The advantages of private jets are well known and they offer the utmost in comfort and style for any kind of travel. They also save precious time and are a discreet way to travel efficiently. Of course, many of the rich and famous can afford a private jet, but who can afford an entire fleet? Elon Musk is one of those lucky few. Let’s have a look in more detail.
Elon Musk is one of the world’s richest business owners and was the founder of PayPal and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX. He is also CEO of Tesla, the electric car firm, and is highly influential in the tech world. He has an estimated fortune of $219 billion and is also the owner of the social media network X, previously named Twitter.
He is no stranger to private jets, having previously owned a Dassault Falcon 900B with registration N900SX. The aircraft was said to have cost $7 million and was registered under his own name between 2006 and 2008, according to information at Flight Aware.
The updated fleet
Musk uses two private jets on a regular basis, his Gulfstream G650ER (registration N628TS) and his Gulfstream G550 (registration N272BG), both registered under Falcon Landing LLC. The LLC is based in Hawthorne, California near to the SpaceX headquarters. He is also said to be soon adding a new Gulfstream G700 to his fleet, worth a cool $78 million.
The new aircraft
The Gulfstream G700 has one of the largest cabins of any private jet with five living zones and can seat up to 19 passengers. It is a stretched version of the Gulfstream G650 and deliveries started just last year. The aircraft has a range of 7,750 nautical miles or 14,353 kilometers and has a cruise speed of 0.90 Mach or 1,111 kilometers per hour. The G700 is powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines that produce 18,250 pounds of thrust. The avionics suite is the Honeywell Primus Epic.
Gulfstream G650 introduction
The Gulfstream G650 was first developed in 2005 and was introduced to the world in October 2008 as the Gulfstream’s largest and fastest business jet. The extended range model was introduced in 2014 and had already set distance and speed records, the first being a flight from Singapore to Las Vegas, Nevada, and a distance of over 8,000 nautical miles.
The aircraft’s normal range is 7,500 nautical miles or 13,890 kilometers and it has a maximum speed of Mach 0.925. It has Rolls-Royce BR725 turbofan engines that produce 14,975 pounds of thrust. Its range means that it can fly between New York and Hong Kong or Los Angeles to Melbourne, without needing to refuel.
Photo: Gulfstream
Aircraft specifications:
(Data from Gulfstream)
|
Model |
G650 |
G650ER |
|---|---|---|
|
Cockpit crew |
2 |
|
|
Capacity |
19 |
|
|
Length |
99 ft 9 in (30.40 m) |
|
|
Wingspan |
99 ft 7 in (30.35 m) |
|
|
Height |
25 ft 8 in (7.82 m) |
|
|
Cabin length |
46 ft 10 in (14.27 m) |
|
|
Cabin cross section |
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), width: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) |
|
|
Cabin volume |
2,138 cu ft (60.5 m3) |
|
|
Baggage volume |
195 cu ft (5.5 m3) |
|
|
Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) |
99,600 lb (45,200 kg) |
103,600 lb (47,000 kg) |
|
Basic operating weight (BOW) |
54,000 lb (24,000 kg) |
|
|
Maximum payload |
6,500 lb (2,900 kg) |
|
|
Fuel capacity |
44,200 lb (20,000 kg) |
48,200 lb (21,900 kg) |
|
Fuel consumption per hour |
500 US gal (1,900 L) |
503 US gal (1,900 L) |
|
Turbofans (x2) |
Rolls-Royce BR725 |
|
|
Takeoff thrust (x2) |
16,900 lbf (75.2 kN) |
|
|
Range |
7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) |
7,500 nmi (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) |
|
Cruise speed |
Mach 0.85 – Mach 0.90 (488–516 kn; 903–956 km/h; 561–594 mph) |
|
|
Max. operating speed, MMO |
Mach 0.925 (531 kn; 983 km/h; 611 mph) |
|
|
Takeoff distance (SL, ISA, MTOW) |
5,858 ft (1,786 m) |
6,299 ft (1,920 m) |
|
Ceiling |
51,000 ft (15,545 m) |
|
In April 2019, the Gulfstream G650ER set the record for the longest nonstop flight by a purpose-built business jet, flying 8,379 nautical miles or 15,518 kilometers from Singapore to Tucson, Arizona. Owners of the G650 include Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison, to name a few.
