When you see Maye Musk today—gliding down a runway with that striking shock of silver hair or looking sharp on the cover of Sports Illustrated—it is hard to imagine her as anything other than the ultimate "Power Mom." She is the woman who raised the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and two other insanely successful entrepreneurs, Kimbal and Tosca. But if you dig into the history of Maye Musk's husband, you find a story that is honestly way darker and more complicated than the glossy magazine profiles usually let on.
Most people assume the father of Elon Musk must have been some visionary tech genius or a supportive patriarch. The reality? It’s a bit of a nightmare.
Maye was only married once. Her husband was Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer. They wed in 1970, and by the time they split in 1979, the relationship had become a case study in why some people are better off alone. Maye has been pretty open in recent years about the fact that she basically spent a decade in survival mode.
The Man Behind the Name: Errol Musk
Errol Musk isn't just "Maye Musk's husband" in the eyes of the public anymore; he’s become a figure of massive controversy.
He was a wealthy man back in South Africa. He owned a yacht, a private plane, and a fleet of luxury cars. There’s that famous story about an emerald mine in Zambia that he supposedly owned a stake in—a detail that has been debated for years but which Errol himself has confirmed in several interviews. He was smart, clearly. He was a pilot and a property developer who hit it big early.
But being rich and being a good partner are two very different things.
Maye met him in high school. They were kids, basically. In her memoir, A Woman Makes a Plan, she describes him as a "womanizer" who was actually pretty mean even back then. She didn't really want to date him, but she was a bit of a "nerd" and didn't have many options. Eventually, he showed up with a ring and threatened to end his life if she didn't say yes. That’s a massive red flag in hindsight, but at the time, she felt stuck.
Why the Marriage Collapsed
The marriage lasted nine years. During that time, they had Elon, Kimbal, and Tosca.
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On the surface, they looked like a successful, high-society family in Pretoria. Behind closed doors, it was a different story. Maye has alleged that the domestic abuse was constant. She’s talked about how she had to hide her bruises with makeup so she could keep working as a model.
It wasn't just physical, though. The emotional toll was heavy. Errol reportedly told her she was "boring," "stupid," and "ugly." Imagine being one of the most successful models in the country and having your husband tell you you’re ugly every day.
The Breaking Point
The divorce happened in 1979. In South Africa at the time, "no-fault" divorce wasn't really a thing yet. You had to have a "legal" reason to leave. When the laws finally changed to allow for more flexibility, Maye took the kids and ran.
She left with nothing. No money. No furniture. Just the kids and her determination.
Honestly, the stories from that era are wild. At one point, during the divorce proceedings, Errol reportedly showed up at her house with a knife. Maye had to hide at a neighbor's place. When people ask about Maye Musk's husband today, they usually expect a story about business deals, but for Maye, it’s a story about escaping a predator.
The Estrangement and the "Evil" Comments
If you think Maye is the only one with a grudge, you haven't seen what Elon has to say about his father.
Elon Musk has called Errol a "terrible human being." In a famous Rolling Stone interview, he actually teared up talking about him, saying his father had done "almost every evil thing you could possibly think of."
The rift in the family is massive. While Errol still lives in South Africa, he is almost entirely estranged from his famous children. The tension hit a peak a few years ago when it was revealed that Errol had fathered children with his own stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout. Jana was four years old when Errol married her mother, Heide.
When that news broke, it basically nuked whatever bridge was left between Errol and his sons.
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Life After Errol: Maye’s Reinvention
The most interesting part of this isn't actually Errol—it’s how Maye bounced back.
After leaving Maye Musk's husband, she moved to Durban and later to Canada. She worked five jobs at once. She was a dietitian, a model, and a teacher. She fed her kids bean soup because meat was too expensive.
- She got her Master’s degree at 41.
- She restarted her modeling career in her 50s.
- She became a CoverGirl at 69.
She never remarried. She’s often said that she has no interest in ever living with a man again. "Getting married is easy," she told El País recently. "Getting divorced is harder." She seems to have found a peace in her independence that she never had during those nine years in Pretoria.
What Most People Miss
There is a weird misconception that the Musk kids grew up with a "silver spoon" because of Errol’s wealth.
While it’s true Errol was wealthy, that money didn't follow Maye after the divorce. The kids grew up in tiny rent-controlled apartments. Elon moved to Canada with almost nothing in his pocket. If anything, the hardship they faced after leaving Errol is what probably gave them the "grind" mentality they have now.
Errol has tried to paint a different picture over the years. He’s given interviews claiming Maye is lying or that the abuse never happened. He often claims credit for his children's success. But when you look at the fact that none of them speak to him, the silence speaks louder than any tabloid interview he gives.
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Lessons from Maye’s Journey
If you're looking for the "actionable" takeaway here, it’s really about the power of walking away. Maye Musk's life didn't truly start until she was no longer "Errol's wife."
- Financial Independence is Security: Maye kept her credentials as a dietitian throughout her marriage, which allowed her to start a practice the moment she left.
- Age is a Number, Not a Limit: She hit her peak career-wise in her 70s. Most people think they’re "done" at 40.
- Protect Your Peace: Sometimes the most "successful" person in the room is the one who had the courage to leave a toxic situation with zero dollars in their bank account.
If you want to understand the Musk family, you have to look past the rockets and the electric cars. You have to look at the woman who survived a decade with a man like Errol and came out the other side stronger. She didn't just raise successful kids; she saved herself.
The story of Maye Musk's husband isn't a romance. It’s a survival guide.
For anyone currently following Maye's career, her memoir A Woman Makes a Plan offers the most granular, first-hand account of these years. It is a necessary read for anyone trying to separate the myths of the Musk family from the gritty reality of their upbringing. Understanding the dynamics of her past marriage provides the essential context for why she is so fiercely independent today.