Elon Musk, the first person in history to amass a net worth exceeding $600 billion, doesn’t live a typical day. Managing SpaceX, Tesla, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter), Musk is known for his relentless schedule, frequently staying up until 3 a.m. and checking his phone immediately upon waking. According to Forbes, as of December 15, 2025, Musk’s net worth has reached $677 billion, making him the richest person in the world. Yet, unlike most people who work a standard 40-hour week, Musk thrives on an intense, high-pressure routine—sometimes logging up to 120 hours in a single week.
Mornings for Musk often begin around 9 a.m., though he admits to struggling with the habit of immediately reaching for his phone. On the Full Send Podcast in 2022, he called it a “bad habit” but, according to the Wall Street Journal, by 2023 he continued the practice, citing the need to stay on top of potential emergencies. Even today, he frequently posts on X at all hours, including the middle of the night.
Musk’s breakfast habits have evolved over the years. In 2023, he told a physician on X that he ate “one donut each morning.” On The Katie Miller Podcast in December, he updated his typical breakfast to include steak, eggs, and coffee. Despite overseeing one of America’s top electric vehicle manufacturers, Musk still faces the mundane daily decisions, such as which vehicle to drive. When an X user asked whether he would choose a Cybertruck without autopilot or a Tesla Model S equipped with full self-driving technology, Musk quipped that he grapples with similar choices every day.
Exercise, for Musk, is another evolving story. In 2021, he admitted he would avoid it entirely if possible. By June 2023, he tweeted that he “almost never exercises except lifting and tossing his children into the air.” Two months later, he claimed to lift weights nearly every day, spurred partly by social media chatter about a potential fight with Mark Zuckerberg. It’s unclear whether Musk continues this routine today, but it reflects his ability to pivot rapidly between priorities.
Lunch is often skipped or replaced with a light snack, while dinner can be consumed “anywhere,” Musk explains. He enjoys American cuisine, particularly cheeseburgers and pizza. In his words, “If I had to pick one meal for the rest of my life, it might be cheeseburgers because they’re amazing. That’s a genius invention.”
Musk’s workdays often extend deep into the night. He frequently acknowledges that running multiple companies is far from easy. In 2021, he described dividing his time among his ventures according to “crisis needs” at each company. By January 2023, he recounted a typical day: testifying in a legal case in the morning, attending a Tesla factory event in Nevada in the evening, and working on AI at Tesla late at night. Musk added that he even spends time at X’s headquarters after midnight.
“I sleep, wake, work, sleep, wake, work—seven days a week,” Musk told the Wall Street Journal in 2023, shortly after acquiring Twitter. “I have to do this for a while; there’s no alternative. But once Twitter is on track, managing it will be easier than SpaceX or Tesla.”
In Tesla’s April 2024 financial report, Musk emphasized that the company consumes most of his working hours, and he works nearly every day, rarely taking a Sunday afternoon off. He has also been known to pull all-nighters to solve pressing company problems, occasionally sleeping on factory floors or office spaces. After buying Twitter, Musk moved almost entirely to the company’s San Francisco headquarters, sometimes napping on a sofa in the library.
His sleep schedule is unusual by conventional standards. Musk typically goes to bed around 3 a.m., sleeping roughly six hours per night. On The Katie Miller Podcast, he explained that sleeping less than six hours impairs his cognitive performance. Even so, Musk candidly admits that he experiences frequent nightmares related to AI, reflecting the immense mental load of overseeing some of the world’s most technologically advanced companies.
Despite the intensity, Musk maintains certain rituals, like morning coffee, and a relentless curiosity that drives him to constantly monitor his companies. From evaluating Tesla’s self-driving capabilities to fine-tuning SpaceX launches and exploring the potential of xAI, every hour of Musk’s day is dedicated to innovation. While few could match this pace, it is exactly what has allowed him to build empires worth hundreds of billions, pushing the boundaries of technology while redefining what a “day in the life” can be for a modern billionaire.
In essence, Elon Musk’s daily routine is a continuous loop of sleep, work, and decision-making. His extraordinary schedule—part obsession, part necessity—demonstrates the extreme dedication behind the wealth, influence, and vision that have made him an icon in global business and technology.
