Elon Musk is notoriously open about his life, sharing updates daily on his social network X, engaging in podcasts, and even cooperating with biographers. Yet, a crucial, painful part of his past has remained largely shielded from public view: his deeply strained relationship with his father.
This hidden truth concerns his father, Errol Musk, who has recently become quite vocal about their family and his own business dealings, often leveraging the Musk name.
A profound New York Times investigation reveals that the root of Elon Musk’s estrangement from his father lies in serious accusations of child sexual abuse against Errol Musk. These troubling allegations have repeatedly cast a shadow over Elon’s life, with family members reaching out to him for assistance, and him occasionally stepping in, as evidenced by private letters, emails, and interviews with those involved.
This deeply distressing family ordeal has haunted Elon Musk for three decades, a multi-generational saga he can’t seem to escape. Despite building an immense business empire in the United States and even briefly serving as a close adviser to President Trump, the 54-year-old mogul remains inextricably linked to South Africa, his birthplace and where his father, Errol, resides.
The accusations against Errol Musk are extensive, involving five of his children and stepchildren. These alleged abuses occurred in both South Africa and California, as corroborated by police and court records, personal communications, accounts from social workers, and direct interviews with family members.
The earliest accusation dates back to 1993, when Errol Musk’s stepdaughter, then just 4 years old, confided in relatives that he had touched her at the family home. A decade later, the same stepdaughter claimed she caught him sniffing her dirty underwear. Other family members have also accused Errol Musk of abusing two of his daughters and a stepson. Most recently, in 2023, family members and a social worker tried to intervene after his then 5-year-old son reported his father had groped his buttocks.
Three separate police investigations were launched, according to both official records and family accounts. While two inquiries concluded, the outcome of the third remains unclear. Errol Musk, now 79, has never been convicted of any crime.
These abuse allegations have caused deep fissures within the Musk family, with some relatives appealing to Elon Musk—Errol Musk’s eldest child—for help. Around 2010, one relative sent Elon Musk a heartfelt, five-page letter detailing some of the accusations and pleading for his intervention.
“We really need your advice, help and guidance in these matters because we daily see these children suffer,” the relative wrote in the letter, which The Times reviewed.
It’s uncertain whether Elon Musk ever read the letter. However, an assistant for the billionaire did contact a family member after other relatives brought the abuse allegations to his attention. Elon Musk has also provided financial support for a former stepmother and two half-sisters, and sends monthly payments to his former stepsister. He once attempted to keep his stepfamily and half-siblings in California, far away from Errol Musk’s influence. He was not involved in the police investigations conducted in South Africa.
Errol Musk, who has at least nine children and stepchildren and has been married to three women, maintains a powerful influence over much of the family. The former stepdaughter, who was allegedly touched by him at age 4, later had a child with him in her 20s. She has battled drug addiction, while her mother—who married Errol Musk twice—has faced ongoing mental health struggles.
Errol Musk has “left a massive wound in our family,” stated Elmie Smit, whose sister was his third wife, in her first on-the-record interview about the allegations. She revealed she has emailed Elon Musk about some of these accusations and occasionally received replies from an assistant.
In response to inquiries from The Times, Errol Musk dismissed the reports as “false and nonsense in the extreme.” He claimed the accusations were fabricated by family members who were “putting the children up to say false things” and attempting to extort money from Elon Musk.
In one email to The Times, Errol Musk also stated he was aware of only a single abuse allegation, yet in the very same message, he provided explanations regarding the circumstances of two other incidents.
He further added that he shares a good relationship with Elon Musk and they “are very close.”
Elon Musk and his personal lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. In 2017, the billionaire became emotional when he told Rolling Stone magazine that his father had done “almost every evil thing you could possibly think of.” More recently, in a 2023 authorized biography by Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk stated that he does not communicate with Errol Musk.
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First marriage
Elon Musk
Errol Musk
Kimbal Musk
Maye Musk
Tosca Musk
Second marriage
Errol Musk
Sue Wilson
Third marriage
Errol Musk
Daughter
Daughter
Stepdaughter
Heide-Mari
Bezuidenhout
Stepson
Stepson
With his stepdaughter
Errol Musk
Child
Child
Stepdaughter
Errol has said they have two children
together; the stepdaughter said only
one of her children is his.
