Elon Musk’s father accused of sexually assaulting 5 of his children and stepchildren

Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, has been accused of sexually abusing five of his children and stepchildren over three decades, according to a New York Times investigation. The allegations span from 1993 to 2023 and involve abuse that reportedly took place in both South Africa and California.

The investigation found that these accusations are a major reason behind the long-standing rift between the tech billionaire and his 79-year-old father. Family members have repeatedly reached out to Elon Musk for help, with some relatives sending him detailed letters asking him to step in and protect the children involved.

In 2017, Elon Musk told Rolling Stone magazine that his father had done “almost every evil thing you could possibly think of.” The billionaire has been open about his troubled relationship with Errol Musk, describing their interactions as difficult and saying he learned that living with his father was “not a good idea.”

Timeline of allegations spans three decades

The earliest accusation dates back to 1993, when Errol Musk’s four-year-old stepdaughter told relatives that he had touched her inappropriately at the family home. A decade later, the same stepdaughter said she caught him going through her dirty underwear. Family members have also accused Errol Musk of abusing two of his daughters and a stepson over the years.

The most recent incident occurred in 2023, when family members and a social worker tried to step in after Errol Musk’s then five-year-old son said his father had touched his buttocks. This shows the allegations have continued into recent years, affecting multiple generations within the family. The complex dynamics of the Musk family have been previously documented, including Errol Musk’s controversial relationship with his former stepdaughter.

Three separate police investigations have been opened based on these accusations, according to police and court records reviewed by the Times. Two of these investigations have ended, while the status of the third remains unclear. Despite the multiple investigations, Errol Musk has not been convicted of any crime related to these allegations.

Around 2010, one family member wrote a five-page letter to Elon Musk about the abuse allegations. “We really need your advice, help and guidance in these matters because we daily see these children suffer,” the relative wrote. It is not clear if Elon Musk read this letter, but an assistant later contacted family members about the situation.

Elon Musk has provided financial support to help some family members, including monthly payments to his former stepsister and support for a former stepmother and two half-sisters. He has also tried to keep some family members in California, far away from his father’s influence in South Africa. The billionaire, who reportedly has 13 children with multiple women, has been criticized for his own parenting approach. Errol Musk has denied all allegations, calling them “false and nonsense in the extreme” and claiming family members made up the stories to get money from Elon Musk.