What Elon Musk Actually Eats

Very few people get to know what it's like to live like a billionaire, but even the top 0.01% have to eat. Surprisingly, the wildly wealthy eat pretty similarly to the rest of the world at least some of the time. The world's highest wealth class also grabs a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and has the occasional fast food craving. Elon Musk, the world's richest person, has a wide range of eating habits, a lot of which you may even recognize in yourself.

The lives of a lot of billionaires are pretty private. Thanks to his love of social media, there's actually quite a lot of information available that allows us to look inside the eating habits of Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk. Musk famously loves food, whether it be a luxury meal at a chef-owned restaurant or fast food fries slathered in ketchup. You will likely never be an eccentric billionaire, but you can eat like one. Here's what we know Musk likes to eat, and you'll be shocked at how accessible a lot of his food choices are.

Fruit on pizza is a head scratcher to some, and a favorite to others. Pineapple as a pizza topping in particular has been a long debated topic and a source of dissonance between foodies. Elon Musk has been on both sides of this controversial pizza pie dispute, but in his maturity has landed on loving the controversial food combination.

In his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk and the sometimes divisive podcast host talk about their favorite foods. After Rogan reveals pineapple and anchovies to be one of his very favorite late night snacks, the pair order a pie to share so Musk can experience the flavor bomb of a topping combination. Once the interesting pizza comes, they both dig in and enjoy it. Musk explains that in youth he was a pineapple pizza hater, but has since enjoyed Hawaiian pizza, which is typically pineapple and bacon or ham.

Musk's concession actually isn't all that surprising, because more people love pineapple on pizza than you'd think. The juicy sweetness of fruit is often paired with more savory ingredients in countless recipes, so why not pizza? Musk's love for pineapple on pizza may not be shared by some, but it certainly is the furthest thing from the billionaire's most outlandish preferences.

As one of the richest people in the world, Elon Musk doesn't have the same roadblocks as the rest of us normal people when it comes to traveling. The world is quite literally his oyster, and he has traveled far and wide, trying cultural food along the way. Before he was the owner of X, Musk took to the platform to express his love of one food in particular. When commenting on an X post by Whole Mars Catalog, he said, "Had the most amazing kebab ever just outside of Tacheles. Too bad that place got torn down. It was awesome."

This experience in Berlin that Musk shared inspired other commenters to ask about his food preferences. In response to one such inquiry, Musk claimed that his all time favorite German food was döner kebab. This is a street food dish that is built around shaved meat that is roasted vertically over the course of many hours. Typically, it would be served on sandwiched flatbread, with any number of vegetables and sauces. Sounds delish.

Döner kebab is one of the ultimate German foods you should try before you die, so Musk is pretty spot on with his love for the dish. However, the dish isn't strictly German. This traditionally Turkish dish is referred to as shawarma in the Middle East. The slow roasted meat that the dish is built around is very similar to the Greek gyro as well.

A lot of people love a good steak dinner, but "good" is highly dependent on the diner. Some people love their steak so rare it's blue, while others don't want to see even a sliver of red when cutting into their steak. In true eccentric billionaire fashion, Elon Musk is neither of these steak lovers. His preference doesn't even fall somewhere between, because Musk's unconventional steakhouse order has to do with its toppings rather than time on the grill.

World renowned chef and restaurant owner Akira Beck has created dishes for a number of famous people, including Musk. In an interview with People, he revealed that Musk "really likes" one of his original steak creations in Beverly Hills' Korean steakhouse ABSteak. The steak comes dry aged with a spicy, fermented soybean paste called Ssamjang. According to the chef, Musk is the only one outside of fellow chefs that orders the menu item, which has a bizarre flavor best paired with an advanced palate. The chef stated that Musk and one of his sons "gulped" the unique steak up. It would seem that the Tesla CEO has no qualms with eating outside the norm.

Elon Musk may enjoy more than his fair share of savory foods, but he has a pretty substantial sweet tooth as well. One sweet he seems to enjoy quite often is donuts. He has mentioned the sugary baked good more than once on X. Musk first claimed to consume a donut a day. This was in response to an esteemed doctor's post saying sugar was poison, so it could've been a humorous exaggeration. Just a month later, though, Musk posted that he ate less than half of a donut at a time in order to round down to zero donuts each time. This may be a funny little math joke, but Musk seems to frequently have donuts on the mind.

Donuts aren't the only baked good that Musk has had swirling in his brain. He had love for freshly baked pastries on X, when he said that they're one of the "great joys in life."  He leaves his followers to speculate about exactly which pastries he likes, but there's evidence elsewhere that he likes chocolate croissants.

The flaky pastry made an appearance in a photo of Musk and the President of Indonesia at SpaceX's Starbase. A stack of chocolate croissants was spotted atop what appeared to be a part of a SpaceX rocket heat shield. One of these expensive pieces of space tech is quite the pedestal for baked goods, but Musk seemingly believes they're worthy of it.

Elon Musk has a very wide palate when it comes to food, and he seems to enjoy eating whether it's cheap eats or luxury. Besides that daily donut he has claimed to eat in the morning, Musk's breakfast choice is a protein packed one. Though he holds citizenship in South Africa, Canada, and the United States, he opts for an all-American breakfast of steak and eggs.

Musk claims he enjoys a "power up" from a high protein steak and egg breakfast. There is something to this, as protein can be used for energy if your diet is lacking. However, a breakfast with more fiber and healthy carbs, with foods like bananas and oatmeal would provide more energy. A balanced breakfast it is not, but a steak and egg breakfast is one that seems to work for the billionaire.

His morning steak choice isn't as unique as when he goes out to eat at chef-led restaurants, though. Responding to a post about steak temperatures, Musk reveals that he likes his morning steak at medium-well and cut into strips. We're not sure how he takes his eggs, but the powerful pairing offers enough protein to fuel a large part of his day.

