Gwynne and Musk began dating in 1994 when they both worked as resident counselors in a college dorm, according to a press release RR Auction shared with CNN. Shortly after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Musk embarked on a doctoral program at Stanford, but dropped out to launch his first startup Zip2.
The lot includes 18 candid photos of the entrepreneur as a baby-faced economics student at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as several other mementos from Musk and Gwynne’s time together.
The glossy photos show what the billionaire looked like a normal college student before he achieved lightning-fast success: acting crazy in a dorm room, hanging out with his fellow resident advisors and cuddling with his girlfriend.
The item with the current highest bid is a signed birthday card, followed by a necklace gifted to Gwynne on her birthday.
“Happy Birthday, Jennifer (aka Boo-Boo), Love, Elon,” the note reads. As of Sunday morning, the highest bid is close to $7,000. The card is expected to sell for more than $10,000, according to RR.
“When we went to visit Elon’s mother in Toronto during the 1994 Christmas break, Elon gave me both the little ‘love, love, love’ note and the necklace,” Gwynne said in RR’s statement. “His mother had some of these necklaces in a suitcase in her bedroom, and Elon told me they came from his father’s emerald mine in South Africa – he took one out of the suitcase. And because I didn’t have anything for him as a Christmas present (and I felt very guilty about that), he said we would consider the necklace an early birthday present for me.”
“I’ve worn the necklace on and off for a number of years, but it’s been in my jewelry box most of the time for the last ten years (always reminds me of Elon, of course).”
The necklace also comes with two photos, one of Musk and Gwynne with Musk’s mother, the model Maye Musk, and one of Musk and Gwynne at a 1995 year-end party.
Tesla superfans can bid on a piece of Musk orabilia until Wednesday when the auction closes.
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