NEW YORK, September 14. /TASS/. Elon Musk’s protection has cost the US businessman millions of dollars a year, The New York Times​​ reported on Friday, citing internal documents at Tesla.

The documents show that dealing with stalkers and death threats regularly now has caused Musk to barricade himself behind "a growing phalanx of armed bodyguards that operates like a mini-Secret Service."

The businessman’s lifestyle has become more isolated, people close to him told the newspaper. According to it, Musk is rarely without his bodyguards, even when he goes to the bathroom at X.

Previously, Musk was flanked by two bodyguards, and now he travels with 20 security professionals, the newspaper continued. Currently, the billionaire is guarded more like a head of state than a business leader, security experts argue.