Elon Musk is a Burner, He Likes In 'n Out...

"sfmikee" (sfmikee) 09/02/2013 at 13:39 • Filed to: None

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... and he's a pretty nice guy. My neck almost snapped with the double-take I did when I saw him leaning over and checking his phone on the way home from Burning Man. I was too ridiculously star struck to come up with anything intelligent to say, so this is how it went.

I giddily said to my friend "Holy shit that's Elon Musk!"

"Who? I don't know who that is."

"Jesus, he's one of the most visionary people on Earth! Get your phone ready!"
...
"Excuse me, do you mind if I bother you for a second?"

"Sure."

"You're Mr. Musk, right? Do you mind if I get a picture with you?"

"Yes, sure." ... and he smiled

snap, snap, snap ...

"Thanks a lot. And I love your cars!"

Probably the most inane words to ever come out of my mouth, but hey I got a photo op with Elon. If I'd taken a few moments to compose myself I'd have chatted him up about his Burning Man experience or had something substantive to say about Tesla. Oh well.

$kaycog > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 13:55

12

That.Is.Awesome!

sfmikee > $kaycog 09/02/2013 at 14:12

10

Thanks! I really wish I'd just relaxed so I could have had a quick conversation with him. I also wanted to respect his time. He was only waiting for his Double Double or whatever to be ready. I'd never have bothered him if he were eating.

Your boy, BJR > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 14:13

1

Oh that is just so totally awesome!

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 14:17

5

What you have there is not just a photo...

... It's an everlasting memory.

Dsscats > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 14:28

7

I went and toured SpaceX and got to have a Q and A with him after. It was awesome. The first nice car he bought was an E-Type Series 1, which broke down when he drove it home from the previous owner's house.

feather-throttle-not-hair > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 14:43

6

My opinion of Elon Musk just increased.

BeetleCamry > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 15:47

3

He went to Burning Man? So THATS how he comes up with all these ideas huh? heheh

TGRIP > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 15:47

4

After congratulating him on the Model S's safety performance, I would have asked him if there's any way in hell that he'd let Top Gear review said car. On the show, in their magazine, just some way to see what the Brits would think of it. And hopefully he wouldn't give me a dirty look in the process...

PS9 > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 15:53

18

You didn't even ask for a free sample, did you...

Money Hustard > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:00

2

Did you happen to catch his mode of transportation?

It's a 550+ mile drive from Burning Man to LA. I wonder if his Tesla can do that sort of mileage.

Also, what the hell is that guy doing waiting for a burger? He's got to have people for that.

The Route (roughly):

https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=Los…

Joneez > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:11

3

I don't know enough about the man to be a fan or not, but I'm a huge fan of everything Space-X does. I live near Vandenberg and hope to someday see launches to Mars from here!

EL_ULY > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:23

2

Burning Man eh, where is The Coon and Cthulhu when you need them lol. j/k... mehbeh >:)

oldirtybootz > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:25

1

Congrats man! It's always cool meeting a celebrity, or at the very least seeing them do things like normal people. Last year at the NY auto show my girlfriend and I saw JR Smith. My birthday was the day before, and he had dropped a career high 37 points against the Bobcats, so that was pretty memorable.

M54B30 > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:35

3

Jeez, he looks like a bum. My kind of rich guy!

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:36

0

Think he's been biking. Because he's got terrible helmet hair

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:47

7

""Thanks a lot. And I love your cars!"

Probably the most inane words to ever come out of my mouth,"

Nah... what you said was fine... unless ... unless that's only what you thought you said... and what you actually said came out something like this:

Curiousplay > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:48

1

I misunderstood when you said 'burner'...

Hifrequency > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:49

2

It would be very interesting to have him on Jalopnik for some Q & A, petition for this?

Hifrequency > Money Hustard 09/02/2013 at 16:50

0

Seems like a regular down to earth guy unlike Kanye or most douchey hipster celebs.

Hifrequency > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 16:57

1

I've run into Stallone, Schwarzenegger, the Dwayne Johnson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Shawn Ashmore, Richard Dean Anderson, Kristin Kreuk.

I have never said a word to any of them but they knew that I recognized them which is cool because they do realize they can get some breaks from people.

the7thearlofgrey > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 17:11

1

what a country

cybershrike > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 17:22

1

You met Elon Musk and you didn't ask to see his shuttle? Shame on you.

e39m5hoon > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 17:23

2

Can we get a Jalopnik Q and A with Musk?

DoubleClutchingAutomatic > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 18:05

1

Looks like he just rolled out of bed ha ha

m4ximusprim3 > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 18:39

17

[random man, tripping balls in the middle of the desert]

"No, dude! It's like, a train, but it goes a million miles an hour! In a tube! and there's fans and magnets, and you put it right over the freeway, and power it with solar! and then you make a space company, because the government can't own space, right? it's like free, you know?"

[Elon, totally sober and taking notes]

Yes, tell me more....

rolandeschain > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 18:40

3

Meeting Musk was cool. But as an east coast resident, all I could think about was

IN-N-OUT.

Jeezuz, but it's been a long time since my last animal style.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 19:57

1

awesome...very very awesome

sfmikee > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 09/02/2013 at 20:04

1

rofl. That was probably it, but shorter.

