Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, revealed that surviving in the U.S. is relatively simple according to his personal experience. He once lived on just $1 a day for food, relying on items like hot dogs, oranges, pasta, green peppers, and sauce to test his “low threshold for existing.”
In a 2015 interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Musk explained his experiment was to prove that even if all his ventures failed, he could still manage basic survival. He said, “In America, it’s pretty easy to keep yourself alive,” emphasizing minimal needs like a computer and a place to sleep.
Musk broke down the $1 daily food budget to about 33 cents per meal, which today struggles to buy even basic staples in many cities. His choices highlight contrasts with over 44 million Americans facing food insecurity, for whom such a diet is not a choice but a hardship.
During the 1990s when Musk first tried this lifestyle, grocery prices were significantly lower. For example, all-beef hot dogs averaged $2.03 per pound then, while now they exceed $5.20, marking a 150% increase. Other essentials like bread and pasta have also nearly doubled in price.
Despite his wealth, Musk maintained a notably frugal lifestyle. His former partner, Claire Boucher (known as Grimes), reported in Vanity Fair that Musk’s modest living conditions and reluctance to purchase new furniture persisted even in billionaire years.
Musk’s approach suggests that discomfort is tolerable if the mission is clear, and survival does not require luxury. His belief centers on the idea that “survival, no matter how barebones, is just the first step to something bigger.”
Though his perspective may seem disconnected from those without financial or social advantages, Musk’s story highlights resilience through minimalism and mental toughness. It underscores his confidence in leveraging basic survival as a foundation for future success.
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