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Elon Musk turned 50 on June 28. (Maurizio Pesce/CC)
Enigmatic entrepreneur, tiny home resident and newly minted 50-year-old Elon Musk leads a busy life. How has he spent his first 10 days over the hill?
Musk has kept busy with frequent flights, his many ventures and the passive accrual of hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth. But he has also made time for market-shifting memes and keyboard advocacy, according to various social media accounts, business announcements and local reports.
We want to hear about your Elon Musk sightings! Send us a tip at editor@austonia.com.
Read on for a glimpse into his unique lifestyle.
Monday, June 28
Musk's private jet flew from Brownsville to Austin on his birthday, according to the Twitter tracking bot account @ElonJet, and received warm wishes from his mother, model Maye Musk, and many acolytes.
Happy birthday @elonmusk 🎂🎉 Thank you for this wonderful day 50 years ago. You have brought me great joy. Lots of love ❤️❤️❤️ #HappyBirthdayElonMusk now trending 🙌🙏 pic.twitter.com/xro3QwQD1z
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) June 28, 2021
Tesla Owners, all over the world know how to express deep appreciation and love for the most amazing incredible entrepreneur, and business magnet 🧲 the world has ever seen! @elonmusk#Happy50thElon#HappyBirthdayElon@teslaownersSV@mayemusk@kimbal
— Tesla Owners Austin (@AustinTeslaClub) June 28, 2021
pic.twitter.com/E017CWrdCE
Musk keeps a low profile while in Austin, where his partner, the musician Grimes, lives. He's been spotted at The Pershing, an exclusive social club in East Austin, and most recently was seen eating at Neighborhood Sushi. He has also been spotted around town with fellow California transplant Joe Rogan and at 1618 Asian Fusion on East Riverside Drive.
Musk was also the focus of media attention on his birthday, when the Houston Chronicle took a look inside his $50,000 rented tiny home in Boca Chica, Texas, where his aerospace company SpaceX has a launch facility. Musk is the second richest person on the planet, with an estimated net worth of $151 billion, according to Forbes.
My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It’s kinda awesome though.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2021
Only house I own is the events house in the Bay Area. If I sold it, the house would see less use, unless bought by a big family, which might happen some day.
Happy birthday @elonmusk 🎂🎉 Thank you for this wonderful day 50 years ago. You have brought me great joy. Lots of love ❤️❤️❤️ #HappyBirthdayElonMusk now trending 🙌🙏 pic.twitter.com/xro3QwQD1z
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) June 28, 2021
That same day, District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes visited the Gigafactory construction site in Southeast Travis County, touting its progress.
🚘 Toured the Tesla site w/ some of my team on Friday! It's incredible to see how quickly it's coming together. I look forward to checking it out once it's complete. #GigaTexaspic.twitter.com/y1dEqwJFvu
— Vanessa Fuentes 💃🏽 (@VanessaForATX) June 30, 2021
Thursday, July 1
Musk's private jet flew from Austin to Brownsville. From the SpaceX Boca Chica test site, the CEO teased the company's Super Heavy booster, which will be used to launch Starship—designed to fly humans to Mars—as soon as later this month.
Grimes also shared a selfie on Instagram, tagged to the SpaceX South Texas Launch Site.
Super Heavy moves tomorrow pic.twitter.com/qHG1SYO46S
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2021
Friday, July 2
Musk's private jet flew from Brownsville to Los Angeles, where he typically spends Friday afternoons in the Tesla Design Studio, and then to Hawthorne, California, where SpaceX is headquartered. Musk's tunneling startup, The Boring Company, has also built a 1.14-mile research-and-development tunnel in the Southern California city, originating from the SpaceX site.
Friday afternoons are usually Tesla design studio time. Cybertruck will be almost exactly what was shown. We’re adding rear wheel steering, so it can do tight turns & maneuver with high agility.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2021
Lot of other great things coming.
Tesla also announced its second quarter vehicle production numbers. The electric carmaker delivered 201,250 cars, more than twice as many as it did during the same period last year, despite a global chip shortage. Musk celebrated on Twitter.
Congrats Tesla Team on over 200,000 car built & delivered in Q2, despite many challenges!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2021
Saturday, July 3
Musk concedes on Twitter that self-driving cars are a trickier proposition than he initially thought.
The Tesla CEO has a long history of overpromising and under-delivering when it comes to the company's self-driving vehicles, according to The Verge. A growing number of fatal crashes involving Tesla's Autopilot system have also spurred concerns—and even prompted a federal investigation.
Haha, FSD 9 beta is shipping soon, I swear!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2021
Generalized self-driving is a hard problem, as it requires solving a large part of real-world AI. Didn’t expect it to be so hard, but the difficulty is obvious in retrospect.
Nothing has more degrees of freedom than reality.
Sunday, July 4
Musk celebrated the Fourth of July, tweeting "Bless America." He was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and moved to Canada at 17 to attend university. He later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania and then headed to California, where he founded his first company.
Musk has said he aspired to move to the U.S. as a child and attributes at least some of his success to his chosen home. "There is definitely no other country where I could have done this—immigrant or not," he told Bloomberg last year.
Bless America pic.twitter.com/QNagk4PArb
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 4, 2021
Monday, July 5
One week into being 50, Musk took to Twitter to express support for Britney Spears, who has recently spoken out against her "abusive" conservatorship. Grimes, who has cited Spears as a musical influence, responded: "Thank u."
