(L-R): The senior Musk, Errol Musk; Elon; and his stepsister, Jana.
By Greg Kerry
In 2022, his father, Errol Musk, announced that he had welcomed a second child with Jana Bezuidenhout, his former stepdaughter, who he raised from the age of four.
Born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Errol Musk met and fell in love with Maye — a model and dietician.
The pair had three children together throughout the ’70s — eldest Elon, his brother Kimbal, and daughter Tosca.
According to Elon, Errol has an extremely high IQ and was supposedly the youngest person to get a professional engineer’s qualification in South Africa.
In 1980, Maye and Errol divorced.
Errol’s two sons Elon and Kimbal moved in with him in the wake of their parent’s split.
Looking back on that decision, Elon has said it was “not a good idea”.
“I was sad for my father. But I didn’t really understand at the time what kind of person he was.
“He was such a terrible human being. You have no idea,” Elon told Rolling Stone.
“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.”
Errol said in a profile interview with Forbes, that his kid’s childhood was idyllic.
“We travelled a lot in those days, their mother and I split up when they were quite young and the kids stayed with me.
“I took them all over the world. Elon was generally in the back seat. Kimbal, my other son who is just as energetic as Elon, would do all the guiding and navigating.”
As for Elon, he reflects on his childhood differently.
“I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents.
“My dad would have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. He would plan evil,” Elon said.
“My dad was not physically violent with me. He was only physically violent when I was very young.
“It’s so terrible, you can’t believe it,” Elon said, the journalist noting that Elon was crying while sharing his side of the story.
After divorcing Maye, Errol married Heide Bezuidenhout, a fellow South African in 1992.
At the time, Heide had a child from her first marriage — a four-year-old daughter called Jana.
So when Errol and Heide married, Errol became a stepfather to Jana.
Errol and Heide went on to have two daughters together: Rose and Alexandra.
For the next 18 years, Errol and Heide remained a couple and raised the three girls. But in 2010, they decided to split.
Then in 2017, some shocking news was made public. Errol and Jana — Errol’s stepdaughter — were expecting a baby together. A few months later, they welcomed their baby, called Elliot.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Errol said he and Jana had reconnected in 2016.
“We were lonely, lost people,” he told the newspaper. “One thing led to another. You can call it God’s plan or nature’s plan.”
In the interview, Errol said he did not consider Jana, now 30, as his stepdaughter, because she was “raised away” from the family for long periods of time, likely referring to her stint in boarding school.
Then soon after the arrival of Elliot, a baby girl came along too. Errol only confirmed the news about his second child with Jana in an interview with The Sun UK.
There is a 41-year age gap between Jana and Errol.
In 2022, his father, Errol Musk, announced that he had welcomed a second child with Jana Bezuidenhout, his former stepdaughter, who he raised from the age of four.
Born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Errol Musk met and fell in love with Maye — a model and dietician.
The pair had three children together throughout the ’70s — eldest Elon, his brother Kimbal, and daughter Tosca.
According to Elon, Errol has an extremely high IQ and was supposedly the youngest person to get a professional engineer’s qualification in South Africa.
In 1980, Maye and Errol divorced.
Errol’s two sons Elon and Kimbal moved in with him in the wake of their parent’s split.
Looking back on that decision, Elon has said it was “not a good idea”.
“I was sad for my father. But I didn’t really understand at the time what kind of person he was.
“He was such a terrible human being. You have no idea,” Elon told Rolling Stone.
“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.”
Errol said in a profile interview with Forbes, that his kid’s childhood was idyllic.
“We travelled a lot in those days, their mother and I split up when they were quite young and the kids stayed with me.
“I took them all over the world. Elon was generally in the back seat. Kimbal, my other son who is just as energetic as Elon, would do all the guiding and navigating.”
As for Elon, he reflects on his childhood differently.
“I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents.
“My dad would have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. He would plan evil,” Elon said.
“My dad was not physically violent with me. He was only physically violent when I was very young.
“It’s so terrible, you can’t believe it,” Elon said, the journalist noting that Elon was crying while sharing his side of the story.
After divorcing Maye, Errol married Heide Bezuidenhout, a fellow South African in 1992.
At the time, Heide had a child from her first marriage — a four-year-old daughter called Jana.
So when Errol and Heide married, Errol became a stepfather to Jana.
Errol and Heide went on to have two daughters together: Rose and Alexandra.
For the next 18 years, Errol and Heide remained a couple and raised the three girls. But in 2010, they decided to split.
Then in 2017, some shocking news was made public. Errol and Jana — Errol’s stepdaughter — were expecting a baby together. A few months later, they welcomed their baby, called Elliot.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Errol said he and Jana had reconnected in 2016.
“We were lonely, lost people,” he told the newspaper. “One thing led to another. You can call it God’s plan or nature’s plan.”
In the interview, Errol said he did not consider Jana, now 30, as his stepdaughter, because she was “raised away” from the family for long periods of time, likely referring to her stint in boarding school.
Then soon after the arrival of Elliot, a baby girl came along too. Errol only confirmed the news about his second child with Jana in an interview with The Sun UK.
There is a 41-year age gap between Jana and Errol.
