Publicly documented accounts connect Elon Musk to at least three notable non-Tesla cars: a James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine car, a Jaguar E-type Roadster, and a McLaren F1. Those accounts establish selected past ownership, not a verified inventory of what he owns today.
What cars has Elon Musk owned besides Tesla?
The clearest record is a set of ownership stories told at different times, rather than a complete garage list. In an April 15, 2014 Auto Bild interview, Musk discussed owning a Lotus Esprit and a Jaguar E-type. He later described the McLaren F1 as his daily driver, and a 2025 auction listing identified a McLaren F1 as previously owned by him.
| Car | What the public record says | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Lotus Esprit submarine car | Musk said he bought it and that it was in Tesla’s design studio in 2014. Auto Bild, April 15, 2014 | Its location or owner today. |
| Jaguar E-type Roadster | Musk called it the first car he bought when he had money. Auto Bild, April 15, 2014 | Whether it was his first car in every sense, or whether he still owns it. |
| McLaren F1 | Musk said it was his daily driver; RM Sotheby’s later described a 1997 example as previously owned by him. Startups.com interview; RM Sotheby’s, 2025 sale listing | Whether he owns an F1 now. |
The evidence comes from dated interviews, an attributed recollection, and auction provenance. None of it verifies Musk’s current personal car inventory. His role as Tesla CEO is not evidence of which Tesla models he personally owns; Tesla’s investor-relations biography identifies his role, not a personal vehicle list.
Why the Lotus Esprit submarine car is part of the story
The Lotus is not just an Esprit with a famous badge: it is the submarine car associated with the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. In 2014, Musk said he had bought the car and that it was “in the Tesla design studio.” That statement locates it at that time only; it does not show that Tesla still had it, or that Musk owns it now.
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What was Elon Musk’s first car?
Musk described the Series 1 Jaguar E-type Roadster as “the first car I bought when I actually had any money.” The distinction matters: his wording identifies a personal milestone after he became financially able to buy a car, not necessarily the first vehicle he ever drove or owned. The archived interview transcript renders the model wording irregularly, so “Series 1 Jaguar E-type Roadster” is best treated as the model identification rather than a verbatim transcript.
Why the McLaren F1 stands out
Musk’s account makes the McLaren more than a car associated with a high-profile owner: he said it was his daily driver in Los Angeles. In a Startups.com interview, he recalled: “It was my daily driver, which is a crazy car to have as a daily driver, particularly on the 405.”
There is additional, separately attributed context. WIRED quoted Julie Anderson, identified as a former PayPal colleague and vice president of operations and communications at X.com/PayPal, recalling Musk showing the car at the office after it arrived. Her account is a colleague’s recollection, not an independently verified event record. WIRED, 2018
RM Sotheby’s 2025 listing for a 1997 McLaren F1 calls Musk a previous owner. That supports a past-ownership connection, but the auction description does not establish that he retained the car. Taken together, these sources document a striking chapter in the car’s history without answering who owns it today.
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The cited sources do not establish current ownership of any of these three cars. The Lotus and Jaguar appear in Musk’s 2014 account; his McLaren connection is supported by his later description of it as a daily driver and by RM Sotheby’s record of previous ownership. A dated statement or auction provenance cannot be turned into a claim about a 2026 garage.
For the same reason, this is a guide to publicly documented cars and ownership stories, not a complete current collection inventory. The available sources do not provide a reliable count or valuation for all of Musk’s cars.
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