--- title: "Richard Branson Says Elon Musk Showed Up at His House at 2am" description: "Naur Way POV: you're so hyped up for your first flight to space that you wake up around 2am, roughly two hours earlier than you're supposed to get up. You go downstairs for a cup of water, and to your surprise, you find a... barefoot Elon Musk standing in your kitchen, infant son in his […]" date: "2023-01-10" modified: "2023-01-10" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/richard-branson-elon-musk-2am" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Off-World" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "richard branson" - "the digest" - "virgin galactic" --- # Richard Branson Says Elon Musk Showed Up at His House at 2am ![Richard Branson says that Elon Musk surprised him in his kitchen at 2am, hours before Branson's first trip to Almost Space with Virgin Galactic.]() *\Image: Richard Branson via Twitter\* ## Tally-Ho POV: you're so hyped up for your first flight to space that you wake up around 2am, roughly two hours earlier than you're supposed to get up. You go downstairs for a cup of water, and to your surprise, you find... a barefoot Elon Musk standing in your kitchen, infant son in his arms. "I think it was about 2:30 am," Richard Branson, the British billionaire who founded Virgin Airlines, [told ]()*[The Sunday Times]()*, recounting the wee morning hours of his July 11, 2021 trip to [Almost Space]() with [Virgin Galactic](), his [spinoff space tourism venture](). "I woke up two hours earlier than I was meant to and jumped out of bed." "Elon had decided to surprise us," Branson continued, clarifying that a staff member had let a barefoot Musk — a wild detail seemingly [confirmed by a photo]() tweeted by Branson — into the airline entrepreneur's New Mexico home. "He was there with his baby." (The baby in question was X Æ A-12 Musk, the SpaceX founder's child with ex-girlfriend Claire "Grimes" Boucher.) https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/1414199651037716485?ref\_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1414199651037716485%7Ctwgr%5Eee2959c679b35cbbb2fc310801fa13fcfe9e1e40%7Ctwcon%5Es1\_&ref\_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Frichard-branson-elon-musk-surprise-visit-middle-night-space-flight-2023-1 ## The Tea If you're thinking "huh, I don't usually take my baby to hang out barefoot in my friends' kitchens at 2am," we would have to concur. But hey, [maybe billionaire fun]() is just different than that of us normies. And Musk, as Branson notes, *is* a [notorious night owl](). "Basically, he's a night animal. He doesn't really sleep at night and gets his sleep in the daytime," Branson explained, referring to Musk elsewhere as "tremendously smart and even more driven," as well as "the Henry Ford of his generation." "We made a pot of tea," the blondish billionaire reminisced, "and sat outside under the stars and caught up." ## Almost Space Support To be fair, Branson was about to Almost But Definitely Not Travel to Space for the first time, which, billions aside, is probably a big deal for just about anyone. And honestly? Catching up with a pal, tea in hand and shoes optional, does sound like a solid way to start one of the biggest, [or at least riskiest](), days of your life. Here's to supporting friends — no matter the hour, and no matter the choice (or lack thereof) of footwear. *Updated to correct a mistaken reference to Richard Branson's nationality.* **More on Richard Branson:** *[Richard Branson Didn't Go to Space Yesterday, He Just Cruised Through the Upper Atmosphere]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()