WSJ Story on Austin House Hunt is False, Says Elon Musk

Since finalizing the sale of his last remaining property in California’s Silicon Valley earlier this month, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has fulfilled the promise he made last year to “own no house.”

Right now, Musk “officially” lives in a small home in Cameron County, Texas, near SpaceX’s ‘Starbase’ launch facility in Boca Chica that was built in 1971 and occupies just one-fifth of an acre. The house is owned by SpaceX and Musk rents it from the company.

“My primary home is literally a ~50k house in Boca Chica/Starbase that I rent from SpaceX,” said Musk in a tweet back in June.

However, The Washington Post on Wednesday reported that Musk has also been staying at a luxurious waterfront estate in Austin for the better part of a year.

The property includes nearly 8,000 square feet of interior space in an exclusive Austin neighborhood at the foot of Mount Bonnell. The mansion features private access to the Colorado River, a waterfront pool, jacuzzi, and private boat slip, and is protected by several sets of gates and a guardhouse as part of a development known as ‘Watersedge’.

The residence is owned by one of Musk’s dearest friends and PayPal cohort Ken “Kenny” Howery, who bought it back in 2018 for over $12 million USD. The property is worth multiples of that now and sits on one of the most expensive parcels of land in the city.

Ken Howery’s Austin estate.
Image: Pictometry

After serving as U.S. ambassador to Sweden during the latter half of the Trump administration, Mr. Howery is currently out galavanting the world and chasing extreme weather events like tornadoes as a hobby, leaving his home available for Mr. Musk.

What’s more, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that Musk is also looking for an extravagant mansion of his own in the vicinity.

The billionaire CEO has reportedly engaged the services of a number of local real estate agents for the undertaking, issuing a slew of requirements to each. According to the publication’s sources, Musk has even toured some prospects in person.

Both Ken Howery and Elon Musk deny claims that the latter has been living at the former’s Austin residence. “Elon does not live at my home, he lives in South Texas. He stayed at the house as my guest occasionally when traveling to Austin,” said Howery in a text message.

After the story was published, Musk told Business Insiderthe WSJ article is false. I don’t live there and am not looking to buy a house anywhere.”

Elon Musk moved from California to Texas last year, with Tesla’s headquarters in tow.