.webp)
Elon Musk once owned seven properties across California worth well over $100 million. Today, he reportedly lives in a prefabricated home near SpaceX headquarters that cost roughly $50,000. It's one of the most dramatic real estate pivots in modern history — and there are real lessons in it for anyone thinking about land and property as an investment.
Between 2012 and 2017, Musk assembled an impressive collection of homes in and around Los Angeles.
His first major purchase was a Bel Air mansion he'd been renting since 2010, which he bought in 2012 for $17 million. The 20,000+ square foot estate had seven bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms, a pool, and views of the Bel-Air Country Club.
A year later, he picked up a nearby home for $6.75 million — the former residence of legendary actor Gene Wilder. Rather than live there, Musk turned it into a private school called AdAstra for his children and kids of SpaceX and Tesla employees.
Between 2015 and 2017, he added four more properties in the same neighborhood, essentially building a private compound. He also purchased a historic 100-year-old mansion in Hillsborough, near San Jose, on 47 acres of land for $23.4 million. At its peak, his California real estate portfolio was worth an estimated $130 million or more.
In May 2020, Musk made a now-famous declaration: he would sell almost all of his physical possessions and own no house. Within about a year, he followed through. The Bel Air compound sold as a bundle for roughly $62.5 million. The main mansion went for nearly $30 million. The Gene Wilder home sold for $7 million with one condition — the buyer could never tear it down or change its character.
By 2021, his entire California portfolio was liquidated.
After selling everything, Musk reportedly moved into a Boxabl Casita — a 375-square-foot foldable prefabricated home — near SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The base model costs around $50,000.
His reasoning was straightforward: fewer distractions, more liquidity for SpaceX and the mission to Mars, and proximity to where rockets are actually being built and launched.
While Musk famously downsized his personal living situation, his relationship with Texas land has only grown. According to The Real Deal, his companies now control thousands of acres across the state, with holdings valued at an estimated $3.4 billion for tax purposes. This includes land near Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, the Starbase complex in South Texas, and a planned community near Bastrop called Snailbrook — designed as housing for Boring Company employees.
He also reportedly purchased a home in Austin in 2022 through a private sale, and maintains a family compound for his children.
You don't need to be a billionaire to take something useful from this story:
Land holds value differently than houses. Musk sold every mansion he owned. But he kept acquiring land — thousands of acres in Texas. Buildings depreciate. Land in growing areas tends to appreciate, especially when it's in the path of development or near major employers.
Location near growth matters. Musk didn't buy random acreage. His Texas land is strategically positioned near his own companies' operations, in a state with no income tax and a business-friendly regulatory environment. For everyday land investors, the same principle applies: land near expanding towns, new infrastructure, or growing industries tends to outperform.
Raw land is flexible. A mansion is a mansion. A piece of land can become almost anything — a homestead, a recreational retreat, a rental property, a subdivision, or simply a long-term hold. That flexibility is part of why land has attracted investors for centuries.
You don't have to spend millions. While Musk operates at an extreme scale, affordable land is available across the country. States like Mississippi, Colorado, Alabama, and Nevada offer parcels at a fraction of what you'd pay in California or New York — often with owner financing available.
Whether you're looking for a few acres to build on, recreational land to enjoy on weekends, or an investment property to hold long-term, owning land is more accessible than most people think.
Browse our current listings to see what's available in Mississippi and Colorado, or get a cash offer on land you own if you're ready to sell. We make both sides of the transaction simple, fast, and fair.
.png)
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}