Musk family explained

The Musk family includes Maye Musk, a model and author, Errol Musk, a businessman and politician, their children Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk, and Tosca Musk as well as Lyndon Rive. Elon Musk's ex-wives are Justine Musk and Talulah Riley, and he has a large number of children.

Early history

One of Errol Musk's grandmothers was a Dutchwoman descended from the Dutch Free Burghers.[1] His mother was English from Liverpool and his father Walter Henry J. Musk was South African.[2]

Maye Musk's parents Winnifred Josephine "Wyn" (Fletcher) and Joshua Norman Haldeman were explorers who lived in South Africa and Canada and searched for the Lost City of the Kalahari.[3] Joshua Haldeman was a former director of Technocracy Incorporated and a political activist who ran for the Canadian Parliament on the Social Credit Party ticket, and headed the Canadian branch of the Technocracy movement.[4] [5] Haldeman's mother Almeda Jane (Norman) Haldeman was the first recorded chiropractor in Canada.[6]

Errol Musk

Errol Musk
Birth Place:Pretoria, Union of South Africa
Alma Mater:University of Pretoria
Office:Pretoria city councilman
Term:1972–1983
Party:Progressive Federal Party (1980–1983)
Father:Walter Henry James Musk
Mother:Cora Amelia Robinson Musk
Spouse:

Partner:Jana Bezuidenhout
Children:7
Three with Maye: Elon, Kimbal, Tosca;
Two with Heide, Two with Jana

Errol Graham Musk[7] is a retired South African engineer, politician, and businessman born in South Africa. His mother, Cora Amelia, was British and his father Walter Henry James Musk was a South African army sergeant,[8] who served as a cryptographer in a military intelligence unit in Egypt during World War II. Errol attended Clapham High School, where he dated Maye Haldeman, and the pair married in 1970. The family lived in Pretoria, where Maye worked as a dietician and a model. Their first child, Elon Reeve Musk, was born in 1971, named after Maye's grandfather J. Elon Haldeman, with the name Reeve after her maternal grandmother's maiden name.[9] [10]

On 9 March 1972, Musk was elected as an independent to represent Sunnyside on the Pretoria City Council.[11] [12] [13] [14] In 1980,[15] he became a member of the Progressive Federal Party, the new official opposition formed in 1977, and ran as their Sunnyside nominee in the 1981 election.[16] In 1983, his resignation from the party amid divisions over a constitutional referendum was front page news.[17] He opposed the PFP's call for rejecting the new constitution and cited his agreement with the New Republic Party's position that the Tricameral Parliament was a step in the right direction.

Musk studied electromechanics at the University of Pretoria, worked as an electrical and mechanical engineering consultant, and developed properties, especially retail and office property development. His lucrative engineering business which took on "large projects such as office buildings, retail complexes, residential subdivisions, and an air force base." He also owned an auto parts store, as well as "one of the biggest houses in Pretoria"[18] In 1979, Musk and wife Maye divorced.[19] Maye's book recalls that at the time of the divorce, he owned two homes, a yacht, a plane, five luxury cars, and a truck.[20]

In her memoir, Maye characterized her marriage as abusive and alleged Errol had been violent.[21] She recounts a time during their divorce when she sought refuge at a neighbor's home after Errol showed up with a knife looking for her. After the divorce, Musk repeatedly sued his ex-wife for custody of their children.He was briefly married to a woman named Sue.

In the early 1990s, Errol, then aged 45, married Heide Bezuidenhout, a 25-year old he described as "one of the best looking women I’ve ever seen in my life".[22] They had two children.[23] Jana Bezuidenhout, who later became his romantic partner, was his stepdaughter from that marriage, four years old at the time Errol became her stepfather.[24]

In the early 1980s, Errol built a lodge in the Timbavati Game Reserve to rent to tourists.[14] In 1986, he acquired rights to the output of three Zambian emerald mines, though he did not own mines themselves. In interviews with Walter Issacson, he explained: "If you registered it, you would wind up with nothing, because the Blacks would take everything from you".[14] He later referred to his wealth during Elon's teen years in an interview with Business Insider South Africa, saying he had "so much money we couldn't even close our safe" and mentioned his emerald dealings.[25] Snopes confirmed that at some point he owned "a stake in an emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika in Zambia".[26] He once described his emerald mine as an "under the table" operation.[27]

According to the 2015 biography of Elon Musk titled , in 1995, Errol Musk gave $28,000 to Elon and Kimbal as they were starting up the software company Zip2.[28] Elon Musk has denied receiving the money from his father.[28]

Errol is a pro-natalist.[29]

