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Tesla: company paid for Elon Musk’s “Glass House”

Last year, board members of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla had to investigate the CEO, Elon Musk, for misuse of company funds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The investigation was prompted by concerns that Musk used company funds to build a glass mansion for himself, internally called “Project 42.” I wonder if the number is a reference to the well-known book “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. “The news runs counter to Musk’s claims that he is a “couch surfer,” someone who sleeps only on couches and often spends his time sleeping in the offices, both of Tesla and of his newly acquired company, Twitter. In the past, Musk has sold his homes in California and built only one particular small house near the Tesla plant in Texas.

This small, prefabricated house is valued at about $50,000, with two bedrooms, and is actually used as a backup home for people who want to visit the automaker’s plant. However, it has nothing to do with “Project 42.” At the time, Musk vowed to “own no home” and tweeted that he was staying in a $50,000 property in Texas.

Project 42, aka home for Musk
According to the WSJ, last year Tesla employees were working on the construction of a “spectacular glass-walled building” near the company’s headquarters. Called Project 42, one of the plans called for a twisted hexagonal building with the Tesla factory in the background. Another rendering showed a large glass box, similar to the Apple store in Manhattan.

Although the plans for the project changed over time, Tesla employees knew that the building included bedrooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen and would be built for CEO Elon Musk.

Some images also showed a waterfall around the building, and the special glass used for the building’s facade cost millions of dollars.

This expense was reported by the company’s finance department and led to an investigation by the board of directors. It is unclear whether the glass was ever delivered or the outcome of the investigation.

Is this a real fraud?
As CEO of Tesla, Musk does not receive a regular salary or actual compensation. The Washington Post previously reported that Tesla pays his private jet expenses, usually marked as business travel, and certainly takes advantage of some benefits.

So, it would be fair to assume that the benevolent Tesla company is also building a house for the CEO. The problem is that in its filed documents, the company states that any transaction over $120,000 in which an executive has a material interest is vetted by the board committee and must be approved. Tesla is publicly traded and the CEO is not an absolute ruler, but must follow corporate guidance.

So the mystery remains as to who ordered this glass and whether this was really Elon Musk’s ideal home. I don’t know how many of you would wish, really, to live in a transparent house that seems more suited to dreams than reality.