Fact Check: Did Elon Musk invest $5M to build affordable housing for low-income families?
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Tesla CEO Elon Musk made headlines recently after his electric vehicle company was the target of vandalism across the US following layoffs by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Amid this, several rumors about the tech billionaire floated online, many of which have been debunked.
Recently, a post circulated claiming that Musk invested $5 million in building affordable housing for low-income families. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Elon Musk invested $5 million to build affordable housing for low-income families
In March 2025, a claim circulated online that Elon Musk, who is also a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, invested $5 million to build affordable housing for low-income families.
It began circulating after a news agency reported that Musk's DOGE had halted a $1 billion affordable housing program due to cuts and freezes at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A Facebook user posted on March 28, "Elon Musk Spends $5 Million to Build Housing for Low-Income Families, Creating Sustainable Communities."
The post continued, "Elon Musk has invested $5 million to build affordable housing for low-income families, aiming to provide safe and sustainable living conditions."
It added, "The funds will support the construction of new homes in underserved areas, ensuring that families have access to affordable housing options. Musk's contribution reflects his commitment to addressing housing inequality and creating lasting impact in communities in need."
The post also contained a link to an article that claimed to share additional details about Musk's alleged investment, according to fact-checking website Snopes.
Fact Check: No evidence to back claim of Elon Musk's investment
The claims made in the post can be deemed false as there is no evidence to prove that Elon Musk had invested $5 million to build affordable housing for low-income families, according to Snopes.
A Google search for the terms "Elon Musk," "$5 million," "low income," and "housing" showed no coverage of any such announcement by the tech-billionaire, per the fact-checking outlet.
Musk's official X (formerly Twitter) account also showed no evidence that he had invested in low-income housing.
On top of that, the article that was linked to the Facebook post was written using Artificial Intelligence (AI) software. AI text detectors GPTZero and ZeroGPT showed that the text of the article was AI-generated.
The article also had a picture of Musk and a house with text that read "$10,000 HOUSE." In reality, that picture was the thumbnail of a YouTube video about Musk that misleadingly spliced together real footage of tiny houses from the modular home company Boxabl, according to Snopes.
Moreover, there is no evidence that Boxabl has built homes specifically for low-income families.
A similar rumor regarding Elon Musk's philanthropy previously circulated online
In March 2025, a similar online rumor claimed that Elon Musk paid the medical bills of a seven-year-old girl named Lily Thompson, who has a rare neurological disorder.
The post further stated that the Tesla CEO also arranged to have the girl's brain implanted with the experimental brain-computer interface device that his company Neuralink produces, which led to her miraculous recovery, according to Snopes.
However, the claims were false as the story shared by social media users was a fictional tale made to garner clicks and shares, per the fact-checking outlet. There was also no evidence to back the claim that Musk paid medical bills and arranged a Neuralink brain implant for a sick girl.
Furthermore, a Google search for "Lily Thompson" and "Neuralink" showed no media coverage of the story.
