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The second oldest active team and the second most successful team on the grid, McLaren, need no introduction. The Woking-based outfit has enjoyed immeasurable success in the premier class. However, with the success in the sport, the McLaren brand on the streets is also as popular. Exactly at the turn of the century, Elon Musk spent a full million on the McLaren F1 supercar.

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One of the rarest cars on the market, the McLaren F1 supercar invented the supercar genre. The rarity of the car, apart from the powerful specs, also came with limited production. McLaren only produced 106 units of the car and billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk owned one until Musk wrecked his car while showboating its capabilities to fellow billionaire Peter Thiel.

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Musk was en route to secure investment with PayPal’s Peter Thiel. The Tesla owner put his foot down on the peddle but forgot to turn on the traction control.

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This resulted in an accident where, luckily, both Musk and Thiel were unharmed. However, his favorite McLaren was totaled and the two hitchhiked to the meeting after reporting the incident.

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Apparently, Musk had to pay for the repairs from his own pocket of the uninsured supercar. We can all assume that it would’ve been a hefty bill.

Read More: $256 Billion Worth Elon Musk Draws Inspiration From High-Speed F1 Tactic in Game Changing Tesla Announcement

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After getting it fixed, what happened to the car? Well, there’s an answer for that as well.

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What did Elon Musk do with his McLaren F1 supercar after the accident?

The McLaren was owned by Elon Musk until 2007, when he sold it. According to reports, the billionaire even sold it for a profit despite the accident. With the information about the buyer unavailable, there was news that Musk’s McLaren caught fire in 2009.

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Why did he sell his favorite McLaren? For maintaining brand image after starting Tesla and innovating eclectic supercars. The billionaire let go of most of his car collection with combustion engines, probably a necessary sacrifice to spread his vision of reducing carbon footprints across the globe.

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Written by

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Mahim Suhalka

2,204 Articles

Mahim is a senior Formula 1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a Diploma in Sports Management, he ventured into sports journalism for his sheer passion for F1. Mahim has written over 2000 articles during his tenure at ES, and his expertise is in perspective pieces and core sports coverage. Mahim’s writing flair and meticulous research work have resulted in him contributing to in-depth analysis on teams like Red Bull and Mercedes as well as Team Principals Christian Horner and Toto Wolff. His support for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team and their #44 driver Lewis Hamilton came naturally after being awestruck by the brilliance during his foray into F1. You can follow him on X @MahimSuhalka.

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Nizamul Haque Bhuyan

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