In 2014, Musk gave an interview about his son Elon.[30] In 2017, Musk was interviewed by Neil Strauss of Rolling Stone for a profile of Elon titled "The Architect of Tomorrow". Errol recalled that he had once shot and killed in self-defense "three out of five or six armed people" who had broken into his home. Elon described his father Errol as a "terrible human being", adding: "Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done."[31] [32]

In March 2018, it was reported that Musk had fathered a child with his adult step-daughter Jana Bezuidenhout.[33]

In July 2022, Musk gave an interview to the tabloid newspaper The Sun, announcing that he and Jana Bezuidenhout had had another child.[34] [35] Musk has a total of seven children, according to People magazine in November 2022.[36] On 1 August 2022, Musk appeared on The Kyle and Jackie O Australian radio show, saying he was "not proud" of his son.[37]

Musk was interviewed by author Walter Isaacson for his 2023 biography of Musk's son Elon, which discussed Errol Musk at length.[38] In June 2024, he said Elon had upgraded his home security system, fearing he was at risk of kidnapping.[39]

In 2024 Errol defended Elon after the latter said that the United Kingdom was heading towards a civil war.[40] Later in 2024 Errol said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was a fascist as a result of his response to the 2024 United Kingdom riots.[41] [42] He later called for Starmer's resignation.[43]

Maye Musk

See main article: article and Maye Musk. Maye Musk ( Haldeman; born April 19, 1948)[44] is a model, dietitian and author.[45] [46] She has been a model for 50 years, appearing on the covers of magazines, including a Time magazine health edition, Women's Day, international editions of Vogue, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She is the mother of Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk and Tosca Musk.[47] She holds Canadian, South African, and American citizenship. She is a registered dietitian. She published her memoir, A Woman Makes a Plan in 2019.

Kimbal Musk

See main article: article and Kimbal Musk. Kimbal James Musk (born 20 September 1972) is a South African restaurateur, chef, and entrepreneur. He owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, a collection of restaurants located in Colorado and Chicago.[48] He is the co-founder and chairman of Big Green, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has built hundreds of outdoor classrooms called Learning Gardens in schoolyards across America.[49] [50] [51] Musk is also the co-founder and chairman of Square Roots, an urban farming company growing food in hydroponic, indoor, climate controlled shipping containers.[52] [53] [54] Musk currently sits on the boards of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, both of which his brother Elon is the current CEO.[55] He was on the board of Chipotle Mexican Grill[56] from 2013 to 2019.[57] He is the brother of Tosca Musk, son of Errol and Maye Musk, and a major shareholder in Tesla.[58]

In 1995 he co-founded, with his brother, Elon Musk, the software company Zip2, which was acquired by Compaq for $307 million in 1999.

Tosca Musk

See main article: Tosca Musk. Tosca Musk (born 20 July 1974) is a South African filmmaker. She is an executive producer and director of feature films, television programs, and web content. Her work includes K. Bromberg's Driven, Rachel van Dyken's Matchmaker's Playbook, and her web series, Tiki Bar TV.[59] [60] Tosca is the younger sister of Elon Musk and Kimbal Musk, and daughter of Errol Musk and Maye Musk.[61] She co-founded the streaming service Passionflix.

