Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter in a $44 billion deal, has said that he once turned his house into a nightclub to pay for rent.
Replying to a Twitter user, who referred to reports that Mr Musk was born rich, the Tesla CEO said he had mounting student debt and an unusual way to pay his rent during his initial years.
The Twitter post discussed reports that Elon Musk was born to a “well-off family” and asked why rich children “never get a job, and waste away”.
“Yeah, kids starting with lots of money usually have much less motivation than those who have nothing. When we started our first company (Zip2) in 95, I had over $100k of student debt, a computer I built myself and a few thousand dollars,” Mr Musk said.
Yeah, kids starting with lots of money usually have much less motivation than those who have nothing.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
When we started our first company (Zip2) in 95, I had over $100k of student debt, a computer I built myself and a few thousand dollars.
Following the response, Pune-based techie Pranay Pathole, who regularly communicates with Mr Musk on Twitter, alleged that some people were spreading lies he was born rich and his father owned an emerald mine. “While starting Zip2 you guys didn't have a place to stay and had to shower at YMCA. Also, while in college didn't you guys turn your room into a nightclub to afford rent?” Mr Pathole wrote.
To this, Elon Musk said he did pay his house rent by turning it into a nightclub, and charged $5.
Yeah, we paid for rent by turning the house into a nightclub & charging $5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
During his initial years, Elon Musk, along with his brother Kimbal, came up with Internet maps and directions services company names Zip2. Later, the startup was bought by Compaq for around $307 million in 1999.
In 2002, Mr Musk founded SpaceX and then led Tesla. His other latest ventures include Neuralink and The Boring Company.
