The day billionaire businessman Elon Musk made secret flying visit to Doncaster

The SpaceX, Tesla and X boss, the world’s richest person with a net worth of US$304 billion, was appointed by Trump as the co-chair of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

All a far cry from his visit to our city back in August 2020, when he stopped off at Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

His private jet touched down in Doncaster en route to a string of business meetings in Germany.

A Twitter account tracks the movements of the mogul’s private plane – and according to a tweet, Musk’s Gulfstream Aerospace jet touched down in Doncaster on August 30 after a nine hour flight from Los Angeles.

The plane is then understood to have taken off from Doncaster the following day en route to Europe.

The account makes it clear that Musk is not always on the jet – but the plane then flew onto Germany where he had a series of meetings.

Then Doncaster Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher was among those welcoming Musk to town, writing on Twitter: “Great to hear of @elonmusk flying into @DSA_Airport maybe next time we can arrange a meeting with @elonmusk and his team to discuss a new @Gigafactory in Don Valley.

"As the local MP and @Tesla owner I would be super excited in electrifying our local economy. #doncasterisgreat.”

It is not known if Musk left the airport during his stopover in Doncaster or how long he spent in the town.

The 53-year-old businessman is the founder and boss of space travel and space exploration company SpaceX and also behind electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla.

Despite his business successes, he has also been the subject of criticism due to his unorthodox stances and highly publicised scandals as well as his support for Donald Trump, which has seen many leave X in protest.

Musk made no mention of his visit to Doncaster on Twitter but confirmed his visit to Germany, writing: “Great trip to Germany. Support from government & people is super appreciated!”