Just Where Does Elon Musk Live? Tesla Chief Denies Report He's In A $12M Austin Mansion

While Elon Musk has called attention to the divestiture of his real estate holdings and his decision to rent a modest property in Texas, a Wall Street Journal report is raising questions on whether Musk is being entirely forthright about his residential arrangements.

Where Elon Hangs His Hat: Musk tweeted in July that he was living in a $50,000 house. The Journal noted the home in Cameron County, Texas, was built in 1971, sits on a one-firth of an acre parcel and is owned by SpaceX, with Musk claiming he's paying rent for his housing.

However, the Journal determined Musk is not residing in that property. Instead, the Journal says he has been domiciled for the past year in $12 million, 8,000-square-foot mansion in Austin that is owned by Ken Howery, a co-founder of PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL who served as U.S. Ambassador to Sweden during the Trump administration.

Musk was an executive at PayPal prior to joining Tesla Inc. TSLA and Howery backed several of Musk’s company through the Founders Fund venture capital endeavor he co-founded with Peter Thiel.

The Journal added that Musk has engaged real estate brokers in the Austin area to buy his own mansion, although his demand for total secrecy on his property inquiries has made it difficult to secure a residence.

Related Link: Elon Musk Says Twitter Poll Had No Impact On Tesla Stock Sale

Is The Story Correct? After the Journal’s article first appeared Wednesday afternoon, both Musk and Howery refuted the coverage.

Musk informed the website Insider that he's not living in Howery’s mansion. “The WSJ article is false. I don’t live there and am not looking to buy a house anywhere,” he said.

Howery texted the Journal and said, “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.”

Photo: Courtesy of Daniel Oberhaus, Flickr