Airport shuttle driver Sean Carter has lived in the remote northern British Columbia community of Bella Bella for almost nine years and says the small coastal village occasionally gets a celebrity visit.
Maybe a movie star or former athlete on a fishing trip. But nothing too high profile.
He said that was why he initially ignored a private jet at the local airport on Saturday — until he heard a commotion and people pulled out phones to take photos of Elon Musk, the world's richest man.
But Carter did make sure to see Musk when he flew out on Monday, after getting a tip that he was on his way back to the airport in a helicopter.
"Sure enough, yeah, the helijet came back maybe an hour, half an hour later, and Elon Musk was the first guy," Carter said.
"I had my big super-zoom camera with me … and sure enough, yeah, he's looking out the window at me and doesn't look too happy because I looked almost paparazzi-style, whereas everyone else just had their cellphones out."
Carter said his photos didn't turn out very well.
But another person's photos published by the CBC show the Tesla CEO's arrival on Saturday at the fishing and logging community of about 1,000 residents for his trip with an unknown purpose, with a young boy on his shoulders.
An account on the social media platform X that tracks Musk's private plane shows it arrived in Vancouver on Saturday before flying out to Seattle, Washington, then San Jose, California, on Monday.
Tesla did not immediately responded to a request for comment.
Carter said he believed Musk may have been visiting James Murdoch, son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who has been reported to own a waterfront property nearby.
Carter said the Bella Bella area sees some luxury yachts and private planes because of nearby fishing resorts, but it has rarely — if ever — been visited by someone as high profile as Musk.
"This is a very small village," Carter said. "And yeah, we'll get the odd celebrity, maybe movie star that goes through to a fishing lodge or an athlete, former athlete or something.
"But to see the world's richest man … however you feel about him personally, it's still a big deal."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2025.
Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press
