Elon Musk‘s estranged father, Errol, became the subject of a new controversy as he was accused of sexually abusing five of his children and stepchildren, as per The New York Times. Documents obtained by the American news outlet suggested that the 79-year-old businessman had been partaking in the alleged misconduct, which is believed to have taken place in California and South Africa, since 1993.
The bombshell report puts together not only interviews with the Musk family and social workers, but also police and court reports. It further correlated the Tesla CEO’s estrangement with his father to the same allegations.
This article contains disturbing mentions of alleged sexual abuse.
Errol Musk responds to sexual abuse allegations
Elon’s father promptly responded to the NYT report dated September 23 (US time), and dismissed the accusations, calling them “false and nonsense in the extreme.” Although the SpaceX boss has yet to comment on the new headline, his father also provided the Guardian with a list of answers to the Times’ questions, calling certain claims “this is nonsense” and others “this is absolute rubbish.”
Considering that multiple such allegations have come to light at the moment, Errol told the outlet in an email that he was familiar with just one accusation. Despite defending himself against the other claims, he still “offered explanations for the circumstances around two others” in the same response.
In yet another statement, he said these allegations had been concocted by family members, who had put the “children up to say false things” to exact money from his son Elon Musk.
Elon Musk’s father sexual abuse allegations: What does the NYT report say?
Been married to three women, Errol Musk has at least nine children and two stepchildren. On the basis of personal letters, emails and interviews compiled by the Times, the 79-year-old “maintains a powerful grip over much of the family.”
With the earliest of these alleged sexual abuse allegations dating back to 1993, his then-4-year-old stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout spoke out against Errol reportedly touching her at the family residence. As per the report, she then caught the elder Musk sniffing her dirty underwear a decade later. Back in 2018, Errol and his Jana had a child. It followed his divorce with the stepdaughter’s mother Heide Bezuidenhout in 2004.
As per the family members’ account, Errol even sexually abused two of his daughters and a stepson. In 2023, family members joined forces with a social worker after his then-5-year-old son accused him of groping his buttocks.
Has Errol Musk been convicted?
According to official records obtained by the NYT, three separate police investigations were opened at one point. Although two of them ended, it remains unclear as to what was the outcome of the third. Errol, who has a net worth of around $5 million as per BBN Times, has not been convicted of any crimes.