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Elon Musk was thinking about rockets. Justine Musk was thinking about whether her parents’ basement had room for five kids.
In her 2017 TEDxUIUC talk, “Visionaries Are People Who Can See in the Dark,” Elon’s first wife recalled reading a profile in which he was quoted telling a friend that SpaceX was worth risking everything for.
“I recently read a profile on Elon and he’s quoted as saying something to a friend — and this happened during the time we were still married together — and he says something to this friend that he never said to me,” Justine said. “And he was saying that he was prepared to sacrifice everything, his entire fortune, to get a rocket into orbit. And he said, ‘I don’t care if Justine and the kids and I end up living in Justine’s parents’ basement. I’m going to make this happen.'”
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Her response had less to do with saving humanity and more to do with household logistics.
Justine said she wished she could go back, take him by the shoulders and ask, “Have you seen my parents’ basement?”
It got a laugh. But it also captured the all-or-nothing drive behind Elon’s early SpaceX years, before rocket launches became livestreams and before the company became one of the most valuable businesses on the planet.
The Basement Bet Became a $2 Trillion Giant
At the time, SpaceX was a long shot with a large fuel bill.
Elon was trying to build rockets while Tesla was also fighting for survival. During the 2008 financial crisis, SpaceX suffered failed launches, Tesla was short on cash and Elon was putting much of his remaining personal wealth into both companies.
The bet did not come with a safety net. It came with the possibility that the whole thing could collapse.
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Instead, SpaceX survived, won key NASA contracts and grew into a private-space powerhouse. It launched astronauts, built Starlink into a global satellite internet business and made reusable rockets a normal part of the space industry.
Then came the public-market payoff.
SpaceX raised $75 billion in its recent IPO, the largest in history. The debut briefly gave the company a market value above $2 trillion, turning SpaceX once tied to a hypothetical basement move into one of the world’s most valuable public businesses.
That does not make the basement story less extreme. It makes it easier to see why Musk was willing to gamble so hard.
The Part of the Story That Doesn’t Fit on a T-Shirt
The lesson is not that every founder should risk everything, or that every investor should chase the next company with a wild pitch deck.
Most companies with giant ambitions do not become SpaceX. A bold vision still needs customers, money, talent and a product that works outside a PowerPoint presentation.
But Elon’s story does show why investors keep watching early-stage companies in areas where technology is changing how major industries operate.
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Miso Robotics is one example. The company is building AI-powered kitchen automation, including its Flippy Fry Station, which it says has prepared more than 5 million baskets of food in commercial kitchens. Its focus is less glamorous than rockets but very real: helping restaurants deal with labor shortages, rising costs and the constant pressure to move orders faster.
BluSky AI is another. It is developing modular data centers designed for AI workloads, targeting the power and computing capacity needed as businesses adopt more AI tools. The company says investors can buy shares at $5.
Neither company is SpaceX, and neither should be treated as a guaranteed winner. But both are aimed at problems that are already showing up in the real economy: restaurants needing more automation and AI companies needing more computing power.
Justine’s story is not an investing formula. It is a reminder that before a company becomes a market giant, it often begins as an uncomfortable bet that most people would rather not make.
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Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.
Arrived
Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors canbuy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.
BluSky AI
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is creating significant demand for data centers, power, and compute infrastructure.BluSky AI is building modular AI data centers designed to support next-generation AI workloads while aiming to reduce deployment timelines compared to traditional facilities. For investors looking beyond AI software and applications, the company offers exposure to the infrastructure layer that makes artificial intelligence possible.
ARK7
Residential real estate has historically provided investors with income potential and long-term appreciation, but direct ownership can be expensive and time-consuming. ARK7 enables investors to buy fractional shares of rental properties, offering access to potential rental income and real estate exposure without property management responsibilities. By lowering the barrier to entry, the platform gives investors another way to diversify beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
Immersed
Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.
Miso Robotics
Robotics and automation are becoming increasingly important tools for businesses facing labor shortages and rising operating costs.Miso Robotics develops AI-powered kitchen technology that is already being deployed in restaurant environments, with products designed to help operators improve efficiency and streamline operations. As artificial intelligence expands beyond software and into real-world applications, the company is positioning itself at the intersection of robotics, automation and the future of food service.
Vinovest
Fine wine and rare whiskey have historically moved independently of the stock market, making them a compelling alternative asset.Vinovest manages authenticated, insured portfolios of investment-grade wine and whiskey starting at $5,000 — sourcing, storage, and insurance all handled for you.
FarmTogether
Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors,FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.
EquityMultiple
For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.
Fundrise
Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio.Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.
American Hartford Gold
American Hartford Gold is a precious metals dealer that helps clients buy physical gold and silver coins and bars, either for direct delivery or within self-directed precious metals IRAs. The company’s services include gold and silver IRAs, IRA rollovers, and home delivery of bullion, giving investors a way to use tangible metals to diversify portfolios and seek protection against inflation and market volatility.
Mode Mobile
Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.
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This article Elon Musk’s Ex Wife Says He Was Ready To ‘Sacrifice Everything’ For Space Goals — Even If It Meant He And 5 Kids Had To Live In Her Parents’ Basement originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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