DIRTEE30 > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 20:17

0

Elon Musk...Did he use to be in a band called "Flock of Seagulls?"

Good to see he kept the same hairdo for 30 years.

GeorgeyBoy > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 20:20

1

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 21:07

0

Nicely spotted! I'm somewhat surprised Musk is a burner, but when you do that much stuff it's important to blow off steam rather completely once in a while.

I hope this means more neat ideas!

butteredmuffins > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 21:37

0

What city was this In 'n Out in??

ZR1fan > Money Hustard 09/02/2013 at 21:57

0

Well hey, hes allowed to life his life, he doesnt have to live in a bubble.

Nate Gnau > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 23:11

0

You lucky son of a bastard. It's only on moments like this that I wish I lived in California.

Nate Gnau > EL_ULY 09/02/2013 at 23:14

0

Why on earth would you want Cthulhu to snuff one of the greatest minds of our time?

288GTOhYEAH > sfmikee 09/02/2013 at 23:36

1

SO LUCKY!!! I Hope to meet him too some day!!

Now I know that I too should rehearse some lines JUST IN CASE I ever was to meet with him! But knowing my luck I will only muster the same amount of words, if not the same phrases as you. xD

zyodei > feather-throttle-not-hair 09/03/2013 at 02:02

0

My opinion of Elon Musk, at this point, all things considered, is at 100/100.

Nobody's perfect, but I can't think of a global business leader I respect more.

GhostZ > Money Hustard 09/03/2013 at 02:05

1

Hyperloop, or jetpack, probably.

sfmikee > Money Hustard 09/03/2013 at 02:15

3

I didn't see what he was traveling in. I didn't see any Teslas in the parking lot though. I'd be more than happy to help him test out an electric motorhome next year.

sfmikee > rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S 09/03/2013 at 02:17

0

There have been some other pretty notable Burners from Google, Facebook, Apple, MS, etc. I wasn't that surprised personally.

sfmikee > DoubleClutchingAutomatic 09/03/2013 at 02:18

1

On the way back from the desert we all look like we just rolled out of bed. :)

sfmikee > oldirtybootz 09/03/2013 at 02:20

0

Nice! This was the highlight of my celebrity sightings for sure.

sfmikee > Nate Gnau 09/03/2013 at 02:25

2

Oh there are many reasons I'm happy to live here. This was sweet icing though. :)

sfmikee > butteredmuffins 09/03/2013 at 02:26

0

The first one you hit on the 80 heading westbound into Reno. This experience makes up for all the bad things I've ever said about Reno.

reverberocket is nipping the apex..and gently blowing in it's ear. > sfmikee 09/03/2013 at 07:38

3

...moments later, Elon Musk was overheard muttering into his bare wrist as if it were a phone: "Yeah! The guy who used Google Maps to figure out where that stolen yellow Beetle was, and did it in the fastest time yet . No, I don't think he expects a thing...pretty sure he thinks we met by accident. Yeah, he thought I was a 'Burner'...crazy, right? Yeah. I think he'll work just fine. OK...start the next phase of this immediately..."

SGTalon > sfmikee 09/03/2013 at 08:38

1

Better than saying "Holy Shit! You're Elon Musk" to him.

I would have probably said, "Good Job, Mr. Stark. I mean Iron Man... I mean Mr. Musk"

Jimbobway > sfmikee 09/03/2013 at 08:47

1

That is amazing. I'm jealous. I do have a man criush on him, but it's OKAY, my wife knows. He is a genious!

I too had a run in like this once.

"Hello, Mr. Hogan, sorry to bother you..."

"What up Brother!"

True story.

MauritiusMauritia > PS9 09/03/2013 at 09:15

1

His closest competitor: Jovan.

yeah, that guy > PS9 09/03/2013 at 09:28

0

For a second I was thought "why would someone like that make a cologne?"

I'm retarded.

sfmikee > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 09/03/2013 at 11:41

0

This one is definitely getting printed and hung on my wall :-)

MoeNKhan > TGRIP 09/03/2013 at 12:06

0

Well if you want to know what the Brit's think, there's always Autocar .

butteredmuffins > sfmikee 09/03/2013 at 13:26

0

Haha I bet! That's awesome. He's definitely one of the only innovators I look up to. I was asking cause the background looked EXACTLY like one that I was at a couple months ago.

mrecount > sfmikee 09/03/2013 at 13:49

0

Jeez, you guys look like you were tearing up carpet or something.

ZombiePeanutz > sfmikee 09/03/2013 at 13:53

0

He seems nice. But beware. Remember, Hank Scorpio was also nice to Homer.

sfmikee > butteredmuffins 09/03/2013 at 14:15

0

Me too. Think about the spaces he has changed and how others have flat-out failed... Online payments, ev's, space travel... I think he's THE innovator of the past decade or two. I so wish I had bumped into him on the playa.

sfmikee > mrecount 09/03/2013 at 14:17

0

This is par for the return trip from burning man :)

butteredmuffins > sfmikee 09/05/2013 at 09:24

1

Yeah it's crazy what he has done, I don't think he gets enough appreciation. Steve jobs was a good visionary but Elon Musk far surpasses him in my opinion. He's still young too.

sfmikee > butteredmuffins 09/05/2013 at 14:25

0

I completely agree.