication. “This is why he’s successful—he doesn’t waste money on nonsense,” one post read. Others, however, were less impressed, with one user tweeting, “Being cheap isn’t the same as being poor. Grimes saying they lived ‘below the poverty line’ is tone-deaf when kids are starving.” Critics argued that Musk’s choices, like refusing to replace a worn-out mattress, border on performative, especially given his access to limitless resources.
The backlash didn’t stop there. Some accused Grimes of exaggerating or trolling, pointing out her own wealth as a successful musician. “She’s a millionaire herself—why didn’t she just buy a new mattress?” one Reddit user questioned, suggesting the couple’s frugality was more about Musk’s quirks than necessity. Others speculated that Grimes was trying to humanize Musk, portraying him as relatable despite his stratospheric wealth. Whatever the truth, the story of the torn mattress and peanut butter diet has become a viral anecdote, cementing Musk’s reputation as a billionaire who defies expectations.
A Workaholic’s Sacrifice
Musk’s frugal habits are inseparable from his legendary work ethic. Known for working 80 to 120-hour weeks, he’s been spotted sleeping on the floor of Tesla’s factory or a couch in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters after acquiring the platform in 2022. He once told Axios that such grueling schedules were “not recommended for anyone,” admitting they left him “a little bonkers” and caused “brain pain.” Yet, for Musk, these sacrifices are part of his mission to change the world, whether through electric vehicles, space exploration, or artificial intelligence.
This relentless focus comes at a cost. Grimes hinted at the strain of their lifestyle, describing moments of tension over Musk’s refusal to prioritize basic comforts. The decision to live separately, she said, stemmed partly from his insistence on staying in the low-cost, insecure house. Musk’s former wife, Justine, and ex-partner, Talulah Riley, have also alluded to his intense personality, with Riley once describing him as someone who “lives for his work.” His children, including his twins with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis and his three children with Grimes, grow up in an environment where their father’s time and resources are often poured into his companies rather than personal luxuries.
A Lesson in Priorities or a Step Too Far?
Musk’s frugality has sparked a broader conversation about wealth, privilege, and perspective. For some, his choices are inspiring—a reminder that success doesn’t require extravagance. His early experiment of living on $1 a day, for instance, inspired a Business Insider writer to try a similar challenge, surviving on pasta, peanut butter, and bananas for a month. The writer noted how such constraints forced careful planning and mental discipline, qualities Musk has mastered in building his empire.
Others, however, see Musk’s lifestyle as an extreme that borders on self-deprivation. “Eating peanut butter for eight days isn’t frugality—it’s unhealthy,” one commenter wrote on X, echoing sentiments that even billionaires should enjoy life’s simple pleasures. The Manila Bulletin pointed out that while frugality can be a virtue, “eating peanut butter eight days in a row is not only bad for the health but is depriving oneself of enjoying life.” For a man who owns a private plane and has the means to buy anything, choosing a torn mattress over a new one seems less like humility and more like a deliberate statement.
The Man Behind the Myth
Musk’s frugal lifestyle is more than a quirky headline—it’s a window into the mind of a man driven by big ideas over personal comfort. His torn mattress and peanut butter diet may seem outlandish, but they reflect a philosophy rooted in prioritizing mission over materialism. As he pushes humanity toward Mars and redefines industries, Musk lives by his own rules, defying the stereotype of the flashy billionaire.
The public’s fascination with these revelations shows no signs of fading. On X, users continue to debate whether Musk’s habits are genius or absurd, with some calling him a “modern-day ascetic” and others dubbing him “the world’s richest cheapskate.” Whatever the verdict, one thing is clear: Elon Musk’s life, from his torn mattress to his relentless ambition, is anything but ordinary. As he sleeps on factory floors and eats peanut butter by the jar, he’s not just building rockets—he’s redefining what it means to be a billionaire.
