Stocks Elon Musk doesn't buy
While we don't know every detail of Musk's investment portfolio, we do know that the bulk of his stock holdings are in both public and private companies he controls. He doesn't own any well-known stock positions in other businesses. In 2021, he said, "The only significant thing I hold outside of Tesla is SpaceX."
Musk isn't a hedge fund manager and isn't required to disclose relatively small investments. He may have small investments in publicly traded stocks that we don't know about. But all indications are that he primarily invests in his own companies.
Companies Elon Musk no longer owns
Elon Musk previously owned shares in the following companies:
- Zip2: Musk's 7% share made him $22 million when Compaq bought Zip2 in 1999.
- PayPal (PYPL -1.19%): Known as X.com at the time, PayPal's board voted to remove Musk as CEO in 2000. When eBay (EBAY +1.67%) bought PayPal in 2002, Musk made $165 million.
- SolarCity: Musk owned 22% of SolarCity, which Tesla purchased in 2016.
Musk is also a co-founder of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and he donated to it during its early stages as a non-profit. He left OpenAI in 2018.
Investment advice from Elon Musk
Musk shared investment advice on social media in 2022. He recommends buying stocks in several companies with products and services you believe in. He also cautioned investors to avoid panic selling and instead to sell only if they feel a company's products and services are worsening.
It's time-tested advice shared by many famous investors. Invest in what you know and take a long-term approach, unless a company gives you a reason to sell.
How you can invest like Elon Musk
Here's how to invest like Elon Musk:
- Buy Tesla stock, since it makes up the majority of the billionaire's net worth.
- Consider space stocks. SpaceX is currently a private company, but it's scheduled to make an initial public offering (IPO) in mid-June 2026.
- Consider investing in social media stocks, as Musk did when he bought Twitter (now X).
- Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin if you want to follow Musk's approach with cryptocurrencies. Keep in mind that cryptocurrencies, especially meme coins like Dogecoin, are highly risky. Do your own research and be cautious about how much you invest.
Although Elon Musk is very wealthy, most of his net worth is tied up in a single stock (Tesla) and private companies. Besides buying Tesla stock, if you want to invest like Elon Musk, becoming an entrepreneur might be the best way to emulate his style.
