by Áine Cain and Taylor Nicole Rogers: Elon Musk is one busy guy…
The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX generally spends a full workweek at each of his two companies, wolfing down lunch in five minutes and skipping phone calls for productivity’s sake.
So it’s not surprising that his daily life is pretty jam-packed.
Based on previous interviews, Business Insider pieced together an estimation of what an average day looks like for Musk.
Musk kicks off his day bright and early, rising at about 7 a.m. In a Reddit AMA, he said he usually gets “almost exactly 6 hours on average.”
Musk usually skips breakfast. Occasionally, he will slow down long enough to grab a quick coffee and an omelette.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Source: Auto Bild
One thing he always makes time for, no matter what? Showering. He once wrote on Reddit that it had a greater positive impact on him than any of his other daily habits.
James Glover/Reuters
Source: Business Insider
Once he’s up, Musk launches into a blistering schedule that breaks his time into a series of five-minute slots. The entrepreneur has been known to work 85 to 100 hours a week, and he estimates that 80% of his time at work is spent on engineering and design.
Paul Sakuma/AP
Sources: Inc., The Independent, Y Combinator
No two days are the same for Musk. He spends Mondays and Fridays at SpaceX in Los Angeles. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, he heads to the Bay Area to work at Tesla. Quartz estimates that he spends an average of 42 hours a week working at Tesla and 40 hours a week working at SpaceX. He also told Y Combinator that he usually spent about half a day working at the artificial intelligence nonprofit OpenAI.
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
Source: Quartz, Y Combinator
On the weekends, it’s more of a toss-up. Sundays are usually spent traveling or staying at his Bel Air mansion. On Saturday, he either works at SpaceX …
Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
Source: Business Insider
… or spends time with his five young sons. Speaking about his kids in 2013, he said: “What I find is I’m able to be with them and still be on email. I can be with them and still be working at the same time … If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to get my job done.”
Mark Lennihan/AP
Source: Business Insider, Business Insider
Multitasking is a crucial part of Musk’s strategy, which he calls “batching.” Musk often works on his phone while sitting in meetings.
Kevork Djansezian / Stringer / Getty Images
Source: Inc.
To keep his work day on track, Musk forgoes most phone calls in favor of email and texts. He also prefers to use an obscure email address to prevent people from spamming his inbox.
He doesn’t spend much time on meals. Musk usually takes his lunch during a meeting, and he manages to wolf it down in just five minutes.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Source: Auto Bild
He ends up getting most of his calories later in the day. “Business dinners are probably where I eat way too much,” he told Auto Bild.
Michael Kovac / Stringer / Getty Images
Source: Auto Bild
When it comes to food, one of his favorites is Diet Coke, thanks to “some infernal ingredient.” Musk told Auto Bild that he had since cut back on the soda. CBS previously reported on the tech mogul’s preference for French food, barbecue, and whiskey.
Pool/Reuters
To stay in shape, Musk usually hits the gym about once or twice a week.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Source: Auto Bild
Despite his busy life, he also carves out enough time to read. Some of his favorite titles include the fantasy classic “The Lord of the Rings,” biographies of innovators like Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, and an obscure 87-year-old history book on adventurers called “Twelve Against the Gods.”
Noah Berger/Reuters
Sources: Business Insider, Business Insider
Musk may be a bookworm, but that doesn’t mean he can’t party. The entrepreneur’s legendary bashes have included a birthday party at an English castle that turned into a big game of hide-and-seek, and inviting a knife-thrower to pop balloons that he held between his legs.
Noah Berger/Reuters
Sources: Entrepreneur and Business Insider
When all is said and done, Musk usually doesn’t crash until 1 a.m. That late bedtime isn’t too surprising for a man who’s busy trying to send humans to Mars.
Stephen Lam/Reuters
Source: Entrepreneur
