Did Elon Musk crash $1m super rare McLaren F1 to impress Peter Thiel?
Elon Musk is well-known in the fast-paced world of tech billionaires for pushing the envelope too far in both life and technology; however, in one instance, he once crashed an extremely rare McLaren F1, demonstrating his risk-taking attitude.
The story goes back to the late 1990s, which Musk told Sarah Lacy of PandoDaily. After selling his firm Zip2 for over $300 million, Musk felt it was time to treat himself to some better things in life. And what could be more exquisite than the McLaren F1, which was among the fastest and most premium vehicles in the world at the time?
Owning a McLaren F1 was a fantasy for many, but a reality for very few, as there were only 106 ever produced. The car cost about $1 million, which was a significant increase over its initial cost but still a small amount for Musk.
“Three years ago, I was showering at the YMCA and sleeping on the office floor,” Musk reminisced in a 1999 CNN Perspectives documentary, reported by Business Insider.
“Now I have a million-dollar car and quite a few creature comforts.” Musk’s purchase wasn’t just a display of wealth; it was a testament to how far he had come.
Musk clarified in the interview that he drove the vehicle 11,000 miles. It was his daily drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and he acknowledges that it was a "crazy car to have as a daily drive."
He said in the interview that he didn't really know how to drive the McLaren, even though he drove it frequently. Its remarkable 640 brake horsepower power delivery to the wheels, along with its lightweight one-ton construction, yields amazing performance.
In 2000, Musk showed off the car's capabilities while driving down Sand Hill Road to a meeting with Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal Inc. Just as the McLaren went out of control, shot "like a discus" three feet into the air, and crashed, he said, "Watch this." The most detrimental aspect? The vehicle was uninsured.
Tech mogul and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk suggested a course of action for those who may try to arrest former TV host Tucker Carlson after the journalist planned to conduct an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The 56-year-old journalist has been on his first-ever visit to Russia where he finally conducted an interview with Vladimir Putin also confirmed by the Kremlin Wednesday.
Kremlin did not reveal further details about the interview nor the release date however, TASS news agency reported that it is to be aired on Thursday.
Tucker Carlson who was associated with Fox News till April last year had earlier revealed that Musk promised him not to censor or restrict his interview to views on his platform.
The Kremlin spokesperson noted that Carlson's approach was completely different from the rest of the Western media which was "one-sided" in "Ukraine’s favour".
A Malaysia-based blogger Ian Miles Cheong posted on X formerly called Twitter about Carlson's visit to Russia Wednesday.
He wrote: "If Tucker Carlson isn’t careful he could become the next Julian Assange. There has been no shortage of calls from both politicians and establishment media shills calling for his arrest over his visit to Russia. These creatures are nothing if not vindictive."
In a response, Elon Musk wrote: "Arrest those calling for his arrest!"
The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange is in a British prison who revealed classified information about illegal US military activities in different parts of the world.
The US government is after Assange to bring him to its territory to run a trial for exposing illicit activities in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He was incarcerated in 2019 after Ecuador denied him political asylum, leading to his arrest in the UK.