On any given day, Elon Musk is worth about a trillion dollars, his wealth mostly tied up in shares of SpaceX and Tesla. But if he were to cash out, his checking account would hit 13 digits. WIRED has partnered with Neal Agarwal to create a new visualization, 'Spend Elon Musk’s Money,' that lets you spend this staggering sum on anything from Big Macs to aircraft carriers. This project, a sequel to 'Spend Bill Gates’ Money,' aims to make the concept of a trillion dollars more tangible.
Agarwal, the proprietor of the website Neal.fun, explains that his project is an exploration of what can be done with a website. He grew up on the web and sees it as a medium that still holds many undiscovered possibilities. He highlights how the web excels in forming communities around the silliest of things, contrasting this with the more closed-off app environment. Agarwal has seen the impact of his projects, noting that some players have crafted entire games within his games in unexpected ways.
The visualization, which keeps a running tally, shows just how far a trillion dollars can stretch. From Big Macs to the Las Vegas Sphere, it provides a physical space to see the items you’ve bought. Agarwal’s projects, including The Password Game, Space Elevator, The Deep Sea, and Infinite Craft, have all gone viral, leading to unexpected community engagement. For Agarwal, the web’s potential for emergent behavior and community building is what makes it so exciting.
WIRED spoke with Agarwal about this new project, why it feels so relevant now, and the state of building things on the web. You can read that interview and waste a few hours on Spend Elon Musk’s Money right here.







