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What Cars Has Elon Musk Owned Besides Tesla? The Lotus, Jaguar and McLaren Stories

Public accounts connect Elon Musk to a Bond-film Lotus Esprit, a Jaguar E-type Roadster and a McLaren F1. Here’s what the dated evidence says—and what it does not.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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Public accounts connect Elon Musk to several notable non-Tesla cars: a James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine car, a Jaguar E-type Roadster and a McLaren F1. Those records document selected past ownership and dated recollections—not a verified inventory of the cars he owns today.

What cars has Elon Musk owned besides Tesla?

The clearest documented examples are the Lotus Esprit submarine car associated with The Spy Who Loved Me, a Series 1 Jaguar E-type Roadster, and a McLaren F1. Musk discussed the Lotus and Jaguar in a 2014 interview; later accounts and auction provenance connect him to the McLaren. Each story is evidence of a past connection, not proof of present possession.

Car Why it stands out What the evidence establishes
Lotus Esprit submarine car Appeared in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. In a 2014 interview, Musk said he had bought it and that it was then in Tesla’s design studio.
Jaguar E-type Roadster A classic British sports car with personal significance to Musk. In the same 2014 interview, he described it as the first car he bought when he had money.
McLaren F1 A 1990s supercar Musk said he used as a daily driver. Musk later recalled driving one; RM Sotheby’s identified a 1997 F1 offered in its 2025 sale as previously owned by him.

Why is the Lotus Esprit submarine car notable?

The car’s claim to fame is its screen role as a transforming submarine in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. In an April 15, 2014 interview with Auto Bild, Musk said he had bought the film-associated Esprit and that it was “in the Tesla design studio.” That statement places it there at the time of the interview; it does not establish where the car is now or whether Musk still owns it.

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” in the same 2014 Auto Bild interview. That wording makes the E-type a financial milestone in his account, but it does not mean it was necessarily the first car he ever drove or owned.

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The archived interview’s transcript renders the model wording irregularly (“Series 167 E type Jaguar Roadster”). “Series 1 Jaguar E-type Roadster” is the conventional model identification, while the personal significance comes from Musk’s recollection. The interview records what he said in 2014, not current ownership.

Why does the McLaren F1 story get attention?

The McLaren F1 stands apart because Musk described using it not just as a collectible but as a daily driver. In an interview with Startups.com, he said: “It was my daily driver, which is a crazy car to have as a daily driver, particularly on the 405.” That is Musk’s retrospective account of driving the car in Los Angeles traffic.

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Other accounts add context to the ownership story. WIRED quoted Julie Anderson, a former PayPal colleague and X.com/PayPal vice president of operations and communications, recalling that Musk showed off a McLaren F1 at the office after it arrived that week. Her recollection is an attributed memory, not a contemporaneous ownership record. Separately, RM Sotheby’s 2025 listing for a 1997 McLaren F1 identifies Musk as a previous owner. Together, these accounts support a past-ownership connection, not a claim that the car remains in his garage.

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Does Elon Musk still own these cars?

The cited material does not establish that Musk currently owns the Lotus, Jaguar or McLaren. The Lotus and E-type information is dated to his 2014 interview; the McLaren evidence describes past use, a colleague’s recollection and previous ownership documented in a 2025 auction listing. None is a current inventory.

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That distinction also matters for Teslas. Tesla’s investor-relations biography identifies Musk as the company’s CEO, but that role does not establish which Tesla models he personally owns. No reliable comprehensive current count or valuation of his car collection is established by these accounts.

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How to read claims about Musk’s car collection

  • Separate past ownership from present possession. “Previously owned” and “was in the design studio” are tied to particular dates, not proof of where a car is today.
  • Keep personal recollections attributed. Musk’s comments and Anderson’s memory help tell the story, but they are not interchangeable with current registration or a live inventory.
  • Treat “collection” as documented stories, not a complete garage list. The available records support these specific cars; they do not verify every vehicle Musk may own, use or have owned.

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