Elon Musk's father Errol Musk. Source: Denver Post (Creative Commons License).
Elon Musk recently attended the Met Gala in the company of his mother, Maye Musk. The two also interacted on Twitter when Maye objected to Musk joking about going missing. We also recently profiled Elon's very successful brother Kimbal. However, when it comes to his father, Errol, there is apparently no relationship between the two men, and you might think the senior Musk was not alive. Here, we will examine what drove the two apart in this article.
The world’s richest man has denounced Errol as a very vile person and often avoided discussing the two of them in public.
Musk and his father have had a strained relationship for a long time. The world’s richest man has denounced Errol as a very vile person and often avoided discussing the two of them in public. Musk accused his father of treating his family in a high-handed way, which led to the breakup of the family. Musk and his brother grew up living with their father.
Errol worked as an engineer in South Africa, and he amassed enough fortune to retire early. Despite that, Musk claimed to have more than a hundred thousand dollars in college debt by the time he graduated. However, Musk has never clarified whether his father refused to help him financially or not. But Errol gave his two sons a loan to start their software company. Elon's success thereafter is no mystery!
Errol Musk. Source: Forbes (Creative Commons License).
One incident that Musk has referred to was how Errol killed three people. However, the authorities cleared him of any wrongdoing as the dead men allegedly broke into the Musks’ home.
Musk has also revealed how he and his brother were denied permission by their parents to open a gaming arcade, evidently not doing much to repair the strained relationship.
Pregnancy
However, a scandal that is not easy to get over might have been the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The senior Musk got his own step-daughter pregnant. After his divorce from Maye, Errol married Heide Bezuidenhout, who had three children at the time, including a then four-year-old daughter named Jana. Errol and Heide would later divorce.
The step-daughter/step-father relationship did not prevent the two from getting entangled sexually, resulting in a pregnancy. Jana had just ended her relationship with her boyfriend. Errol was 72, while Jana was 30. He reportedly denied being the father until a paternity test revealed the truth.
In his defense, Errol claimed Jana spent a lot of time away from his own family, so he never considered her a daughter.
Errol has also pushed back at Musk’s accusation by calling his oldest son a spoiled child. However, he admitted that his own Mother called him ruthless and said he needed to learn to be more humane.
Musk moved his father to California, but Errol moved back to South Africa, claiming his son was frustrated with him for not liking America the way he does.