The night before a major event for a company he founded, billionaire Richard Branson was woken up by Elon Musk. Here's the strange but true story.
What Happened: In July 2021, Branson went to space at the age of 71, hitting the milestone aboard a spacecraft from Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE). The flight beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos to space in a race between their respective space companies.
The night before his space flight, Branson abruptly woke up to the sight of Musk’s barefoot in his kitchen at 2:30 a.m. local time at his New Mexico home. A member of Branson's family let Musk enter the house.
"Elon had decided to surprise us," Branson said, recalling the visit to The Sunday Times magazine. "He was there with his baby. Basically, he's a night animal."
Musk came to give his well wishes to Branson in person ahead of his trip to space.
"I woke up two hours earlier than I was meant to and jumped out of bed, and then actually realized I'd got the wrong time, but by then I was wide awake," Branson said.
According to Branson, he shared a night with Musk drinking tea "under the stars."
"He doesn't really sleep at night and gets his sleep in the daytime. We made a pot of tea and sat outside under the stars and caught up."
Musk also traveled ...