The Gulfstream G550
His second favorite aircraft is the G550 (also known as the GV-SP), of which he had two. The aircraft is slightly smaller than the G650 and it was produced by Gulfstream between 2003 and 2021, with over 600 aircraft built. The aircraft has a range of 6,750 nautical miles and is powered by Rolls-Royce BR710 engines. It typically seats 15 passengers and has a cruise speed of 904 kilometers per hour. Its range means that these city pairs can be flown, without the need to refuel:
- Washington DC to Dubai
- Singapore to London
- Los Angeles to Tokyo
The Gulfstream G550 is a popular aircraft for ownership and charter and is well known for its performance, luxury and reliability in the long-range heavy jet class. The second Gulfstream G550 with registration N502SX and a Gulfstream G450 with registration N450GG, which was manufactured in 2007, were both registered to Falcon Landing LLC in August 2020. It is said that they were used to transport both SpaceX and Tesla employees.
Aircraft specifications
(Data from Gulfstream)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 pilots, 0–2 attendants
- Capacity: 14–19 passengers / 6,200 lb (2,812 kg) payload
- Cabin dimensions: height × width × length 6 ft 2 in × 7 ft 4 in × 43 ft 11 in (1.88 m × 2.24 m × 13.39 m); total length including baggage hold: 50 ft 1 in (15.27 m)
- Cabin volume: 1,669 cu ft (47.26 m3); usable baggage compartment volume: 170 cu ft (4.81 m3)
- Cabin altitude: 6,000 ft (1,829 m)
- Length: 96 ft 5 in (29.39 m)
- Wingspan: 93 ft 6 in (28.50 m)
- Height: 25 ft 10 in (7.87 m)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 0012; tip: NACA 0012
- Empty weight: 48,300 lb (21,909 kg)
- Gross weight: 54,500 lb (24,721 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 91,000 lb (41,277 kg)
- Maximum landing weight: 75,300 lb (34,156 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 41,300 lb (18,733 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce BR710 C4-11 turbofan engines, 15,385 lbf (68.44 kN) thrust each
Performance
- Range: 6,750 nmi (7,770 mi, 12,500 km)
- High Speed Cruise: M0.85 at 41,000 ft (12,000 m)
- Long Range Cruise: M0.80 at 41,000 ft (12,000 m)
- Maximum Mach Operating (MMO): M0.885 at 41,000 ft (12,000 m)
- Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (16,000 m)
- Take-off run: 5,910 ft (1,800 m)
- Landing run: 2,770 ft (840 m)
New owner or not?
In 2023, the two aircraft were registered as owned by TVPX Aircraft Solutions INC as trustees, according to Flight Aware. Interestingly, the company has a ‘flexible owner trust structure that can help customers protect their privacy.’ Musk famously asked college student Jack Sweeney to stop publishing his private jet flight data information and to stop tracking him. He even offered him $5,000 to stop the tracking on Twitter, but Sweeney refused and continued. When Musk bought Twitter, he canceled Sweeney’s account.
Photo: Gulfstream
The trusty favorites spotted
The Gulfstream G650ER is his preferred aircraft for travel and he often covers the same familiar routes, mostly for business but occasionally for leisure trips. Some of his most used airports include:
- Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Austin, Texas
- Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California
- Jack Northrop Field / Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR)), Hawthorne, California
- Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (BRO), Texas
Musk is currently based in Austin, Texas and it is where the Tesla headquarters are based and the SpaceX headquarters are in Hawthorne, California. Brownsville is near to the launch site of SpaceX. Interestingly, in recent times, the two Gulfstreams have also been spotted at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) at the end of last year, according to JetSpy. Not a coincidence, perhaps, that Donald Trump lives close by at Mar-de-Largo and their political involvement. In November 2024, over half of his flights were to the Palm Beach area and he completed 355 flights last year in total.
Although the busy billionaire and entrepreneur is known for his work ethic and high-profile ventures, his lifestyle and private jet use have come under close scrutiny. On Celebrity Private Jet Tracker it shows that he uses the jets every two to three days. That’s a lot of travel.
Mysterious addition
Mysteriously, it was reported that in 2023, Musk had acquired a Boeing 737-800, registration N154TS with an unusual gray livery and previously owned by Air China. According to the FAA registry website, the aircraft is owned by Falcon Aviation Holdings LLC of Hawthorne, California, and not Falcon Landings LLC, as previous aircraft were. According to FlightRadar24, the aircraft is owned by SpaceX, so it probably carries executives from the company and not the man himself.
In conclusion
So, although it is unclear exactly how many aircraft he owns, we know there are two that he uses on a regular basis, the G650 and one G550, and he will likely have a new Gulfstream G700 soon. As his privacy concerns became a furor, it also became quite obvious where he traveled to and from due to the predictable nature of his flights.
Some of the aircraft are/were registered with Falcon Landing LLC and some under Falcon Aviation Holdings LLC, at the same address. Added to that, some were moved to a trustee company. So it is likely that some of those aircraft are not used or no longer used by Musk but used by his employees at SpaceX and Tesla.
