Candid Snapshots From Elon Musk’s College Days Taken by His Ex-Girlfriend Jennifer Gwynne in the Mid-1990s

Take a nostalgic look at Elon Musk’s college years through a series of candid photographs with Jennifer Gwynne, captured between 1994 and 1995. These snapshots reveal everyday moments: the pair relaxing in their University of Pennsylvania dorm, celebrating the holidays in Canada, and simply enjoying campus life together.

h/t: vintag.es

Musk and Gwynne first crossed paths as resident advisers at Penn in the fall of 1994, kindling a relationship that lasted about a year. That Christmas, Musk brought Gwynne to Canada, where they visited his brother Kimbal at Queen’s University and spent time with his mother in Toronto.

Decades later, in September 2022, Gwynne auctioned off a collection of 18 photographs, a handwritten birthday card, and a 14-karat gold necklace set with a green emerald from Musk’s family mine in South Africa. The RR Auction sale, which ended on September 15, fetched over $165,000.

Gwynne remembers Musk as “sweet,” “kind,” and “smart,” with a mischievous streak—and notes that even then, he was dreaming up electric cars. Their relationship ended in 1995 when Musk moved to California, as he found long-distance phone calls unappealing. The two have not been in contact since.