Inside Elon Musk’s $4.5 Million Former Los Angeles Home
Elon Musk is best known as the guy who makes expensive electric cars who also wants to send people to Mars one day. But another project of Musk’s, albeit a much less flashy one, is working to build a massive transit tunnel network underneath Los Angeles that would zip people around in mere minutes. So it stands to reason that someone spending so much time underground might want to live high up on a mountain somewhere.
Such is the case with Musk and a stunning property he owned in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, which is on the market for nearly $4.5 million. Naturally, the home is filled with many of the tech innovations you’d expect from someone who’s made billions of dollars in both dot-com booms. Musk owns a growing number of properties around Los Angeles, most of them in Bel Air, and it appears he purchased this one for his two-time ex-wife Talulah Riley.
The lucky new owner will be purchasing a true Los Angeles Midcentury Modern gem, as it boasts breathtaking views, plenty of privacy and truly fits with its surroundings.
A Modest Entry
From the street, the home’s rather ordinary exterior is quintessentially Midcentury Modern, with clean lines and a natural feel. It was built in 1959 at the height of a design movement that sought to bring modernism to the suburbs of post-war America, and architect Mark Pisani kept this aesthetic when he renovated the property in 2010.
But however modest the exterior might be, it hides a more than 3,000-square-foot home that makes ample use of its quarter-acre lot.
That Space-Age Feel
Perhaps Musk was initially attracted to the home because it undeniably has a futuristic, Space-Age look to it. This is noticeable from the backyard, where the home curves around the pool and spa — both saltwater — and is set to have complete privacy despite floor-to-ceiling windows stretching the length of the backyard.
The layout also creates an exquisite outdoor setting to gaze toward the ocean or the city.
Million-Dollar View No. 1
Sunsets from the backyard must be incredible. Just take a gander at this sweeping view of the Pacific and Santa Monica.
Million-Dollar View No. 2
And after sunset, the ocean will be hard to see so just turn your attention this way and take in the downtown skyline and the rest of Los Angeles.
Be Free to Move About
Minimalism dominates the inside of the home, with an open layout that makes it flow nicely from room to room and emphasizes the stunning views from its hilltop perch. Dinnertime can easily move from the table to the living room, wine glass and dessert in hand.
Top Chefs Need Not Apply
Despite the listing describing it as a “cook’s kitchen,” this area of the home is actually rather small for a serious home chef. The kitchen does, however, boast an island with a dining space, quartz countertops by Caesarstone, and Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances.
So even if you might not be able to plate 30 seared scallop dishes with ease, you will be cooking with and atop some of the finest products around.
Plenty of Room
The home features four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, with the master bedroom also containing a door to the backyard pool area. Curiously, the largest bedroom is not the master. It’s actually in the front of the home and looks out onto the street, offering the least privacy of any of the rooms.
Mornings With the Ocean
The largest bedroom does, however, contain a corner floor-to-ceiling window that looks out toward the ocean. So there’s that.
Easy Access to the Spa
What the master bedroom lacks in size it makes up for with the convenience of a private door onto the spa section of the pool in the backyard. It also has a serious walk-in closet.
Turtleneck-Free Zone
Unlike most folks in tech, Elon Musk actually has some fashion sense. He often wears stylish things like velvet blazers and checkered shirts with blazers, and the ex-wife he shared the home with, Talulah Riley, is an actress.
Such a couple certainly needs their closet space, and the master bedroom’s walk-in is fit for the task.
Conscious of the Environment
Tesla vehicles only indirectly rely on Big Oil to operate, so they’re safely in the eco-friendly camp for now. This home, however, is truly green.
Among its more modern features are tankless water heaters, a technology that uses far less energy by heating water on demand; multi-room climate control, which, like his Teslas, allows for one area of the home to be temperature controlled instead of the entire thing; and sustainable plants around the property that can handle Southern California’s arid conditions.
Well-Manicured Clean Lines
As you approach the front door, Midcentury Modern touches are on full display. That drought-tolerant landscaping perfectly frames the otherwise drab concrete stairs. The entire thing is then exquisitely framed by the eaves of the roof, which appear to bisect from different levels. It’s intentional, and it’s part of the home’s understated architectural beauty.
Blending With the Surroundings
The home truly embodies another aspect of Midcentury Modern design sensibility: fitting the landscape. What that means is that homes should blend in with the scenery and make total use of their footprint. Musk’s abode succeeds on both fronts.
As you can see in this aerial shot from a drone video, the home and pool area flawlessly occupy the flatiron-shaped lot.
There’s an App for That
Perhaps the most high-tech of all features in this home is the app-controlled central security-audio-lighting system. That means you can make sure all the doors and windows are locked before you turn down the lights and curl up next to the fireplace — all with nothing more than a few finger swipes.
Another Neat Tech Trick
We’re not sure why anyone would obscure the views from the long panel of windows that cover half the house, but it’s doable. And although it’s not exactly a modern innovation, it’s still a cool one.
The central control app can also open and shut the blinds so you don’t have to walk a mile while doing so manually.
It’s Modest By Musk Standards
Over the years, Musk has amassed an impressive L.A. real estate portfolio that required some serious loans for the billionaire.
They include a $24.4 million mansion and a $17 million French chateau mansion that’s across the street from the $6.75 million home once owned by actor Gene Wilder and purchased by Musk in 2013. Then there’s another mansion he reportedly purchased for Riley for $20 million, and the modest 2,900-square-foot ranch-style home that sits on the slope just above the mansion.
Empty for Years?
Rumor has it that the home has been vacant for a while. Because this is L.A., there will be gossip. The home is rumored to have been purchased in 2014 while Musk and Riley were separated. She lived in the home until 2015 when they reunited in one of their Bel Air mansions.
Whose House Is it Anyway?
Talulah Riley and Elon Musk attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, in West Hollywood, California.There’s some fuzziness over the true ownership of the home. What we do know is that Musk purchased the home for $3.695 million five years ago with then-wife Talulah Riley. Now, however, property records show it belongs to a corporate entity that’s managed by Riley. And the Los Angeles Times reports that stories calling it Musk’s home are incorrect.