Elon Musk And His Mother Reveal Details Of His "Very Violent" Childhood That Included Domestic Abuse And Severe Bullying

Elon Musk simultaneously became one of the most hated and adored men on the internet. After founding Tesla and building it up to be a successful company that is worth almost $350 billion, he bought social media giant Twitter for $44 billion with the pledge to restore free speech and eliminate the unfair, draconian restrictions that have permanently banned many accounts and suppressed important news stories that affected past elections. This essentially turned him into an enemy of the left and a hero of the right. Elon has since been very active on Twitter, tweeting often and responding to a wide variety of users. He comes off as confident, competent, and excited about the future of Twitter. However, a recent interview with BBC reveals that Elon had a difficult childhood that most people would never dream of in their worst nightmares. He and his mother, Maye Musk, open up and share haunting details of the abuse and trauma that Elon endured from a very young age.

Elon Musk and His Mother Reveal Details of His "Very Violent" Childhood That Included Domestic Abuse and Severe Bullying

Elon said he was only 17 years old when he left South Africa to start life on his own, with nothing more than a suitcase and a backpack full of clothes. The interviewer asks him if he had a happy childhood. "No, it was terrible," he responds. Maye explains how Elon's father, Errol Musk, was an abusive man from the very start of their marriage.

"He was very insulting to people and rude and I didn't really like him that much," Maye recalls. But she said Errol kept coming around and wanted to see her, and she really didn't have anything else to do so she continued to go out with him because it was better than just sitting at home. Maye's brother banned Errol from seeing her, so she went two whole years without ever even communicating with him. After she moved to Capetown, Errol suddenly showed up to her doorstep with an engagement ring.

She told him that she wasn't interested and that she'd "never wear it," but he went back to her family and told them anyway that they were engaged. They were surprised but they sent their congratulations to Maye, telling her they made wedding arrangements and invited 800 people, to whom invitations were already sent. Maye felt like she had to go through with it, and Errol told her, "I will change when we get married because I'll be kinder and nicer." She believed him and went through with the wedding.

"I fell pregnant on the honeymoon," she says. "The abuse started right away, beating me up if I didn't do as I was told. I came back from honeymoon bruised and pregnant."

She felt scared and as if she had no other choice, so she just put up with it and soon after gave birth to her first child, Elon.

"Elon, while he was a little boy, grew up in a very violent home," Maye continues. "For example, when I was there to drive the car and [Errol] would be punching me and Elon would be between the seats hitting his father to stop him from punching me. When [Errol] would be at home and punching me, [Elon's siblings] Kimbal and Tosca would be crying in the corner because they were really babies. Elon was 5, Kimbal 4, Tosca 3. Elon would be hitting his dad at the back of his legs. And then when he was 8 we left."

"My father has serious issues," Elon adds. "[My childhood] was very violent."

After two years, Elon said he wanted to go live with his father and Maye didn't understand why he would want to do that. Errol had the whole Encyclopedia Brittanica collection, which gave Elon the opportunity to read the whole encyclopedia. Maye would call Elon, ask him about any subject, and he would be able to give her an answer.

"[Elon] was shy and awkward at school," Maye remembers. "Elon didn't have many friends." His peers thought he was strange and he was severely bullied.

"I was almost beaten to death," Elon says. A gang beat up Elon's best friend and made him promise that he wouldn't hang out with Elon anymore. Next, they shoved Elon down a flight of stairs and beat him so violently that he ended up in the hospital for weeks, fighting for his life.

Many people poured out their support of Elon in the comment section, but there were just as many responses of vitriol against him and his current political and cultural views. Regardless of people's responses, it's clear that the trauma and violence Elon experienced as a child equipped him to be a fighter. While many people have experienced bullying in their youth, very few have been put in the hospital for weeks on end due to a violent episode that nearly cost them their life. Elon doesn't speak often about his experience as a child with domestic abuse and bullying, but it's easy to see that these traumas shaped him to become the man he is today.