The Life, Career, Love Affairs, and Controversies of Elon Musk

By Stuart Wolf - Sep 16, 2025

This article appeared in notfries.com and has been published here with permission.

Wikimedia Commons // The Royal Society // CC BY-SA 3.0

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, is a divisive figure. He started out like Tony Stark, trying to use technology to save the world with electric cars and missions to Mars, but turned into Lex Luthor. He had 14 children with five women, bought and almost destroyed Twitter, and aligned himself with President Trump. So join us as we dive into Elon Musk's childhood, career, love affairs, and many controversies…

Elon's Early Life

Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28th, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother, Maye Haldeman, was a Canadian-born model and dietitian raised in South Africa. His father, Errol, was a jack-of-all-trades — working as a pilot, sailor, consultant, emerald dealer, and property developer, but making millions from Zambian emerald mines.

Twitter / X // @Maye Musk

After his parents divorced in 1980, his younger brother and sister, Kimbal and Tosca, stayed with Maye. Elon chose to live with Errol, as he owned an Encyclopedia Britannica and a computer.

Elon's Grandfather's Influence

Elon's grandmother, Winnifred, used to tell him stories of his grandfather's travels and exploits, which shaped his "desire for adventure, exploration — doing crazy things." Her late husband, American-born Canadian chiropractor, aviator, and political activist Joshua N. Haldeman, had emigrated with his family to South Africa in 1950 before passing away in a plane crash when Elon was three.

Wikimedia Commons // Joshua Haldeman // Fair Use

As part of the Technocracy movement, Elon's grandfather held anti-government and anti-democratic ideologies, supported apartheid and far-right antisemitic conspiracy theories, and — according to Errol — admired the Third Reich.

He Was Bullied at School

Elon was a good but unexceptional student at Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School, and Pretoria Boys High School. He was severely bullied on trips to a wilderness school, which he described as a "paramilitary Lord of the Flies" where "bullying was a virtue."

Photo courtesy of Maye Musk

Elon was an intellectual snob who looked down on other kids. When he called one boy — whose father had recently taken his own life — "stupid," the boy threw Elon down a concrete flight of stairs, hospitalizing him.

He Sold His Video Game

Elon retreated into The Lord of the Rings and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sci-fi and fantasy books, and taught himself how to program his VIC-20 computer. Aged 12, he created and sold a BASIC-based video game called Blastar.

Facebook // @Maye Musk

The game involved defending the earth from an invading alien freighter carrying deadly hydrogen bombs and space lasers. He sold the program to PC and Office Technology magazine for $500, and quickly realized there was money in technology and computer programming.