McLaren F1, once owned by Elon Musk - Here is what happened.

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, car enthusiasts were buzzing as a legendary 1997 McLaren F1, once owned by Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, was up for display.

Here is what happened: the iconic 1997 McLaren F1 parked on the festival grounds in 2023.

This is the McLaren F1 that Elon Musk bought in 1999. It was on display at the Goodwood Festival of speed in 2023. Elon Musk no longer owns this car. Today, 2023, the car is worth ~$20 million, equivalent to about 500 Model 3 RWDs.

In 1999, Musk bought the car for $1 million after selling his first company, Zip2. The following year, while demonstrating its acceleration to PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel en route to a meeting with Mike Moritz, Musk had an accident involving the vehicle. Musk said in an interview later that the accident didn’t actually wreck the car, but all the glass and wheels were shredded and there was massive body damage to the front and the rear. The core chassis and the engine were fine, he added. Musk sold the vehicle in 2007.

Elon Musk said: ”After Zip2, I had a choice of either a house in Palo Alto or a condo plus a McLaren F1. Took me about a nanosecond to decide," Musk said while reminiscing that there are a lot of good memories of that car. "It is such exquisite engineering & design!”, Musk added.

Only 106 McLaren F1 cars were produced between 1992 and 1998 when production ended. Other celebrity owners of the vehicle include actor Rowan Atkinson renowned for his role as Mr. Bean, Ralph Lauren and Jay Leno.

As per the plaque card in front of the vehicle on display at the festival, the current owner of the vehicle uses it for events and tours.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hill climb and other events, held in Goodwood House, West Sussex, England.

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