Meet Maye Musk, the woman who raised one of the richest billionaires in the world Elon Musk – Times of India

Elon Musk is much known as the Chief of Tesla and X, and for being one of the richest billionaires in the world. But did you know that his mother Maye Musk is also popular, much before Elon became a billionaire? Yes, you read that right! In fact, Maye Musk is often seen with Elon Musk– be it at the Met Gala or the Saturday Night Show. Elon Musk’s glamourous mother, Maye Musk, is a celebrity in her own right and she is often credited for raising one of the richest persons in the world today.Read on to learn more about her here.

Who is Maye Musk?
Maye Halderman (her maiden name) was born on April 19, 1948, in Canada to her entrepreneur parents. She was born as a twin and was one of the five children of her parents. It was in 1950 when her family shifted to Pretoria, South Africa. Maye started working at the age of just 8 years. At 15, Maye started her modelling career and she was also a finalist in the Miss South Africa 1969 beauty competition.
She got her master’s degree in dietetics from Orange Free State, South Africa, and another master’s degree in nutritional science from Canada’s University of Toronto.
Maye Musk’s personal life
Maye met Errol Musk in high school. While Maye was into modeling and studying diets, Errol was an engineer. In 1970, Maye Musk married Errol Musk and the former couple had three children together– two sons- Elon Musk and Kimbal Musk, and a daughter- Tosca Musk. However, their marriage was short-lived and they got divorced in 1979. Maye called her marriage to Errol abusive in previous interviews; Elon, who is estranged from his father, also called him “a terrible human being” in an interview with Rolling Stone.

At 31, Maye Musk was a single mother to three children- Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk, and Tosca Musk. However, she didn’t give up and worked hard to raise them. In 1989, she moved to Toronto, Canada along with her children. In a 2018 interview with CNBC, Maye revealed that she once did five jobs just to make ends meet.
Maye Musk: The celebrity
Over the years, Maye Musk is a celebrity in her own right. From being a dietician and nutritionist to being a model and author, she has done it all. She has worked as a model for over 50 years, and has appeared on several advertisements like Revlon, and even appeared on the boxes of Special K cereal. In 2013, she also featured in a Beyoncé music video titled ‘Haunted’. Not just this, she has also appeared on the cover of several magazines including Time magazine’s health edition, Vogue, among others. In 2022, she made the headlines for sporting a bikini and being on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. “I am so excited to be on the cover of @si_swimsuit at the age of 74. It’s about time! ,” she had tweeted along with a picture of herself in 2022.

In 2020, she published her autobiography ‘A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success’.
Maye Musk is known as the glamourous mother of the enigmatic tycoon Elon Musk, but she is much more than that. Maye has been Elon’s biggest supporter throughout the highs and lows of his life and career. In earlier interviews, Maye shared that she “knew” Elon was a genius since he was just 3 years old.

And while her son Elon Musk is a famous billionaire and much in the news, her other children are famous too. Maye Musk’s son Kimbal Musk is an entrepreneur; he has founded three food companies, an urban farming company, and a non-profit company called Big Green. While Maye’s daughter, Tosca Musk has her streaming service; she has produced and directed films and TV shows.
In her 70s now, Maye Musk has come a long way and she is an inspiration to many women across the world. Her journey is a testament to hard work always paying off well.