'We were never supporters of Apartheid': Elon Musk's dad

‘We were never supporters of Apartheid’: Elon Musk’s dad

Elon Musk’s father Errol stated that their family never supported Apartheid, despite claims they ‘benefited’ from the oppressive system.

Elon Musk's father Errol claims their family did not support Apartheid. Images via YouTube screenshot/ X: @elonmusk

While many critics have called out Elon Musk over his “white privilege” and for benefiting from “systematic oppression,” his father Errol claimed that their family were never supporters of Apartheid in South Africa.

The engineer made the comments during his guest appearance on Podcast & Chill late last year.

Elon – the world’s richest man who hails from Pretoria – has come under fire for his criticism of SA’s “openly racist laws.” He’s also been accused of propagating US President Donald Trump’s beliefs of land expropriation and race-based legislature like Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).

ELON MUSK’S DAD: ‘WE NEVER SUPPORTED APARTHEID’

In a special episode last year, Podcast & Chill’s MacG [real name Macgyver Mukwevho] visited the Western Cape home of Elon Musk’s dad, Errol.

During the sit-down interview, the pair discussed a number of burning topics like Errol’s impregnation of his step-daughter, claims he “abused” his ex-wife Maye, killing two house burglars, and his supposed shares in emerald mines. Errol also spoke extensively about his children’s upbringing in South Africa.

Errol revealed that he had been born to his mother, who hailed from Liverpool, and a South African father. The 79-year-old claimed that fellow white South Africans had shunned his family because they were English.

He told MacG: “We were never supporters of Apartheid, we had to live under it. We were English-speaking South Africans, and we had no choice. You couldn’t really open your mouth about anything.”

Through his influence as a successful engineer, Errol mingled with many Apartheid cabinet ministers.

He continued: “I used to argue with them about the circumstances. Everybody was trying to find a solution to South Africa those days. Nobody knew what to do”.

Errol added that he had used his engineering experience to help underprivileged non-white schools through the Rotary humanitarian non-profit organisation. He was also the director of NUSAS [National Union of South African Students], an anti-Apartheid organisation that advocated for non-racialism and non-sexism, particularly in school.

Errol claimed that his sons Elon and Kimbal Musk had many black school friends and, to this day, often visit South Africa to enjoy the “beauty” of the country.

SELF-MADE MAN?

While Elon Musk clearly inherited his father Errol’s love of engineering and physics, he has denied claims that his success or wealth was achieved through a life of privilege.

In several tweets, Elon hinted that he left his comfortable life in SA only to incur more than $100k in student loan debt.

According to his parents, Elon left SA in 1988 because he feared joining the Apartheid military service through conscription, which was a mandatory two-year service for white males.

Elon left SA after a short stint at the University of Pretoria to pursue his tertiary studies in Canada, the birth country of his mother, Maye. He later settled in the US, where he set up successful companies like PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX.

He tweeted: “I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack and suitcase of books”.

He added: “Haven’t inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift”.