First marriage
Elon Musk
Errol Musk
Kimbal Musk
Maye Musk
Tosca Musk
Second marriage
Errol Musk
Sue Wilson
Third marriage
Errol Musk
Daughter
Daughter
Stepdaughter
Heide-Mari
Bezuidenhout
Stepson
Stepson
With his stepdaughter
Errol Musk
Child
Child
Stepdaughter
Errol has said they have two children together;
the stepdaughter said only one of her children is his.
First marriage
Second marriage
Third marriage
Errol
Musk
Errol
Musk
Sue
Wilson
Heide-Mari
Bezuidenhout
Maye
Musk
Errol
Musk
Daughter
Stepson
Daughter
Stepson
Kimbal
Musk
Elon
Musk
Tosca
Musk
With his
stepdaughter
Stepdaughter
Errol
Musk
Errol has said they have
two children together;
his stepdaughter said only
one of her children is his.
Child
Child
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The Times examined court and police documents from California and South Africa, along with over 50 emails, text messages, personal notes, and letters. These documents provided varying levels of detail regarding the accusations. Police and courts in both South Africa and Los Angeles withheld some records, citing children’s privacy. Other records could not be located.
The Times also conducted interviews with family members, social workers, and individuals close to the Musks. Some requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation, while others expressed fear of retaliation. Other family members either declined to comment or did not respond to requests. The Times adheres to a policy of not naming children in sexual abuse cases.
In recent months, some family members have grown angry at Errol Musk’s perceived attempts to profit from Elon Musk’s global fame. Errol Musk has claimed he was involved in a meme coin called MuskIt and had plans to construct a ‘Musk tower’ in Dubai. (He has since informed The Times that he was “not associated” with these projects.)
All the while, some family members allege he has misrepresented or outright lied about their shared family history. Ms. Smit stated that she chose to speak out after Errol Musk was interviewed in February on a South African podcast titled “Wide Awake,” during which he discussed his life without any mention of the family’s turbulent past.
In June, Ms. Smit appeared on the same podcast and anonymously recounted some of the abuse allegations, including the 1993 incident involving Errol Musk’s 4-year-old stepdaughter.
The stepdaughter, now 37 and a mother of several children, spoke publicly about the situation for the first time with The Times. While she did not answer questions directly about the abuse allegations involving Errol Musk, she confirmed that she and her children do not live with him.
“My kids are safe and looked after,” she stated reassuringly.
She revealed that her primary financial support comes from Elon Musk, who provides monthly payments and purchased a car for her. “Elon has always been there,” she affirmed.
Three Marriages, a Troubled Past
Errol Musk once appeared to be a man destined for success.
Born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa’s executive capital, he rose to prominence as a businessman in his twenties and thirties, including as a partner in an engineering firm. At one point, he even served as a Pretoria City Council member.
In 1970, he married Maye Haldeman, a dietitian and model. They had three children: Elon; Tosca Musk, who now operates a streaming service specializing in romance films; and Kimbal Musk, who also became an entrepreneur.
By 1979, Errol Musk and Maye Musk had divorced. In her 2019 memoir, she described suffering physical and verbal abuse from him. Errol Musk denied these allegations to The Times.
Elon Musk himself had a strained relationship with his father. In a 2023 authorized biography, he recounted a childhood incident where, after standing up to a school bully and losing a fight, Errol Musk harshly reprimanded him for an hour.
“He lost it, went ballistic, as he often did,” Elon Musk recalled. “He had zero compassion.”
Although Elon chose to live with Errol Musk for much of his high school years after his parents’ divorce, he later confided to his biographer that it had been a terrible decision. “I didn’t yet know how horrible he was,” he admitted.
Errol Musk had a brief second marriage to Sue Wilson, a model. In 1989, 17-year-old Elon Musk left South Africa for North America. His brother and sister followed, as did Maye Musk.
Around 1992, Errol Musk married a third time to Heide-Mari Bezuidenhout, who was approximately 19 years his junior. She brought three young children—two boys and a girl—from her first marriage, whose husband had tragically died in a car accident. Ms. Bezuidenhout struggled with her mental health, according to family members. She and Errol Musk soon welcomed a daughter.