Thanks to Elon Musk's dedication to updating his X account, we have plenty of looks into his breakfast habits. He has been open about his love of sugary donuts and savory steak and eggs, but he has also mentioned the presence of coffee in his morning routine. Alongside his protein-filled breakfast, he has a cup of coffee. While he gives this Americana breakfast credit for a "power up," the coffee likely has quite a lot to do with the jolt of energy he gets from his morning meal.

Caffeine is a stimulant, and affects your central nervous system. Even so, Musk has claimed that unless he drinks multiple cups, he feels no different from drinking coffee. This doesn't mean the caffeine isn't working in his body, though! The lack of obvious feeling doesn't change Musk's preference for having coffee in the morning. He took to X to explain how coffee in the morning is ritualistic for him, and how he enjoys the aesthetic of starting his day off with a cup of joe.

Though it isn't clear exactly how Musk takes his coffee in the morning, we can confidently say how he doesn't take it. "A latte is really just an excuse for adults to order warm milk without sounding like a baby," he said on X. He doesn't seem to love the idea, though he does follow the statement up with some praise for the art on top of the coffee drinks.

Protein seems to stand front and center in the diet of Elon Musk. While he enjoys a number of proteins as central figures in his meals, BBQ is one of his all-time favorites. In a Reddit "Ask Me Anything," the SpaceX founder is asked about his favorite foods. He takes a break from all the science and innovation questions to simply state that BBQ is a favorite.

Now, BBQ can mean quite a few things. It's technically just a cooking method, and pretty much anything that is roasted over a wood fire can be called barbecue. Typically, though, you'd think of some kind of meat slathered in sauce and cooked on a grill when considering barbecue. Considering he lives in Texas, home to this particular cuisine, we can say that this is likely how Musk sees it as well.

It's Korean BBQ that Musk has personally claimed to love, though! He took to X to announce his love of the cuisine. Typically cooked right at the table, this method of BBQ is centered around marinated meat and an assortment of veggies.

Elon Musk has a wide range of food he likes to eat, and his enjoyment of different flavors expands to his enjoyment of alcohol as well. There have been various occasions that Musk has talked about which alcoholic drinks he likes. Much like coffee, he likes the aesthetic of drinking red wine. He has mentioned on at least two occasions that drinking red wine is purely for the appearance. "There is something quite beautiful about red wine in a fine glass," he stated on X.

Though he may like the look of red wine, a stronger beverage is his favorite in the realm of alcohol. In his "Ask Me Anything," Musk stated that whiskey was his preferred alcoholic beverage. Considering his use of the American spelling of the word, we can infer that he enjoys a glass of either Irish or American whiskey.

Though Musk has mainly been seen to enjoy a glass of wine or whiskey socially, he has a connection to beer as well. The CEO has sold some of his own limited, Tesla-crafted brew, though this was likely akin to a science project for the curious tech personality.

Diet Coke girlies, you've got Elon Musk in your corner. Not only does Musk drink the iconic beverage, but he practically needs it to function and feel like himself. He has mentioned the drink quite often on social media, even saying that he is totally okay if the unhealthy beverage takes a few years of his life.

Though the head of Tesla has talked about his heavy consumption of Diet Coke in the past, he has calmed down a bit and keeps it to one or two a day. In a recent X post, Musk joked about his level of happiness declining after a month without the beverage. It was a psych-out, though, because his caption stated that he would "never quit DC."

Musk shares a love of Diet Coke with his fellow billionaire Donald Trump. Trump recently received a special edition, Presidential bottle of Diet Coke from the CEO of Coca-Cola. Musk responded to the news on X by calling the inventor of Diet Coke a "genius." This is high praise from Musk, who has been coined a genius by many.

We've established that Elon Musk has a sweet tooth, but it's for more than just baked goods and pastries. The famous billionaire, like many of us, has a love for chocolate. Chocolate milk in particular seems to have stolen his heart. In 2022, he believed chocolate milk to be so good he needed to share the news of him consuming it to the world via X.

Musk has his hands in a lot of businesses, and has made a name for himself as an innovator. Interestingly enough, a candy company was a venture he would have liked to take part in. He announced back in 2018 that he was starting a candy company. We could have had our own eccentric billionaire Willy Wonka, but this venture never came to fruition. Musk revealed in an appearance on The Babylon Bee that after a series of taste tests, he could not find any significant ways to improve upon candy that is already out there.

Though he couldn't find much improvement to candy, we don't think he meant American made candy. He has expressed that most other countries do candy much better than the United States. He called out British candy in particular as being superior, so we can confidently say his candy storage is likely filled with brands from the U.K.

We know that Donald Trump is obsessed with fast food and McDonald's, and apparently Elon Musk isn't a stranger to the golden arches fast food joint either. In fact, the two ultra rich men have dined on the world famous fast food together. A viral photo of Musk and Trump eating McDonald's fries on Trump's private plane Trump Force One made its internet rounds. The food choice in such a lavish setting isn't what really surprised people, though.

At closer inspection of the photo, people lost their minds at the way Musk ate his fries. A naked fry is akin to a cardinal sin, but Musk's use of ketchup is unlike many people have ever seen. Instead of using the dipping sauce as, well, a dip, he poured his ketchup right inside the red McDonald's carton amongst the fries themselves.

Now, Musk is known for innovation, but plenty of people just can't get behind this pure disregard to fry/ketchup etiquette. As viral posts do, the photo in question had quite a lot of strong opinions. People called Musk "ludicrous" for his display of ketchup savagery. In his defence, though, his ketchup in a carton approach is very close to drizzling ketchup over fries. The drizzle system in itself can be controversial as well, though.