Elon Musk

Relationships and children of Elon Musk

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Sweet . Matthew . Why Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk's real business inspiration is science-fiction . . en . 2022-12-14 . 0140-0460 . 2022-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221214212250/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-jeff-bezos-and-elon-musks-real-business-inspiration-is-science-fiction-w805msw8t . live .
  2. News: Who are Elon Musk's relatives? . The Independent . 9 December 2022 . 4 March 2024 . Sommerlad . Joe .
  3. Web site: 2016-08-03 . Elon Musk's grandparents were adventuring pilots who spent years looking for a lost city in the desert . 2023-09-06 . South China Morning Post . en.
  4. Haldeman . Scott . Keating Jr. . Joseph C. . September 1995 . Joshua N Haldeman, DC: the Canadian Years, 1926-1950 . The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association . 39 . 3 . 172–186 . 2485067.
  5. Web site: Basen . Ira . In science we trust . 2023-12-20 . . en.
  6. Elon Musk's Anti-Semitic, Apartheid-Loving Grandfather. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231007124423/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/joshua-haldeman-elon-musk-grandfather-apartheid-antisemitism/675396/ . October 7, 2023. Joshua. Benton . Joshua Benton. September 21, 2023. The Atlantic.
  7. Web site: Errol Musk - Biography . 2024-11-07 . IMDb . en-US.
  8. Book: Vance, Ashlee . Elon Musk: Tesla, Paypal, SpaceX: l'entrepreneur qui va changer le monde . Eyrolles . 2017 . 9782212594379 . 40 . pt . Ashlee Vance .
  9. News: Holson . Laura M. . 30 April 2016 . At 68, Maye Musk, the Mother of Elon, Is Reclaiming the Spotlight . . live . 15 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200628120358/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/fashion/elon-musk-mother-maye-musk-model-met-gala.html . 28 June 2020 . 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: Hull . Dana . May . Patrick . 20 April 2014 . Exploring the otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220417231627/https://buffalonews.com/business/local/exploring-the-otherworldly-ambitions-of-elon-musk/article_2fc57479-93eb-5016-b724-016b48a4f4f3.html . 17 April 2022 . 2022-07-15 . Buffalo News.
  11. News: Eligon . John . Chutel . Lynsey . 2022-05-05 . Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege . en-US . . live . 2023-09-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221111015804/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html . 11 November 2022 . 0362-4331.
  12. Book: Vlismas, Michael . Elon Musk: Risking it All . Jonathan Ball Publishers. 2022 . 978-1776191857.
  13. "Reaction against the Establishment." (9 Mar 1972) Pretoria News, cited in Isaacson
  14. Book: Isaacson, Walter. Elon Musk. September 12, 2023. Simon and Schuster. 978-1-3985-2751-5 . Google Books.
  15. Shandler . David . Structural Crisis and Liberalism: A History of the Progressive Federal Party, 1981–1989 . MA . . 1991 .
  16. Sussman . Gary . The referendum in F.W. de Klerk's war of manoeuvre: An historical institutionalist account of the 1992 referendum . 2003 . PhD . .
  17. "The reported resignation of Errol Musk, the PFP candidate for Sunnyside (Pretoria) election was made a front-page story. Die Burger. 4 October 1983"
  18. Plugged In - The New Yorker. The New Yorker . October 10, 2014. 28 June 2024. 10 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141010001525/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in. bot: unknown . Friend . Tad .
  19. Friend . Tad . Tad Friend . 2009-08-24 . Plugged In . . 85 . 25 . 50–59.
  20. Book: Musk, Maye. A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success. December 31, 2019. Penguin. 978-1-9848-7851-9 . Google Books.
  21. November 15, 2019 . Maye Musk on Escaping Domestic Abuse and Raising Three Geniuses (Including Elon) on Her Own . Harper's BAZAAR.
  22. Mier . Tomás . July 14, 2022 . Like Father Like Son: Elon Musk's Dad Has Secret Second Kid With Stepdaughter . Rolling Stone.
  23. News: Crilly . Rob . Rob Crilly . 25 March 2018 . Elon Musk's father has baby with step-daughter he has known since she was four . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210426231132/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/25/elon-musks-father-has-baby-step-daughter-has-known-since-four/ . 26 April 2021 . 15 July 2022 . . 0307-1235.
  24. Ball . Molly . Kluger . Jeffrey . De la Garza . Alejandro . 13 December 2021 . Elon Musk Is TIME's 2021 Person of the Year . 9 September 2023 . . en.
  25. Web site: Wet . Phillip de . Phillip de Wet . 23 February 2018 . 'We had so much money we couldn't even close our safe': Elon Musk's Dad tells BI about the family's insanely casual attitude to wealth . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221128160121/https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-dad-tells-bi-about-the-familys-casual-attitude-to-wealth-2018-2 . 28 November 2022 . 28 November 2022 . Business Insider.
  26. Web site: Liles . Jordan . 17 November 2022 . What We Know About Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine Rumor . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408192229/https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/11/17/elon-musk-emerald-mine/ . 8 April 2023 . 21 March 2023 . . en.
  27. News: Mahdawi . Arwa . April 25, 2023 . What's that going up in flames? Why, it's Elon Musk's reputation . The Guardian.
  28. News: Hahn . Jason . Inside the Complicated Relationship Between Elon Musk and His Estranged Father, Errol Musk . 12 September 2023 . . March 26, 2018.
