Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, has been accused of sexually abusing five of his children and stepchildren.
In a new New York Times investigation published on Tuesday, September 23, the 79-year-old businessman is accused of allegedly sexually abusing family members beginning in 1993 in South Africa, where he lives, and California.
The investigation cited police and court records as well as interviews with family members and social workers.
Errol has denied the claims, telling the publication “the reports are false and nonsense in the extreme.”
He also claimed the allegations were made by family members who were “putting the children up to say false things” and alleged they were trying to get money from Elon, 54.
Us Weekly has reached out to Elon’s representatives for comment.
While Errol claimed he is “very close” with Elon, the CEO of Tesla previously told Rolling Stone in 2017 that his father had done “almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done. … It’s so terrible, you can’t believe it.”
At the time, Elon said there was no way to repair his fractured relationship with his father. “In my experience,” he explained, “there is nothing you can do.”
Elon Musk Chesnot/Getty Images
In a 2023 authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson, Elon also confirmed that he does not have any communication with his father.
According to the Times, the earliest accusation of sexual abuse against Errol allegedly occurred in 1993, when his stepdaughter, then 4 years old, told relatives he had touched her at the family house. A decade later, the stepdaughter alleged she caught Errol sniffing her dirty underwear.
In 2023, family members and a social worker allegedly attempted to intervene after Errol’s then 5-year-old son claimed his father had allegedly groped his buttocks.
According to the Times investigation, which cited family members in addition to various police and court records, three separate police investigations were opened in connection to the allegations. Two of the inquiries ended, while it’s unclear what happened in the third. Errol has not been convicted of any crime.
At one point, some relatives reportedly turned to Elon for help. Around 2010, per the Times, one unidentified relative wrote Elon a five-page letter detailing some of the accusations.
“We really need your advice, help and guidance in these matters because we daily see these children suffer,” the letter — viewed by the Times — stated. It’s unclear if Elon read the letter.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
