• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Finance

Here’s What Tesla’s Elon Musk Does to Relax

By
Jen Wieczner
Jen Wieczner
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jen Wieczner
Jen Wieczner
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 7, 2017, 3:03 PM ET

Between running Tesla (now large enough to join the Fortune 500 list for the first time), leading rocket startup SpaceX, and launching various other futuristic ventures, Elon Musk doesn’t have a lot of time to spare.

Yet during a Q&A at the Tesla shareholder meeting Tuesday, Musk took a question, submitted on Twitter, about how he relaxes after work. After initially acknowledging that his after-hours agenda is “usually work more,” Musk said he typically does “normal stuff” off the clock. Last weekend, for example, he saw the new hit movie Wonder Woman with his kids. (He has also recently been photographed ziplining in Australia, and earlier this week tweeted while visiting the DMV.)

After a moment’s hesitation, though, the Tesla (TSLA) CEO added that he has other pastimes, or at least habits. “Sometimes go crazy on Twitter,” he told shareholders at the meeting. “Yeah with a little red wine, vintage record player, some Ambien—magic! Magic happens,” he continued. (Ambien is a sleep medication that can be prescribed for insomnia; doctors recommend against taking it with alcohol.)

He repeated the comments in a tweet a few hours later.

A little red wine, vintage record, some Ambien … and magic!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2017

Musk also assured Tesla shareholders that even if he often tweets about his other companies, most of them take up very little of his time.

After all, Musk explained, he spends at least 90% of his time on either the electric car company or SpaceX; 3% to 5% on Neuralink, a venture aiming to create interfaces between the human brain and machine-learning technology; 2% on his new tunneling project called the Boring Company; and the remainder on OpenAI, a non-profit dedicated to artificial intelligence research.

“I might tweet a lot about the Boring Company, which is basically a hobby—I wouldn’t even call it a real company right now,” Musk said. “It’s got three people, some interns and some part-time people. There’s, like, no pressure.”

Tesla, which besides developing self-driving cars is also pushing into solar power after acquiring SolarCity last year, tends to keep him the most busy, Musk added. “Tesla is like a drama magnet, so I have to deal with Tesla drama,” he said.

(For more on Tesla, see the new Fortune feature, “Tesla Takes Off In China.”)

Musk also hinted that he is working to improve the song selection available in Tesla cars, where he prefers to listen to music, and that there would be “some exciting announcements” about that later this year. By Musk’s description, the new offering sounded a bit like a potential competitor to Spotify: “I think it’s very hard to find good playlists and good matching algorithms,” Musk said. “I think it could work really great. This is going to be the music you want to listen to. Well, at least I want to listen to it.”

As for another popular American form of recreation, Musk (who grew up in South Africa) said he has little use for it: “It may not shock you, but sports is not something I do a lot of.”

About the Author
By Jen Wieczner
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

jeremy wacksman
Real EstateHousing
The median first-time homebuyer is now 40. Zillow’s CEO says don’t expect that to change anytime soon
By Jake AngeloMarch 25, 2026
1 hour ago
EuropeLetter from London
Rishi Sunak is giving advice to CEOs on AI. Here are his golden rules
By Kamal AhmedMarch 25, 2026
2 hours ago
LawFood and drink
‘I want everybody to have enough food’: the scientist who made your packaged food safer just won the world’s most prestigious food prize
By The Associated Press and Hannah FingerhutMarch 25, 2026
2 hours ago
University graduate
SuccessEducation
Harvard may be under federal investigation and cost over $87,000 a year—but it’s still Gen Z’s No. 1 ‘dream college’
By Preston ForeMarch 25, 2026
3 hours ago
Successchief executive officer (CEO)
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says remote work breeds ‘rope-a-dope politics’ and stunts young workers’ growth
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 25, 2026
3 hours ago
Working woman standing outside office happy
SuccessCareers
Surgeons, airline pilots, and software developers are becoming the hottest roles for female representation—and most jobs pay over $100,000
By Emma BurleighMarch 25, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
2 days ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Energy
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman calls it 'treason': $580 million in suspicious oil futures traded minutes before Trump's Iran reversal
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
24 hours ago
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of March 24, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Success
JPMorgan has started monitoring the keystrokes, video calls, and meetings of its junior investment bankers—and they say it's for employee well-being
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.