Weird Things About Elon Musk's Dad That Nobody Talks About

By and large, Elon Musk prefers to gloss over any specifics about his father Errol Musk. In an emotional interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, he hinted at just how toxic their relationship was, calling Errol a "terrible human being." While Elon did not provide specific details about the terrible things Errol did, he described his father's behavior as being so severe that it was hard for him to even talk about it without becoming overwhelmed with emotion. Elon admitted that growing up with such a figure left deep scars, making their strained relationship a central part of his personal narrative.

This relationship between Elon and Errol has been openly hostile for years now. Elon has openly criticized his father on several occasions, as we saw in Rolling Stone, while Errol usually likes to pretend that he has no idea where his son is coming from with all this negativity. (He's always giving his opinion on Elon to the press, which is something his son rarely reciprocates.) Looking at what's been said on the public record, one thing's clear: Errol is definitely hiding some very unusual, incredibly controversial aspects of his life. They're things few ever talk about ... until now.

Elon Musk and Errol Musk's contentious relationship goes beyond your run-of-the-mill father-son issues. For starters: Errol has fathered two children with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout. He married Jana's mother, Heide Bezuidenhout, when Jana was just 4 years old, making her his stepdaughter. In 2017, Jana, now an adult, became pregnant with Errol's child. It's a situation that deeply disturbed Elon and his siblings, according to Errol. "They still don't like it," he told The U.S. Sun. "They still feel a bit creepy about it, because she's their sister. Their half-sister."

Errol defended the relationship, arguing that his actions are completely natural. "The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce," he said. He can't quite compete with Elon and his many children, but Errol has fathered five children in all. Elon, Kimbal, and Tosca are his biological children from his first marriage to Maye Haldeman, while Jana and her sibling arrived with his second marriage to Heide. He then had his other two bio kids with Jana. The intricacy of the Musk family tree isn't nearly as talked about as it should be — but it sure does explain a lot about why Elon has fathered so many children himself.

Another thing that goes unspoken: Errol Musk's early years as a father were shaped by the deeply segregated and racially charged environment of apartheid-era South Africa. Errol was married to Maye Haldeman from 1970 to 1979. Her father, Joshua Haldeman, was notorious for his racist, white supremacist, Christian nationalist, and conspiracy theorist views. Post-divorce, Errol, Elon, and his siblings continued to live in their native South Africa during the height of apartheid. 

Errol's views and lifestyle (and, by extension, Elon's) were undoubtedly influenced by this racist system and this family lineage, even if they deny it. This is what happens with socialization: While Elon and his father might claim apartheid didn't shape their views, there's no denying the impact that a conservative upbringing and alt-right political beliefs in the family tree can have on a person.

We can see this in the way Errol publicly defended his son when Elon came under fire for a stiff-arm salute during the 2025 inauguration of President Donald Trump. Instead of acknowledging and criticizing his son's display of fascist imagery, Errol brushed it off (if not outright condoned it). "The behavior was fine. I can't see anything wrong with that behavior," he told NewsNation. He also aligned with his son in defending Trump, whom he called a "good man" and a "solid businessman" in an appearance on "Podcast and Chill with MacG."

Errol Musk's claim to fame is another thing people don't talk about enough. While Elon Musk has repeatedly denied that his father ever owned an emerald mine, Errol says otherwise: He's spoken quite honestly about his involvement in the trade of precious gems, specifically emeralds, in Zambia. According to Errol, he owned a stake in an emerald mine and was successful enough in the industry to amass considerable wealth. He even claimed that Elon was well aware of his father's mining activities and once told Business Insider that Elon and his brother sold a pair of the gems to Tiffany & Co when they were teenagers. "They just walked into Tiffany's and said, 'Do you want to buy some emeralds?'" he recalled.

While Elon got to take advantage of his family's wealth while he was still living at home, he has often suggested that he faced a great deal of financial hardship in college. Speaking to Bloomberg about how he had to work to cover what costs his scholarship money and student loans did not, he said, "It would have been great if someone was paying for my college, but my dad had neither the ability nor the inclination to do so." He also told Rolling Stone that Errol lied about giving him a large sum of money when he founded his first business. Still, Elon did admit that his father was responsible for sparking his interest in engineering, and what doesn't get talked about is the way Errol's background in engineering and construction led to some extremely lucrative ventures that no doubt helped Elon's own beginnings.

We know about Errol Musk's strained relationship with adult Elon, but things were just as strained for young Elon as well: Errol has been accused of emotionally and physically abusing his son. As Elon Musk put it in his Rolling Stone interview, Errol "was such a terrible human being. ... You have no idea." Elon revealed that his father told him he did not believe he would make it through college, recalling, "He called me an idiot all the time."

Elon even went as far as to say his dad will "have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. He will plan evil. ... You have no idea about how bad. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done."

This isn't shocking when you look into the many legal battles Errol has been involved in, including accusations of domestic abuse and financial mismanagement. Despite these issues, Errol has consistently defended his actions, even going so far as to counter to Rolling Stone by saying he had never intentionally hurt anyone. His actions, however, have left a lasting impact on his family — especially with Elon. This unapologetically deranged attitude is definitely one of the strangest things about Errol. (Like father, like son?)