Elon Musk's Father Errol Musk Faces Child Sex Abuse Allegations Detailed in New Investigation
A new investigation by The New York Times has revealed multiple allegations of child sex abuse against Errol Musk, the estranged father of Elon Musk. The claims, spanning decades and involving five of his children and stepchildren, are supported by police reports, court documents, family letters, and interviews with relatives and social workers.
A New York Times investigation reveals multiple child sex abuse allegations against Errol Musk, which he denies, spanning South Africa and California.
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Errol Musk, 79, who lives in South Africa, has not been charged with or convicted of any crimes. He strongly denied the allegations, calling them “false and nonsense to the extreme.” He further suggested that family members were encouraging children to fabricate claims in order to obtain money from Elon Musk.
One of the earliest allegations dates back to 1993, when a stepdaughter from Errol’s marriage to Heidi-Mari Bezuidenhout alleged that he touched her inappropriately at their Pretoria home. Relatives reported the claim to authorities, but charges were later withdrawn as part of the couple’s divorce settlement. Errol has maintained that two judges dismissed the accusations, though the Times was unable to verify those claims through court records.
In 2002, while living in a Malibu home purchased by Elon Musk, the same stepdaughter—then 14 years old—reported that she found Errol in her bedroom allegedly sniffing her underwear. Police were called, a complaint was filed with child protective services, and a restraining order was reportedly issued. Errol denied wrongdoing, claiming he was simply cleaning the room after a family trip.
Following the incident, Elon Musk is said to have relocated his father from Malibu to a boat in Los Angeles before he ultimately returned to South Africa. By 2003, Errol and his family had moved back permanently, and he divorced Bezuidenhout again in 2005. Four years later, the stepdaughter accused him of kissing her inappropriately, leading to an interim protection order being granted in South Africa. Errol denied this allegation as well.
As an adult, the stepdaughter later struggled with drug abuse and homelessness. She told the Times that her drug use was linked to the trauma she experienced growing up. The relationship with Errol became further complicated when, at 29, she had a child with him. Errol has admitted to the relationship but declined to specify how many children they share.
In 2022, family members alleged that Errol groped his five-year-old son. A police investigation was opened but ultimately dropped due to insufficient evidence. Errol again dismissed the claim as baseless.
Additional allegations included abuse toward a stepson, who later died in a car accident, and Errol’s two daughters with Bezuidenhout. References to these allegations appeared in letters sent to Elon Musk by family members in the mid-2000s. Errol denied all further claims, describing them as “absurd.”
Elon Musk has not publicly commented on the Times investigation. Over the years, however, he has spoken candidly about his strained relationship with his father. In a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, he described Errol as “such a terrible human being” and accused him of committing “almost every crime you can possibly think of.” In Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography, Elon recalled that his father was “uncomfortably attentive” toward his stepsister and admitted anger at what he described as inappropriate behavior.