In 1993, Ms. Bezuidenhout’s 4-year-old daughter from her first marriage confided in her aunt, Ms. Smit, that Errol Musk had placed her on a row of trash cans at the family home in Pretoria and touched her. Ms. Smit reported that she and other relatives immediately contacted the authorities.
Police launched an investigation. Family members provided a case number for the incident, which the South African police confirmed. The Times submitted a public records request for the case file in July, but police have yet to make a decision on the request.
Ms. Bezuidenhout later withdrew the charges against Errol Musk as part of a divorce settlement, which included a house, a car, and a monthly allowance, according to family members and the 2010 letter seeking Elon Musk’s help.
Following the divorce, Errol Musk stated that a judge had granted him custody of their young daughter and that two judges had rejected the abuse allegations. Ms. Bezuidenhout was only permitted supervised visits with a social worker present, he claimed. The Times searched for court records and the judges involved but found no documentation to verify Errol Musk’s assertions.
In 1996, Ms. Bezuidenhout briefly married and divorced a third husband. Family members reported that she then entered a psychiatric hospital after suffering from depression. Her three children from her first marriage were placed in an independent welfare home.
Around 1999, she remarried Errol Musk, who retained custody of their daughter. Her three other children left welfare care in 2000. The following year, Errol Musk and Ms. Bezuidenhout had another daughter.
A Troubling Chapter in Los Angeles
By 2002, Elon Musk had become a millionaire after his Silicon Valley startup, which evolved into PayPal, was acquired by eBay. Living in Los Angeles, he founded the rocket manufacturing company SpaceX.
That same year, Errol Musk, Ms. Bezuidenhout, and their family traveled to California to visit Elon Musk, who purchased a $2 million house for them in Malibu.
Within months, the situation began to unravel dramatically.
One day, as Errol Musk’s family was leaving for a movie, his stepdaughter, then 14, realized she had forgotten her sweatshirt. Upon returning to her bedroom, she discovered her stepfather sniffing her dirty underwear, according to family members and personal notes. The family immediately contacted the police, and Elon Musk was also informed.
Family members reported filing a complaint with child protective services in Los Angeles. A department spokeswoman, citing victim privacy, declined to comment. The Los Angeles Police Department also refused a records request, stating that investigation records were exempt from public disclosure.
A restraining order was subsequently issued against Errol Musk, according to three individuals with knowledge of the filing. Ms. Bezuidenhout then petitioned for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing “irreconcilable differences” and seeking custody of the children, as detailed in the filing. The petition was ultimately dismissed in 2009 due to inaction.
Errol Musk vehemently denied the accusation. He claimed he had been tidying his stepdaughter’s room after returning from a trip and found the house “in a terrible state.”
The stepdaughter recalled that while in Malibu, Elon Musk took her and her siblings on weekly outings if they excelled at school. He emphasized the importance of reading many books to succeed in life, she said.
Following the abuse allegations, Elon Musk first relocated his father to a boat in Los Angeles, then sent him back to South Africa. Errol Musk asserted he left the United States voluntarily and claimed that his estrangement from his eldest son began around that time.
Elon Musk desired to keep the children in California to shield them from his father, as reported by family members and friends. They stated he even explored seeking legal guardianship of them.
Back in South Africa, Errol Musk became financially dependent on his eldest sons. He emailed Elon Musk, requesting money.
“I am now totally dependent on your card here,” Errol Musk wrote in the email, which The Times obtained.
Kimbal Musk, who was copied on the email, replied, “Financially, this has been horrible, but much worse for Elon than you. Not just in absolute dollars (which are considerable) but in the pain and frustration.”
“The scariest thing that I’ve learned is that the kids preferred living in the children’s home than with either you or Heide,” Kimbal Musk added, referring to the independent welfare home.
In the 2023 biography, Elon Musk recounted to his biographer that his father had been “uncomfortably attentive” to his stepdaughter at the time and that he was enraged by Errol Musk’s “inappropriate behavior.”
“A Very Difficult Situation”
In 2003, Ms. Bezuidenhout and four of her children voluntarily returned to South Africa, which they considered home, family members said. (Her eldest son followed later.) She then divorced Errol Musk for a second time, in 2005. The next year, her younger son, age 16, died in a car accident near Malmesbury, South Africa. She wrote to Elon Musk around 2007 that she was “in a very bad situation” and living in a house with no bathroom or kitchen.
