Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has often shared his beliefs that people need to have more children to tackle the issue of declining birth rates in developed countries. He even practices what he preaches. Elon is the father of 11 children from different women. At one point, he even impregnated two women at the same time, and he was married to neither of them. If you think Elon’s personal life is complicated, wait till you know the details about his father, Errol Musk.
Errol Musk was 72 when he had a baby with his 30-year-old stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout. When Elon learned about it, he was “creeped out.”
Errol, who worked as an engineer, first got married to model Maye Haldeman Musk in 1970. Together, they had three children—Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. The coupe parted ways in 1979 and Errol found love in young widow, Heide Bezuidenhout, who already had two children including Jana.
When Errol married Heide, Jana was just 4 years old. The couple had two children together and ended their marriage after 18 years. However, Errol pursued a different kind of relationship with Jana. In 2017, Jana became pregnant with Errol’s baby and the news was as shocking for the Musk family as for the rest of the world.
Walter Isaacson, in his biography on Elon Musk, revealed that the billionaire was “creeped out” upon learning about the unusual relationship within their family. The author also mentioned that Elon was “concerned” when he noticed his father paying special attention to Jana when she was a teenager.
“Elon was getting concerned that Errol, who was then fifty-six, was becoming uncomfortably attentive to one of his stepdaughters, Jana, who was then fifteen,” he wrote in his book.
The biography further mentions that Elon was furious “because of what he perceived as his inappropriate behavior, and he had developed a deep sympathy — and tugging sense of kinship — for Errol’s stepchildren. He knew what they had to live with.”
The author also revealed in his book that Elon tried to change his father but didn’t succeed. “I tried threats, rewards, and arguments to change my father for the better. No way, it just got worse,” Elon told the author.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14, 2025
The Tesla Motors Chief also called his father ”evil” and ”a terrible human being” during an interview with Rolling Stone. He added, “You have no idea about how bad. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.”
On the other hand, Errol revealed that the pregnancy was unplanned. He said that he never considered Jana as his step daughter because she mostly lived away from the family, as per a report by People.
Few years after divorcing Heide, he reconnected with Jana to help her get over a breakup. “We were lonely, lost people. One thing led to another — you can call it God’s plan or nature’s plan,” he told The Sunday Times.
Errol said that he initially thought Jana was carrying her ex’s child but the paternity test revealed that it was Errol’s. Jana gave birth to a baby boy and named him Elliot Rush.
Errol is aware of the family’s hatred towards him. “They still don’t like it. They still feel a bit creepy about it, because she’s their sister. Their half-sister,” he told The Sun. In fact, in 2019, he went on to have another secret child with his step-daughter. The news broke in 2022 when Errol himself confirmed it.
He told The Sun that this pregnancy was also unplanned as he was living with Jana after the birth of their first child. Errol said, “The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce.”
Meanwhile, Jana has never come forward to speak about the complex familial bonds. Errol confirmed that they don’t live together now but carry “a lot of affection for each other”. The reason behind their separation is the age gap of 42 years.
“But the thing is it’s not practical. She’s 35 next birthday. So she’s getting on. So eventually if I’m still around she might wind up back with me. It’s difficult,” Errol said in the 2022 interview.