Thank u
— ☾laire de ☾une (@Grimezsz) July 5, 2021
Tuesday, July 6
Musk's private jet flew to San Jose, and the crypto supporter tweeted a cryptic meme that commenters suspected was about Dogecoin.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2021
Despite the documented "Elon Musk Effect," in which his tweets and SNL monologue could drive the volatility of Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies, Musk's influence may be waning. "(T)he crypto community may have grown tired with Musk's tweets, possibly making their influence fade away as just another passing fad," according to a recent Business Insider market report.
Meanwhile, The Boring Company won a contract to build an underground transit system connecting downtown Fort Lauderdale and the beach. Mayor Dean Trantalist announced the decision on Tuesday, tweeting that it "could be a truly innovative way to reduce traffic congestion."
Fort Lauderdale formally accepted tonight a proposal from @elonmusk's @boringcompany to build an underground transit system between downtown and the beach. Other firms have 45 days to submit competing proposals. This could be a truly innovative way to reduce traffic congestion. pic.twitter.com/R7Bh2NPVnl
— Mayor Dean J. Trantalis (@DeanTrantalis) July 7, 2021
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Popular
(Pexels)
Austin Nicholson was ahead of the curve when he got his vasectomy in September 2021, saving himself a long line as Austin-area doctors say the demand for sterilization has seen a “significant” spike since Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday.
Nicholson, 25, said he would prefer to adopt children, had felt the Supreme Court decision coming for a while, and, wary of the consequences, he decided to pull the trigger and make an appointment.
“A big part of it was the political climate. We could both potentially face consequences and she would definitely face more consequences, which I also personally would not want,” Nicholson said. “I didn't want to be stuck in Texas and have a potential abortion on the mind when it's illegal.”
(Austin Nicholson)
According to vasectomy specialist Dr. Luke Machen of Austin Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, the clinic received over 150 vasectomy appointment requests combined on Friday and Monday following the ruling. Typically, the clinic performs 45-50 vasectomies per month.
The Austin Urology Institute reported that they received about 70 calls in the first hour after the ruling was released. OBYN at Women’s Health Domain reported receiving over 100 requests from women interested in getting their tubes tied.
“I would say a significant number of patients who scheduled recently have mentioned the Supreme Court case,” Machen said. “A lot of guys have said they were thinking about having a vasectomy over the last year or so, and the ruling was the final push to get it done.”
The average patient at Austin Fertility who receives a vasectomy is about 37, though Machen said he has started to see an increased number of patients with zero children choosing to get a vasectomy. While they put together a study, Machen expects demand for the procedure to plateau but stay higher than before the ruling.
Machen said vasectomy is the most effective form of permanent birth control, requires only about a week of recovery time, is reversible with success rates of up to 95% and has no effects on sexual function or testosterone.
Nicholson said the procedure was less than $700, he was never in any pain, had very little recovery time and has never regretted the decision—in fact, he has happily recommended the procedure to friends.
“It helps me feel better knowing that I won't put a woman in that situation where she'd have to be faced with a potentially life-altering decision, or consequence even,” Nicholson said. “I actually have had three of my friends ask me questions about it and tell me that they were considering it.”
(Valencia Hotel Group)
Live music and beer? Say no more. With a location in Austin, and others throughout Texas, the court hotels by the Valencia Hotel Group have a new offering for weekend stays: Live Music & Longnecks.
Enjoy live music all weekend long and check out the hotels’ state-of-the-art amenities between sets. Make a splash in the pool, enjoy outdoor fire pits, or challenge your friends in a yard game while enjoying a weekend full of live music! Did we mention the package includes deluxe accommodations and a bucket of beer? Oh, and if you needed more convincing, this pet-friendly hotel means the whole family can join in on the fun.
The hotels
Explore any of the Court Hotels by Valencia Hotel Group for a memorable escape. Each property offers a unique experience remnant of yesteryear but with all of the modern amenities that make for a fun and comfortable stay. With acres of landscaped courtyards, relax and unwind in an outdoor environment perfect for doing everything or absolutely nothing at all. With locations in Austin, College Station, Irving, and Lubbock your urban retreat has never been so close.
The music
Locals and travelers alike are invited to enjoy the deep roots of Texas music all summer long with a robust lineup of live performances. From the banks of the San Antonio Riverwalk to Irving’s manicured streets, Valencia’s hotels are a place to gather and reconnect, offering uniquely Texan settings for the weekly performances.
“We’re proud of the community we’ve fostered among Texas musicians and the many rising stars who perform at our properties,” says Amy Trench, corporate director of brand marketing & PR for Valencia Hotel Group.
In Austin, you can catch good ol’ fashioned Texas country by Drew Moreland and Clayton Gardner, bluegrass by Reagan Quinn, and much, much more.
With unique programming at each of Valencia’s properties, there’s something for everyone to enjoy all summer long.
The perks
If you’re a Valencia Hotel Group Rewards member, the perks are plentiful. Enjoy up to 10% off the Best Available Rate, and for a limited time, members can save up to 15% off a stay of 2 nights or more, for select stays in 2022.
But that’s really just the beginning. At select locations, you can enjoy discounts on weeknight stays, a complimentary third night, or curated packages for a romantic getaway or a night of watching the Verde at Q2 Stadium. You’ll also find special rates for AAA and AARP Members, educators, and front-line heroes including military, law enforcement, fire, and rescue workers.