Elon Musk, who became chief executive of the electric carmaker Tesla in 2008, funded a contractor to repair Ms. Bezuidenhout’s house and construct a fence around it, family members reported. He also paid for private school tuition for his half-sisters, according to emails.
Concurrently, the former stepdaughter spiraled into drug use, which she attributed to the anguish over her brother’s death. She served time in jail on charges of stealing jewelry from Errol Musk and Ms. Bezuidenhout to pay for drugs, according to family notes.
By 2009, Ms. Bezuidenhout had reconnected with Errol Musk, drawing her children back into his sphere. One night, when the former stepdaughter, then 21, was home from college, Errol Musk kissed her and stuck his tongue into her mouth, she stated in an application for an interim protection order.
“I don’t want him to be allowed to come close to me,” the former stepdaughter wrote in the interim protection order, which was granted by the Magistrate’s Court for the district of Stellenbosch.
In his response to The Times, Errol Musk claimed his former stepdaughter ambushed him in a spare bedroom while he was asleep. She “inappropriately kissed me,” he asserted.
In the interim protection order, the former stepdaughter also directly accused Errol Musk of sexually abusing his two daughters with Ms. Bezuidenhout and his stepson years before he had died, though no details were provided. A letter Ms. Bezuidenhout wrote to Elon Musk around 2007 also referred to abuse allegations made by one of her two daughters with Errol Musk. The relative who penned the letter to Elon Musk around 2010 noted the same allegations as those in the interim protection order.
Errol Musk dismissed the accusations that he had abused his stepson as “nonsense” and those concerning his two daughters as “absurd.”
The former stepdaughter eventually dropped out of college and fell deeper into drug use, according to family members and notes. She informed The Times that the trauma she experienced during her upbringing contributed to her addiction.
In 2011, Ms. Smit, Ms. Bezuidenhout’s sister, reached out to Elon Musk for help. His assistant responded, confirming she had spoken with the billionaire and that “it goes without saying that you are all in a very difficult situation there.” The assistant described the circumstances of Errol Musk’s former stepdaughter as “dire” and stated that Elon Musk would cover the costs for her to stay in a rehabilitation clinic.
The former stepdaughter attended rehab for a week or two, according to family members. For a period, she became homeless, they said.
30,000 Rand and a Promise Broken
Errol Musk’s former stepdaughter later contacted him for financial assistance. By then, she was around 29. They became intimate, Errol Musk revealed in a 2018 interview with The Sunday Times.
He described himself and his former stepdaughter as “lonely, lost people.” He added, “One thing led to another — you can call it God’s plan or nature’s plan.”
Errol Musk has asserted in interviews that he had not seen his former stepdaughter for years, a claim disputed by family members. He has also claimed that he and his former stepdaughter had children together in 2017 and 2019, but told The Times it was “none of your business” how many children he had with her.
The former stepdaughter confirmed she has one child with Errol Musk. She also stated she has been free from drugs for several years, her life having transformed after having children. Family members mentioned she has accepted some financial support from Errol Musk for their son.
In 2022, their son—then about 5 years old—reported being groped by his father, according to family members.
“He said, ‘dad gropes his behind,’” Ms. Bezuidenhout, the boy’s grandmother, texted a relative around 2023. “He screamed, ‘no dad.’” Relatives contacted the police, including as recently as last year, based on text messages and emails.
A social worker involved in the case stated in an interview that she attempted to meet with family members to discuss the incident, but they were uncooperative. The social worker then contacted the police.
Police launched an investigation, according to family members who provided a case number. A police spokeswoman confirmed the case number pertained to child sexual abuse allegations but declined to identify those involved. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the case due to insufficient evidence, the spokeswoman stated.
In response to The Times, Errol Musk declared, “There was no evidence because this is nonsense.”
Around 2023, Elon Musk began providing 30,000 rand a month, approximately $1,700, to support his former stepsister, family members revealed.
That same year, he also made a rare public comment about Errol Musk on social media. In response to a post discussing his financial background, Elon Musk stated that a condition for him and Kimbal Musk supporting their father was that Errol Musk would refrain from bad behavior.
Their father “nonetheless did,” Elon Musk wrote.
Zimasa Matiwane contributed reporting from Pretoria, South Africa. Kirsten Noyes contributed research.