Errol Musk, the 79-year-old father of billionaire Elon Musk, has been embroiled in a major scandal after allegations of sexual abuse of five of his children since 1993. The news was published this Tuesday by The New York Times, bringing to attention the complicated relationships within the Musk family. According to US media reports, these allegations may be one of the reasons why Elon Musk, who briefly served as an advisor in Donald Trump's second administration, rarely mentions his father publicly. However, according to family members, he has tried from time to time to intervene to help them.
Errol Musk immediately denied the allegations, calling them “false.” In a statement to The New York Times, he said: “There is no evidence because this is nonsense. The reports are false.” While for The Guardian newspaper, he added that the allegations are “completely nonsense” and that family members were encouraging children to make false statements in order to blackmail Elon Musk.
The American newspaper's investigation, based on court documents, personal letters, electronic correspondence, testimony from social workers and interviews with family members, shows that Errol Musk, who has at least nine children and has been married three times, has exerted a great influence over most of the family.
The first allegation dates back to 1993, when a relative, just four years old, told family members that he had touched her inappropriately in the family home. Ten years later, the same girl claimed to have seen him smelling her dirty clothes. In addition, some relatives also accuse him of abusing his two daughters and a son from another relationship.
Three legal investigations into the allegations against Errol Musk have been opened in different years. Two of them ended without any further action, while it is not clear what happened with the third. However, his family members claim that the cases were postponed or closed without being seriously addressed.
In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Elon Musk described his relationship with his father as extremely difficult, saying that he had done “almost every bad thing you can think of.” Musk also recalled that from the age of 10 he was forced to take care of his father, while his sisters and younger brother lived with their mother.
