Only three years after setting foot in Silicon Valley, South African born entrepreneur Elon Musk was standing outside his house waiting for a truck to deliver his brand new McLaren F1.
We already knew the founder of Tesla Motors isn’t like most people, but to have his own McLaren F1 bought with money he made at just 28 years of age sounds so… Elon Musk.
The year was 1999, and Musk had made $400 million a year earlier by selling Zip2, an online publishing software for newspapers. And what better way to celebrate it than by placing an order for the ultimate car on sale at the time, the McLaren F1? Especially since it “only” cost $1 million.
In the video, Musk had already moved on to a new project called X.com, the online banking system that later evolved into PayPal, the sale of which made him an even more ridiculously wealthy man.
The video also features the billionnaire’s then fiancée (now ex-wife) Justine Wilson, who describes the McLaren F1 as “decadent” for costing $1 million and adds: “My fear is that we become spoiled brats, that we lose a sense of appreciation and perspective.” It’s a valid point, but she does talk about a McLaren F1, so I guess it was a risk worth taking after all.
Story references: Valleywag via Road & Track