Why Elon Musk paid $1,000,000 for a rusty old car found in a $100 storage unit

If you're the richest person in the world then why not splash excess cash on an old car, eh?

Well, you'd hope that Elon Musk wouldn't have completely more money than sense in that regard - he is the CEO of companies such as Tesla and SpaceX, after all.

Indeed, when he reportedly decided to splurge a whopping $997,000 in 2013 to buy a car a couple found in a storage unit, there was thankfully a bit more of a reason for the excessive spend than it first seems.

The unlikely history of a storage unit car

Back in 1989 a young couple, who to this day remain anonymous, paid $100 for an unclaimed storage unit. As the auction was a blind one, neither themselves or the seller actually knew what was inside the unit - making it even more risky or exciting, depending on how you look at it.

The couple, from Long Island, New York, were left with the biggest surprise of their lives.

Under some dusty, old blankets was the 1976 Lotus Esprit sports car used in the 1977 Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me.

The sports car transforms into a submarine and fires missiles while underwater in the film. So, you can clearly see why it'd be such a hot commodity.

The car may've not been worth much but it is iconic (Jacob SUTTON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

The Lotus was left in the storage unit for more than a decade after the Roger Moore Bond movie was released.

When the couple first found the car, 'they really didn’t know what it was', according to Doug Redenius, the man who authenticated the car.

Speaking to NBC in 2013, Redenius said that the couple had never watched a Bond film before and 'had no idea how valuable their discovery was'.

The husband planned on making some improvements to the car's dented roof and also some general car improvements, but after they loaded the car onto the truck, truckers contacted them to let them know they were in possession of a Bond car.

Musk reportedly splashed out on the motor (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

After displaying it at occasional exhibits over a period of two decades, the couple decided to put it up for auction in 2013.

At the RM Sotheby, the car was sold to a secret buyer and of course everyone was delighted.

This is when Musk stepped in, with it later being revealed that the same man who wants to put humans on Mars by 2029 had made the car purchase.

Fair enough.