From Pretoria to the present: the human story behind the companies.
The personal ledger: how a childhood coder turned a single software sale into the capital that seeded everything that followed.
The origin story. Pretoria, 1971.
Family. Married author Justine Wilson in 2000, later actress Talulah Riley.
I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.
Elon Musk (@elonmusk), 2020-05-01
In May 2020 Elon Musk announced he would sell almost all physical possessions and own no house.
Ten moments, from Pretoria to the present.
Open the personal timeline →Who they are and the fourteen children, grouped by mother. The personal timeline has the full story.
The count. Elon Musk is the father of 14 children (13 living) with four women: Justine Wilson, Grimes, Shivon Zilis, and Ashley St. Court documents, announcements, and biographies, 2026.
Growing up in Pretoria. Elon Reeve Musk was born June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, the eldest child of engineer Errol Musk and Canadian-born model and dietitian Maye Musk, with a younger. Grokipedia, "Elon Musk"; Eric Jorgenson, The Book of Elon
A family split, then a choice. Errol Musk and Maye Musk divorced in 1980, when Elon Musk was about nine. Grokipedia, "Elon Musk"
From South Africa to Canada to the United States. At 17, Elon Musk left South Africa for Canada, using citizenship obtained through his Canadian-born mother. Eric Jorgenson, The Book of Elon; Grokipedia, "Elon Musk"
Marriages, children, and loss. Elon Musk married author Justine Wilson in 2000. Grokipedia, "Justine Musk," "Talulah Riley," and "Musk family"
Why he keeps having children: population collapse. Elon Musk frames a large family as a personal answer to what he calls the biggest long-term risk to civilization: falling birth rates. Elon Musk on X (@elonmusk), August 26, 2022
Balancing family with the companies. Elon Musk is known for time-boxing his day into short blocks, each assigned to a task, while saying he does not rigidly schedule every day in five-minute increments because. Grokipedia, "Elon Musk" and "Musk family"