  29. Web site: Olinga . Luc . Errol Musk, Elon's Dad, Prompts a New Controversy . thestreet.com . The Street . 4 November 2024.
  30. Web site: Apr 13, 2014, page 10 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com . Newspapers.com.
  31. Strauss . Neil . November 15, 2017 . Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow . Rolling Stone.
  32. Web site: Jun 03, 2020, page A13 - Evening Standard at Newspapers.com . Newspapers.com.
  33. Web site: Gillespie . James . Elon Musk’s ‘evil’ father has a baby with stepdaughter . thetimes.com . The Times . 4 November 2024.
  34. Web site: Sharma . Shweta . 15 July 2022 . Elon Musk's father confirms second child with his own stepdaughter - report . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220715150026/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/elon-errol-musk-children-stepdaughter-b2123744.html . 15 July 2022 . 15 July 2022 . The Independent.
  35. Web site: Biggs . Jade . 16 July 2022 . Elon Musk's dad reveals he fathered an "unplanned" child with his stepdaughter . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220715150205/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a40621623/errol-musk-fathered-child-with-stepdaughter/ . 15 July 2022 . 15 July 2022 . Cosmopolitan.
  36. Web site: Sager . Jessica . 7 November 2022 . Who Is Elon Musk's Estranged Father? All About Errol Musk . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221124093348/https://people.com/human-interest/who-is-errol-musk-elon-musk-father/ . 24 November 2022 . 28 November 2022 . People.
  37. News: Elon Musk's father says he isn't proud of his son. Gloria. Oladipo. August 1, 2022. The Guardian.
  38. News: Pearce . Matt . The biggest ideas and pettiest rages in Walter Isaacson's Elon Musk biography . 12 September 2023 . . September 11, 2023.
  39. Web site: Elon Musk increased security for his 76-year-old father Errol amid kidnapping fears, report says. Sam. Tabahriti. Business Insider.
  40. Web site: Elon Musk’s father defends son over UK civil war prediction . independent.co.uk . The Independent . 4 November 2024.
  41. Web site: HONEYCOMBE-FOSTER . MATT . Elon Musk’s dad says Britain is fascist hell now . politico.eu . Politico . 4 November 2024.
  42. Web site: Schofield . Kevin . Elon Musk's Dad Says Keir Starmer Is Leading 'A Fascist Government' . huffingtonpost.co.uk . Huffington Post . 4 November 2024.
  43. Web site: Leeson . Lucy . Elon Musk’s father claims England has ‘gone back 400 years to Tudor times’ as he calls for Starmer to resign . independent.co.uk . The Independent . 25 November 2024.
  44. Web site: My 60th. Maye Musk's Nutrition Blogs. Blogger. Maye. Musk. December 12, 2016. June 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180621211414/http://mayemusk.blogspot.com/2010/01/feel-fantastic-at-60.html. live.
  45. Web site: At 68, Maye Musk, the Mother of Elon, Is Reclaiming the Spotlight . . Laura M. . Holson . April 30, 2016 . May 2, 2016 . June 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200628120358/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/fashion/elon-musk-mother-maye-musk-model-met-gala.html . live .
  46. Web site: Elon Musk's Mom Is a 67-Year-Old Model and Dietitian with Great Wellness Advice . . Kathleen . Hou . Maye . Musk . March 17, 2016 . May 2, 2016 . May 10, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170510164037/http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/03/maye-musk-elon-musk-model-interview.html . live .
  47. News: Meet Maye Musk, the glamorous model mother of billionaire Elon Musk. Grace. Kay. Business Insider. February 4, 2023. February 9, 2018. en. June 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200620133410/https://www.businessinsider.com/maye-musk-elon-musk-mother-model. live.
  48. News: Kimbal Reeve Musk to open restaurant on Mass Ave.. Indianapolis Star. 2017-07-31. en.
  49. News: Why every child deserves a learning garden. MNN - Mother Nature Network. 2017-07-31. en.
  50. News: Padden. Caroline. Learning Gardens: Connecting Kids to Real Food. 5280 Magazine. October 29, 2012. June 6, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131111234216/http://www.5280.com/blogs/2012/10/29/learning-gardens-connecting-kids-real-food. November 11, 2013. dead.
  51. News: Kimbal Musk — Elon's brother — is leading a $25 million mission to fix food in schools across the US. Business Insider. 2018-01-17. en.
  52. News: Kimbal Musk launches a revolutionary shipping container farm initiative in Brooklyn. Lauren. Jennifer. January 27, 2017. Inhabitat Magazine.
  53. News: Elon Musk's brother is building vertical farms in shipping containers. Garfield. Leanna. August 23, 2016. Business Insider.
  54. News: Elon Musk's Brother to Launch an Urban Farming Accelerator in Brooklyn. Scott. Bartie. August 23, 2016. Inc Magazine. https://web.archive.org/web/20180311051502/https://www.inc.com/bartie-scott/kimbal-musk-urban-farming-accelerator-square-roots.html. 2018-03-11. dead.
  55. Web site: Kimbal Musk Board of Directors Tesla, Inc.. 2020-09-02. ir.tesla.com. en.
  56. News: Chipotle Mexican Grill names Kimbal Musk to board. Denver Post. August 29, 2013.
  57. Web site: Kimbal Musk is stepping down from Chipotle's board. Fitzgerald. Maggie. 2019-03-14. CNBC. 2019-04-10.
  58. http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/tsla/ownership-summary Musk profile
  59. News: Meet Elon Musk's Rather Impressive Family. 2oceansvibe.com.
  60. News: paidContent.org - Tiki Bar TV Tests The Pay-To-Watch Webisode Model . The Washington Post . Tameka . Kee . 19 May 2009 .
  61. News: Model Maye Musk On Defying The Odds And Her Influence On Elon. forbes.com.

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