Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in a recent tweet, talked about his childhood and how his wealth is not built at the mercy of others by inheritance. He claimed to be a self-made billionaire. Musk also refuted the erroneous claims circulated in the media about his father owning the emerald mine and financing him.
He also stated he lived unhappy childhood in a family that transitioned from lower to upper middle-income class. That said, whatever net worth the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has today is made out of his sheer hard work. He never received any large financial gifts nor inherited anything from anyone.
Musk replied to a tweet by Deborah that said ” Even having a wealthy family, a student can have a lot of financial difficulties. On the other hand, the cited source is not reliable at all”.
He responded, “I grew up in a lower, transitioning to an upper, middle-income situation, but did not have a happy childhood. Haven’t inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift”.
I grew up in a lower, transitioning to upper, middle income situation, but did not have a happy childhood. Haven’t inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift.
My father created a small electrical/mechanical engineering company that was…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2023
Musk said his father, Errol Musk, had a reasonably successful business that nevertheless experienced a tough time financially. Musk said, “My father created a small electrical/mechanical engineering company that was successful for 20 to 30 years, but it fell on hard times. He has been essentially bankrupt for about 25 years, requiring financial support from my brother and me.”.
He said he did not get any financial help from his father after high school in any meaningful way. The teachings, however, of physics, engineering, and construction weigh more than pecuniary exchange.
“he does deserve credit for teaching me the fundamentals of physics, engineering, and construction, which is more valuable than money”.
Musk shared he and his brother Kimbal Musk, a South African restaurateur, chef, and entrepreneur, supported their father financially on the condition that he would not engage in misconduct.
“Unfortunately, he nonetheless did. There are young children involved, so we continued to provide financial support for their well-being,” he added.
Rejecting the theory of his father, Errol Musk, on owning an “emerald mine”, Junior Musk said, “There is no objective evidence whatsoever that this mine ever existed. He told me that he owned a share in a mine in Zambia, and I believed him for a while, but nobody has ever seen the mine, nor are there any records of its existence. If this mine was real, he would not require financial support from my brother and me”.
Musk’s father– Errol, in an interview with a tabloid, shared about the existence of the emerald mine. He said Emerald money helped us afloat and financed Elon when he moved to the US.
Elon Musk made a million Dogecoin (about $78,000) reward offer last month to anyone who could demonstrate the existence of the emerald mine his father owned.