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Long before he was launching rockets into orbit or overseeing a global electric vehicle empire, Elon Musk was just another young entrepreneur trying to make his mark in Silicon Valley. You might imagine a future billionaire would always have a penchant for the finest things, but his early automotive choices were surprisingly humble and practical. In those formative years, his primary mode of transportation was not a sleek prototype or a luxury sedan, but a weathered piece of German engineering.

The car in question was a 1978 BMW 320i, a vehicle that Musk purchased used for a mere $1,400 back in 1994. At that time, he was roughly twenty-three years old and pouring all of his energy into his first major business venture, Zip2. You could say that this car represented the quintessential "founder's grind," where every penny was saved to keep the servers running and the business growing. It is a far cry from the high-tech machines he designs today, but it served its purpose during his scrappy rise to the top.

A Humble Beginning with Bavarian Engineering

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Musk’s first car was a used 1978 BMW 320i. The E21 3 Series sedan helped make the BMW 3 Series name synonymous with the compact executive car market segment. While the car was not likely the most prestigious ride to a teenage boy in California, it was not a brand-new car either. Musk’s used BMW still needed some tender loving care to remain operable, and there are pictures of him installing a broken window pane. This allowed Musk to be close with his car and learn about what makes it tick from an early age. With its fuel-injected engine and rear-wheel-drive platform, the late seventies BMW 320i was no slouch either. Even as a used car with high mileage, it still handles better than most economy cars of that time period.

However, the quality of a car that costs only $1,400 is always going to be a bit of a gamble, regardless of the badge on the hood. Musk drove the BMW for about two years, using it to navigate the bustling streets of Palo Alto during his early tech days. While it was a reliable companion for a while, it was clearly reaching the end of its functional life. It eventually became a testament to the idea that even the best engineering has its limits when maintenance is deferred in favor of building a business.

The Infamous Wheel Incident

Unbeknownst to Musk at the time, his days driving his beloved old BMW sedan were coming to an abrupt end. In the unofficial history of the car, Musk recounts loaning it out one day to one of his earliest employees or interns. Needless to say, he did not take too kindly when he received a call from this person later that day informing him that the car had reached its limit.

According to the story, one of the wheels literally fell off the car while it was being driven down a public road. This was not just a minor mechanical hiccup; the detached wheel caused the car to scrape along the pavement, leaving a deep and permanent gouge in the asphalt. You do not often hear about wheels simply deciding to part ways with a vehicle, which speaks volumes about the state of repair the car was in. It was a clear sign that the $1,400 investment had finally been exhausted, and the vehicle was beyond saving.

After this happened, Musk realized he wanted to scrap the vehicle rather than try repairing it himself again. Ironically, considering how Musk goes about Cybertruck roll structure qualifications nowadays, his car fell apart while driving down the road. This incident signified Musk moving past his “beat-up” cars and looking toward his future vehicles. You could even say his BMW gave him a lesson in safety.

Once Zip2 was sold and Musk received a significant payout, his automotive tastes shifted from the practical to the purely aspirational. He famously used a $40,000 bonus to buy a 1967 Jaguar E-Type, a car he had dreamed of owning since he was a teenager. You have likely heard that Enzo Ferrari himself once called the E-Type the most beautiful car ever made, which makes it a fitting upgrade for a newly minted millionaire. However, the Jaguar proved to be even more temperamental than his old BMW, frequently breaking down and requiring constant care.

Unfortunately, the McLaren F1 met a similar fate to the BMW, though under much more high-speed circumstances. While driving with fellow entrepreneur Peter Thiel, Musk attempted a risky maneuver on Sand Hill Road and ended up launching the car into the air. The million-dollar machine was totaled because it was not insured, a mistake that seems almost unthinkable for a tech genius. These stories of his early cars show a man who was always pushing his vehicles to their absolute limits, long before he started building them himself.