British Columbia and a tiny fishing village is now atwitter after the world’s wealthiest artificial an unannounced look over the weekend.
Elon Musk, the controversial and now apparently political CEO of Tesla and X, touched down in Bella Bella—an remoted city nestled within the Nice Bear Rainforest—earlier than departing once more by helicopter.
His go to to the city with roughly 1,500 residents was a shock.
Native resident Seán Carter advised the Canadian Broadcasting Company that the realm isn’t any stranger to high-profile guests.
He added that Musk was probably passing by means of en path to James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who’s a board member at Tesla, the place Musk serves as CEO, and who owns a property off the coast.
“It’s not day by day the richest man on the earth comes by means of city,” he mentioned. “That’s going to be a troublesome one to prime.”
CBC Information confirmed that Musk’s non-public jet touched down in Vancouver late Friday evening and departed Monday afternoon. Visible proof seen by the CBC reportedly aligns with flight knowledge tracked on-line and present Musk arriving and departing.
Wait, Elon Musk is Canadian?
If you happen to observe the lore of Musk, he was born in South Africa and is a Canadian citizen by means of his mom, Maye Musk, who was born in Regina, in line with official biographies. Musk moved to Saskatchewan after which Vancouver as a teen, and attended school in Canada.
In current months, Musk’s visits and Canadian ties have fueled debate. Earlier this yr, a petition circulated calling for the federal government to revoke his citizenship over his function in President Trump’s White Home, precisely as Musk was getting heavy handed in tariff talks between the 2 international locations.
In Ontario and Western Canada, Musk’s tempestuous affect has additionally sophisticated political relationships.
Quebec, B.C., and different provinces have debated selections to exclude Tesla from EV rebate applications in response to U.S. tariffs, with B.C. Premier David Eby citing “retaliation” as the explanation. In a transfer that confirmed at the least certainly one of Musk’s companies nonetheless issues to Canadian communities, greater than half of Canadian rural areas are shopping for companies from Musk’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web to enhance connectivity.
Musk has gone forwards and backwards on his personal sophisticated emotions about Canada.
In 2023, he posted a photograph sporting a “I Love Canada” T-shirt and declared himself “half-Canadian.” However in February 2025, in response to the citizenship revocation petition, he tweeted, “Canada is just not an actual nation” earlier than deleting the message.
Carter advised the CBC that, politics apart, Musk’s passage by means of Bella Bella was one for the historical past books. “It doesn’t matter what your opinion of him is, it’s one thing to observe,” he mentioned.
Locals have blended emotions about Musk
The city’s residents clearly had blended emotions about Musk’s drop-in.
Emily Lowan, a candidate for the B.C. Inexperienced Social gathering management, posted pictures of Musk’s arrival on social media, writing, “but another excuse to tax billionaires out of existence.”
However in typical Canadian vogue, Carter mentioned that Musk didn’t get any particular remedy on the native airport after which needed to stroll for a bit.
“It was fairly busy,” Carter mentioned. “The airplane landed on one aspect, the helicopter on the opposite, and he needed to stroll a good distance. He most likely hoped to come back out and in quietly, however there aren’t any secrets and techniques on this city.”
