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Lot #100
Elon Musk Original Photograph (1995)

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Estimate: $100+
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Description

Original color glossy 5.75 x 4 candid photo of Elon Musk seated and smiling in his BMW in the summer of 1995, not long after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. In very fine condition.

This photo was taken by Musk’s girlfriend, Jennifer Gwynne, who he began dating in the fall semester of the 1994-1995 school year when they both lived and worked as Resident Advisors (RAs) in the ‘Spruce Street’ part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Quadrangle dorm. In 1995, after graduating from Penn with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School, Musk migrated to Stanford University where had been accepted into the school's Ph.D. program in materials science. He left after two days to join the Internet boom and launch his first startup.

According to Gwynne: ‘The summer of 1995, I did a study abroad program in London. When my summer classes finished, I flew out to San Francisco/Palo Alto to visit Elon. We were still a couple at this point, and this was just as Elon was beginning his conquest of Silicon Valley with the founding of Zip2. I remember him talking about meetings coming up to demo Zip2. Also, I remembered how beautiful Palo Alto was after having spent the last three school years in Philadelphia. And look at that Southern California tan he has! I remember thinking that California definitely agreed with Elon. He still had his beat-up BMW from his Philly days.’

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts
  • Dates: #643 - Ended September 14, 2022