“DIDN’T HAVE HAPPY CHILDHOOD”: ELON MUSK ON FINANCIAL SITUATION WHILE GROWING UP

Sun 07 May 2023:

Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns and manages several companies like Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX has always been vocal about his journey from a student to an entrepreneur. However, there is a long-running rumour that claims Elon Musk’s father owns an emerald mine in South Africa and has given Mr Musk financial assistance. These rumours gained momentum after Elon Musk’s father, Errol, said in an interview that he used emeralds from an “under the table” mine in Zambia to finance his son’s escape from South Africa to America. The billionaire has once again quashed the rumours and said he has not “inherited anything ever from anyone”.

Mr Musk revealed this in response to a user’s tweet who had disputed that he came to the US with “no money and graduated with over $100k in debt, despite scholarships & working 2 jobs while at school.” The user wrote, “I strongly support the community notes and all this work but this time I don’t understand it! Even having a wealthy family, a student can have a lot of financial difficulties. On the other hand, the cited source is not reliable at all.”

The CEO of the microblogging platform said, “I grew up in a lower, transitioning to upper, middle-income situation, but did not have a happy childhood. Haven’t inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift. My father created a small electrical/mechanical engineering company that was successful for 20 to 30 years, but it fell on hard times. He has been essentially bankrupt for about 25 years, requiring financial support from my brother and me.”

I grew up in a lower, transitioning to upper, middle income situation, but did not have a happy childhood. Haven’t inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift.

My father created a small electrical/mechanical engineering company that was…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2023

Mr Musk credited his father for teaching him the fundamentals of physics, engineering and construction, which, for him, is “more valuable than money”. He, however, stated that Mr Errol Musk “did not support me financially after high school in any meaningful way.” He said in the tweet, “Our condition of providing him financial support was that he not engage in bad behavior. Unfortunately, he nonetheless did. There are young children involved, so we continued to provide financial support for their well-being.”

Further, he threw light on the “emerald mine” and said that there is no objective evidence for the same or any records of its existence. “Regarding the so-called “emerald mine”, there is no objective evidence whatsoever that this mine ever existed. He told me that he owned a share in a mine in Zambia, and I believed him for a while, but nobody has ever seen the mine, nor are there any records of its existence. If this mine was real, he would not require financial support from my brother and me,” he concluded.

Maye Musk, the mother of the billionaire, provided further details on their initial days. She said in a tweet, “When we moved to Toronto in 1989, we stayed in a one-bedroom apartment until I found a rent-controlled apartment, which took us three weeks to clean up. We all worked, were happy and optimistic. The first I heard of an emerald mine was on @Twitter about 10 years ago.”

When we moved to Toronto in 1989, we stayed in a one-bedroom apartment until I found a rent-controlled apartment, which took us three weeks to clean up. We all worked, were happy and optimistic. The first I heard of an emerald mine was on @Twitter about 10 years ago. Thanks for… https://t.co/6gIdvj9Yel

— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) May 6, 2023