I’m sure many of us had dreams when we were a kid, of flying around on a private jet. Maybe I still have those dreams, but I digress. We’ve all had to face the hassles of flying commercially, and even having a first-class ticket doesn’t mean you’re free from some of the delays and problems that arise while flying commercially. There’s no way top CEOs would go for that, so does Elon Musk own a private jet?
Yes – Musk has owned several planes since purchasing his first in the early 2000s. He has previously said that he doesn’t like yachts but he does like owning a plane. He has even piloted planes, including a cold war era fighter jet. He stopped after having kids because he didn’t want to take too many risks.
We can’t really blame him if we had billions of dollars, I’m sure we’d all have our own planes too. Even Bill Gates owns a plane, and he doesn’t really spend much money on himself, he’s not flashy at all.
Musks Love of Aviation
While owning a private jet can be seen as a practical expense, especially if you travel as much Musk does, and are as busy. However, we’re pretty sure they’re not all practical purchases. I can’t see him flying an L-39 Albatros to attend a business meeting in Sweden. I mean, I could be wrong.
The Russian fighter jet was just one of the planes that Elon Musk has owned over the years. There have been a few, such as a Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop, a two-engine Cessna Citation CJ2 corporate jet, a 1994 Dassault Falcon 900, and his most recent flight purchase, a Gulfstream G650ER
In addition to purchasing several planes, he and his partner have taken to social media to explain the name of their son, who was named after an A-12 Archangel plane.
Cost of Private Jets
Owning a private jet will set someone back several million dollars. The average private jet (I can’t believe I just typed average next to private jet) generally costs between $3 million and $90 millon dollars. And yes, that’s a huge gap. And that’s just to build them or buy them. Then you have the costs of maintaining them as well, such as fuel and personnel costs.
Of course, even though $3 million to $90 million is the average price, you know there are people out there who have to go big or go home, so theirs are more than $90 million.
Elon Musk’s plane is close to the top price, coming in at $70 but he’s not as flashy as Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who owns the most expensive plane, with a top spot with a $500 million price tag. He also owns the fourth most expensive plane as well. I guess that’s his back up, or the equivalent to having a winter car up north.
Cost Breakdown
Most private jet owners are financially responsible, with about 85% of them purchasing a second-hand plane, to lower the costs. None-the-less, they’re still forking out millions of dollars to purchase the planes.
Annual maintenance and operations costs are going to set owners back another few million, year after year. This cost can waver incredibly, depending on the amount of usage, and the number of personnel the owner has. If there’s a flight attendant, or multiple, then the price will be higher compared to just having a pilot. Depending on the size of the plane, a co-pilot may be required.
Now what about the plane when it’s not in the air? Well, whether it’s in the air or not, it could cost $50,000 a year for insurance, but that’s peanuts compared to parking, especially if you want it kept at a large airport. Hangar fees can range from approximately $81,000 to $160,000.
I’m not going to even try to guestimate how much it costs for personalization and upgrades. I’m sure the sky’s the limit on what can be done, and of course how much you’ll have to shell over.
When you have billions of dollars like Elon Musk though, these costs are minimal. And if I had the same amount of money, I’d have no problem spending it on comfort and convenience.