What does Elon Musk eat during the day? An inside look at his eclectic diet

October 12, 2025 •

4 min read

In 2025, reports highlighted Elon Musk's focus on healthier habits and weight management, a notable shift from his previously admitted love for tasty, less-healthy food. But what does Elon Musk eat during the day, and how have his dietary habits truly evolved?

Quick Summary

A detailed overview of Elon Musk's eating patterns, including his preference for quick, functional meals like coffee and eggs, and his enduring love for indulgent treats such as doughnuts and Diet Coke. It examines his recent turn toward intermittent fasting and weight management.

Key Points

Eclectic and Non-Traditional: Elon Musk's diet is a mix of high-end cuisine and fast-food favorites, without a strict, consistent plan.
Intermittent Fasting: He has adopted intermittent fasting, using apps to help manage his weight and eating schedule.
Morning Indulgence: His mornings can include a quick coffee and omelet or, famously, a donut, depending on his mood and schedule.
Functional Meals: For most of his career, Musk treated food as mere fuel, opting for quick, convenient lunches consumed in minutes between meetings.
Enduring Sweet Tooth: Despite health concerns, Musk has a well-documented love for sugary items and Diet Coke, which he has stated he will never quit.
Recent Health Shift: Following weight gain, Musk publicly committed to a healthier lifestyle, integrating more balanced foods and exercise alongside fasting.

Elon Musk's Approach to Eating: Fuel Over Pleasure

For much of his career, Elon Musk has openly admitted to treating food more as fuel for his demanding work schedule than as a source of pleasure. This utilitarian approach has often meant skipping meals, especially breakfast, or opting for the quickest, most convenient options available. However, recent years have seen a notable shift toward a more health-conscious perspective, including the adoption of intermittent fasting to manage his weight.

Morning: Coffee and the Occasional Indulgence

Musk's breakfast routine has varied over time, sometimes being non-existent and other times embracing indulgence. His well-known confession of eating a doughnut every morning was a humorous response to a post claiming sugar was toxic, though he later clarified his intake was less significant. On a more productive morning, Musk might opt for a protein-packed meal, as he once described his breakfast of steak, eggs, and coffee as a "powerup". Coffee, in particular, is a consistent part of his mornings to fuel his long workdays.

Typical Breakfast: Coffee, sometimes accompanied by an omelet.
Occasional Treat: Doughnuts or pastries.
Power-Up Meal: Steak and eggs.

Mid-day: The Five-Minute Lunch

Lunch for the busy CEO is typically an afterthought, often described as a rushed affair consumed in a five-minute window between meetings. He isn't particular about the food, eating whatever is brought to him. This often includes fast food items like hamburgers, reflecting a pragmatic choice based on convenience rather than nutritional value.

Evening: Social Dining and Favorite Cuisines

Dinner is where Musk allows for more flexibility and social engagement, often dining with friends or business associates. His palate is eclectic and includes a mix of high-end and more casual fare. His favorite cuisines have been cited as French and barbecue, and he enjoys a good steak dinner. He has also expressed a fondness for specific dishes like döner kebabs, especially after a visit to Berlin.

Musk's Indulgences

Diet Coke: A notorious fan, Musk has declared he will "never quit" Diet Coke, though he reportedly cut down from eight cans a day to a more moderate amount.
Sweets: Beyond doughnuts, he appreciates pastries and has a documented love for chocolate milk.
Ketchup on Fries: Famously, he prefers pouring ketchup directly into the fast-food carton to cover his fries, rather than dipping.
Pineapple Pizza: The tech mogul has also admitted to being a fan of pineapple on pizza, a shift from his younger years.

The Evolution of His Dietary Habits

While Musk has long prioritized work over health, a noticeable change has occurred, largely driven by intermittent fasting and a desire for better weight management. This was publicly highlighted around 2025, where reports detailed his renewed commitment to wellness and fitness, including incorporating more balanced, whole foods into his diet.


Aspect	Past Eating Habits (Pre-2025)	Recent Eating Habits (Post-2025 Focus)
Breakfast	Often skipped or a quick sugar rush (Mars Bar, doughnut)	Steak and eggs for a "powerup," intermittent fasting
Lunch	Inhaled quickly during meetings (e.g., hamburger)	Emphasis on quicker, more balanced options, less frequent due to fasting
Dinner	Main meal, social dining, often indulgent	Still a focus, but may align with a restricted eating window
Sweets	Regular consumption of doughnuts, pastries, Diet Coke	Conscious effort to cut down on sugary foods
Health Focus	Prioritized "tasty food" over health	Adopted intermittent fasting for weight management

Intermittent Fasting and Weight Management

Musk's foray into intermittent fasting demonstrates a more disciplined approach to his diet. He has reportedly used the 'Zero' fasting app to help regulate his eating schedule. This method aligns with a broader trend among tech leaders seeking to optimize focus and energy levels through structured eating patterns. By confining his food intake to a specific window, he can better control his caloric consumption while still enjoying his favorite meals, albeit in moderation. This shift shows that even for a self-professed "hedonist," practicality and results can outweigh pure indulgence.

Conclusion

What Elon Musk eats is far from a rigid, health-conscious regimen, but rather a dynamic set of habits shaped by convenience, indulgence, and, more recently, weight management goals. His days might start with high-protein steak and eggs or a sugary doughnut, and end with a fast-food hamburger, fine barbecue, or Korean dry-aged beef. The consistent throughline is a focus on fuel rather than careful nutrition, though his adoption of intermittent fasting marks a pragmatic pivot towards prioritizing health. Ultimately, Musk's diet reflects his larger life philosophy: a balance of high-speed pragmatism, occasional pleasure, and constant adaptation.

For more insight into celebrity diets, check out these details on the eating habits of other tech CEOs.(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/social/daily-diet-of-tech-billionaires-mark-zuckerbergs-eat-anything-to-elon-musks-mars-bar-mornings/articleshow/122643346.cms)

Frequently Asked Questions

Historically, no, Musk has not followed a traditionally healthy diet, prioritizing tasty and convenient food. However, in recent years he has made strides toward a more health-conscious approach by adopting intermittent fasting and focusing on weight management.

Elon Musk is a huge fan of Diet Coke and has openly stated that he will never quit drinking it, though he has reportedly reduced his consumption from a high of eight cans a day.

Yes, Elon Musk often skips breakfast to focus on work. When he does eat in the morning, his choices range from a simple coffee to a high-protein meal of steak and eggs.

Yes, Musk is known to eat fast food, particularly hamburgers and pizza. His busy schedule often leads him to choose quick, convenient meals.

Musk has shown a preference for various meats, including dry-aged beef, barbecue, and German döner kebabs, which he has publicly praised.

Elon Musk has used intermittent fasting, a diet strategy involving cycling between eating and fasting periods, to manage his weight. He reportedly uses a fasting app to help.

Musk's dinners are more varied and often occur during business or social events. His choices include steak, barbecue, French cuisine, and even dry-aged beef with Korean Ssamjang.