- Elon Musk's private jets took hundreds of flights in 2023.
- The billionaire's aircraft flew over 1,161 hours this year, according to JetSpy.
- Musk had a busy year after buying Twitter in 2022.
It isn't easy running six companies, but Elon Musk's fleet of private jets certainly helps.
Since taking over Twitter (now X) late last year, Musk has been splitting his time between Texas and California — trading off sleeping on Tesla's factory floor for Twitter's offices — and his private jets have the mileage to show for it.
Musk's private planes — worth more than $100 million at list value — took to the skies 441 times this year, according to data that was compiled by the jet-tracking site JetSpy as of December 14.
Musk currently owns two Gulfstream private jets: a G650ER, registered N628TS, and a G550, registered N272BG, according to JetSpy.
A second G550 with the tail number N502SX was registered to SpaceX in September 2021, which has flown about 630 hours across 246 flights as of December 14, per JetSpy, and could be used to fly company personnel.
For the purposes of this article, the second G550 was not included in the billionaire's total flying because the jet is not registered to Musk.
In addition to his two private planes, Musk has also reportedly ordered the recently launched Gulfstream G700, and at one time owned a Dassault Falcon 900B.
The G650ER, which Musk acquired in 2016, is the longest-ranged plane of the collection and allows the billionaire to fly some 8,600 miles nonstop. Gulfstream's larger jets like Musks' are typically fit with a bedroom.
In 2023, the aircraft were in flight for more than 1,161 hours, equivalent to over 48 days worth of time spent in the air, according to JetSpy data.
JetSpy aggregates its flight information using ADS-B data that is transmitted from several vendors and networks.
ADS-B is a public surveillance technology that broadcasts information like GPS location and altitude from one aircraft to another and to ground stations. The technology made headlines last year when college student Jack Sweeney used it to broadcast Musk's flight data on social media.
Since then, the billionaire has attempted to cloak his flight information using a program set up by the Federal Aviation Administration, but to no avail. Flight enthusiasts have continued to track Musk's travel using the ADS-B network.
There is no way of knowing the jets' passengers for any of the flights. Though Musk has been seen boarding the different jets on various occasions and the aircraft's flight patterns have at times corresponded with Musk's public visits to events like a SpaceX launch or meetings with foreign officials.
Musk did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.
13-hour treks and 5-minute hops
In 2023, the average flight for Musk's two aircraft was just over two and a half hours — similar to the time it takes for a plane to fly from Hawthorne California (where SpaceX is headquartered) to Brownsville, Texas (SpaceX's launch site and the state where Musk moved Tesla's headquarters).
For Musk's G650, the jet's most popular destinations are Austin, Texas, as well as airports in Oakland and San Jose, California. The private plane has taken 166 flights this year.
Meanwhile, Musk's Gulfstream G550 with the tail number N2727BG has taken 275 flights as of December 14, according to JetSpy. The aircraft frequently visits airports in Hawthorne and Los Angeles, California, as well as Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport near SpaceX's launch site.
In the past, Sweeney, who tracks Musk's private jets, has said the billionaire's habitual flight patterns can be a dead giveaway for identifying his planes, even as he has tried to obscure his flight data.
The longest flight one of Musk's jets took in 2023 was a nearly 13-hour flight to Tokyo in August. Musk, his on-and-off girlfriend Grimes, and their three-year-old son X were spotted in Tokyo at the time.
The billionaire's jets also took several other international flights. Most recently, Musk's jet visited Israel in November. The billionaire met with foreign leaders and toured a kibbutz that had been attacked by Hamas.
The aircraft's shortest flight was five minutes and the data shows that the jet remained at Long Beach Airport. The movement was likely the pilot repositioning the plane.
Musk's jets also took some 11 to 15-minute flights between airports in Hawthorne and Los Angeles in the spring. The airports are located less than 10 miles apart.
While the planes are handy for Musk's busy lifestyle, they come at a heavy price. The billionaire's jets have emitted an estimated 5,159 metric tons of CO2 over the past year, according to JetSpy. In contrast, the average person in the US is responsible for producing about 16 tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.
What's more, the jets consumed 538,957 gallons of fuel in 2023 — meaning it cost over $3.2 million to fuel the planes this year, JetSpy data shows.
Overall, Musk's jets appear to have flown less this year than last year. In 2022, his planes took to the skies 739 times for a total of 1,865 hours in flight.