Featured Image Credit: United Artists
There's pretty much nothing you can't buy when you've got as much money as Elon Musk, and that's why the richest man in the world was so willing to splash out $1,000,000 on an iconic movie car that ended up inspiring the Cybertruck.
While films are obviously more recognisable for their star-studded casts, you'd be surprised to know how many cars have equally become famous due to their appearances on the silver screen.
Batman fans with immense wealth can treat themselves to extremely limited recreations of the iconic Batmobile from the Nolan trilogy, while the James Bond series alone has more legendary vehicles than you can count.
It was the long-running spy series that Elon Musk decided he wanted a piece of, as he dropped a relatively minuscule fraction of his staggering wealth in order to pick it up over a decade ago.
As reported by Supercar Blondie, Elon Musk decided to fork out around $1,000,000 on a custom-built version of the Lotus Esprit (otherwise known as 'Wet Nellie') that featured in the Roger Moore-led The Spy Who Loved Me.
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While the car itself is stunning in its design, what made it so iconic across the series was its aquatic features, as one famous scene from the film saw the car transform into a submarine upon entering the ocean.
After purchasing the Lotus Esprit, Musk was disappointed to learn that it didn't feature the specs necessary to drive underwater, so he decided to transform it by inserting a Tesla electric powertrain.
How the billionaire managed to get his hands on this car is fascinating too, as its previous owners lucked out massively. Following the release of The Spy Who Loved Me, Wet Nellie somehow wound up in an unclaimed storage unit.
One incredibly lucky couple purchased it without knowing what they'd find inside, only to realise how valuable their new vehicle was while they were hauling it back home.
They managed to sell it a few years later after some touch-ups, and it was Musk himself who emerged victorious at the 2013 auction.
One perhaps unexpected consequence of Musk's purchase was how it went on to inspire the angular design of the Cybertruck — although the Tesla vehicle is much bulkier than the comparatively sleek Esprit.
Cybertruck design influenced partly by The Spy Who Loved Me https://t.co/HKBzxFNfzm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2019
"Cybertruck design influenced partly by The Spy Who Loved Me," wrote Musk in a post on X in 2019, attaching a YouTube clip of the aforementioned transformation scene that might have left some wondering whether the new Tesla truck could journey underwater.
Musk's admiration for both the car and the film clearly influenced his design decisions, as he revealed that "it was amazing as a little kid to watch James Bond drive the Lotus Esprit off a pier and have it transform into a submarine."
