Leaving a toxic marriage to give her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren a good living environment, billionaire Elon Musk’s mother realized her son was a prodigy at the age of 3.
Realizing my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 was a prodigy at the age of 3
In a television interview, model Maye Musk (75 years old) – mother of the world’s second richest billionaire Elon Musk revealed that she knew her son was a prodigy since he was 3 years old. Even his teachers did not believe this.
“I knew my son was special from the beginning. When Elon was 3 years old, I sent him to kindergarten and told the teachers at school that my son was a genius, everyone was surprised. Elon was quite shy, so people didn’t see the genius side of him back then.
Elon Musk (white shirt) and his younger brother – Kimbal Musk, as 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
“I was the only person Elon felt comfortable talking to, so I knew that. Ever since he was a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, Elon liked to use logic to talk to me and remember everything that happened around him,” Maye recalled.
When he grew up, billionaire Elon Musk only confided in his mother about his business plans and plans to pursue the development of solar energy technology, electric cars, rockets, spaceships, etc.
Whenever her son shared such grand plans with Mrs. Maye, she always advised him to give up and take a break, because she felt that her son was working too hard and might be stressed. But Elon often did not listen to his mother. As a result, we all see in the present, Elon Musk has become the richest billionaire in the world.
After all, Mrs. Maye realized: “My son should be free to pursue everything he wants. I have advised Elon to retreat from many plans, and he has never listened to me, the result is what we all see.”
According to Ms. Maye Musk, Elon Musk always had difficulty communicating. This happened even in Elon Musk’s adult years. Ms. Maye believes that it was her second son – Kimbal Musk who helped his brother Elon Musk achieve his first successes in the business field .
Elon Musk (red shirt) with his two brothers
Accordingly, the two brothers and some partners founded a company specializing in producing computer software in 1995. This company was later sold for 307 million USD in 1999. Elon Musk received 22 million USD for holding 7% of the company’s shares.
Thanks to his younger brother Kimbal being by his side, Elon didn’t have to make an effort to explain his ideas to his colleagues and partners, because Kimbal did that task.
After achieving some success in business, Elon Musk now understands that he can no longer avoid the media and meetings and dialogues.
Elon had to step into the “light” to build his personal image, with the hope that this could positively support the future projects that Elon Musk pursues.
Elon Musk and mother
“I remember the first time I read an interview with Elon, I was so shocked that I called my son and asked, ‘Hey Elon, did you just do an interview?’ My son said, ‘No one will sell me rocket building equipment because they don’t know who I am, I’ve never appeared in an interview before, Kimbal has always done that for me.'”
Leave toxic marriages for a better living environment for your 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
Maye married engineer Errol Musk at the age of 22 in South Africa. The couple has three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren: billionaire Elon Musk is the eldest son; the second son is Kimbal Musk – the owner of a chain of restaurants operating on a farm-to-table model; the youngest daughter is Toscar Musk – a filmmaker.
However, her marriage was not a happy one. Mrs. Maye said that she often had to listen to the angry yelling and screaming from her terrible husband, so she decided to divorce and took her 3 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren with her.
Mrs. Maye with her 3 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
“Raising three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren is not the hardest thing, the hardest thing is having a terrible spouse. I find my life better without him. Even though I didn’t have enough money to make ends meet at first, I didn’t get yelled at all the time.
It was not easy to leave, because I had lived in fear for a long time, I had no confidence in myself, I did not know if I could survive, but if I wanted to, I could still go back to that terrible situation, so I left to give myself and my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren a choice to have a better life,” said Mrs. Maye.
After becoming a single mother, Maye took on multiple jobs to support her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren: “I did everything, sometimes far from home. I went to work in the cold winter weather, but I didn’t have enough clothes and shoes to keep me warm. I kept telling myself that life would get better, but first I needed to work.
I have three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren to support and I am out on the streets all day looking for work opportunities. I have had to accept a lot of rejections, but I keep moving forward to find the next opportunity.”
From being a poor single mother to now being the mother of the richest billionaire in the world, Mrs. Maye has always worked tirelessly.
In her later years, Maye Musk herself always tried to pursue her studies, she became a qualified nutritionist, in addition, she still pursued a modeling career .
Billionaire Elon Musk once spoke proudly about his mother: “My mother always gave my brothers and I the freedom to do what we wanted. Even though we sometimes didn’t have enough to eat, she always prioritized our education. My mother rarely complained but always proactively found ways to overcome difficulties. Her attitude towards life was a valuable first lesson for my brothers and me.”
The secret to raising a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 to be a billionaire without money
Mrs. Maye Musk advises people not to treat their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren as ignorant 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, to teach them good manners but let them do what they want.
“I love my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren and am proud of everything they have accomplished,” said Maye Musk.
According to Maye, the most common mistake many parents make is to overprotect their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren or always consider them “too young”. She shared some of her views on parenting.
Let your 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren work from a young age
“I became a single mother of three when I was 31. I never felt guilty about working full-time, because I had no other choice. Taking care of my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren was always my top priority. I worked hard to keep a roof over my head, food on my table, and clothes on my back,” she said.
From her own experience, Maye believes that 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren should be given tasks that are within their abilities from a young age. “I started working for my father when I was 8 years old. My twin sister and I were paid 5 cents an hour to help him send out his monthly newsletter,” she said.
Mrs. Maye lets her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren “be independent” from a young age.
By the age of 12, she and her sister started working in the clinic as receptionists, doing tasks such as making tea and attending to patients. “My parents treated us like adults, people who could be trusted, and that had a huge impact on the way I raised my own 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren,” she said.
Maye took a similar approach with her three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. From an early age, they helped their mother with nutrition. Youngest daughter Tosca typed letters to doctors, and Elon helped her with paperwork. Second son Kimbal also did a lot of useful work.
“When we lived in Bloemfontein, South Africa, I brought Tosca to work at the modelling and image school I was running. Imagine an 8-year-old teaching catwalking, choreographing fashion shows, running etiquette classes. I even let her be the wardrobe girl in my shows,” she said.
No homework check
“I raised my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren as my parents raised us: to be independent, kind, honest, considerate and polite. I taught them the importance of working hard and doing good things. I didn’t treat them like babies or scold them. I never told them what to study. I didn’t check their homework because that was their responsibility,” said Elon Musk’s mother.
As they grew older, her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren continued to take responsibility for their own futures by making their own decisions. Tosca chose her own high school. All of her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren applied to the colleges of their choice and completed their own scholarship and student loan applications.
Children do not need to be sheltered from taking responsibility for themselves, says Maye.
Despite her family’s financial situation, her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren lived in pretty bad conditions, with no beds, just mattresses on the floor, shared by six friends in a run-down room, but they were fine. “If your 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren are not used to luxuries, they will survive. You don’t need to spoil them. Once you are sure they are safe, let them take care of themselves,” she said.
Maye says it’s easy for parents to get stressed about their kids. During her time as a nutritionist, she saw many parents so stressed that they stopped eating because they were busy filling out applications to help their kids get into good colleges.
“Let your kids prepare their own school or job applications. They have to take responsibility for their own future. If you think their business idea is good, support them. Teach them manners, but let them do what they want,” said Maye.
