Elon Musk’s biographer Walter Isaacson has made several shocking revelations about the billionaire’s complicated relationship with his father Errol Musk, revealing that the Tesla CEO has always been driven by his turbulent past and childhood demons.
In Isaacson’s bestseller book ‘Elon Musk’ published earlier this year, the author touched upon several traumatic memories from the billionaire’s past which feature his relationship with “abusive and manipulative” father Errol.
While speaking to host Steven Bartlett on his podcast The Diary of a CEO, Isaacson revealed that a specific incident from Musk’s past left a lasting mark on him. He talked about how Musk was bullied when he was in school, and Errol was far from supportive.
Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, was “a scrawny kid on the spectrum of autism” and was often the target of school bullies. He lacked social skills and had no friends when he was younger, making him an easy target.
When Errol called son Elon Musk a loser
Isaacson said on the podcast, “He had no social input-output skills. He had no friends and he was beaten up quite often. But the scars from that were minor compared to what happened when he went back home after being beaten up once. He was in the hospital for four days.”
Elon Musk returned home after being hospitalised for four days, but Errol Musk ended up taking the side of the bully in the incident, saying that his son was a “loser” for getting beaten up.
The author further revealed, “His father made him stand in front of him for two hours, while the father tells him he’s a loser, that it was his fault.” This being one of many traumatic incidents of his life, Elon Musk no longer speaks to his father.
The biographer also revealed that Errol Musk’s relationship with his stepdaughter has had a lasting impact on Elon, taking a toll on his mental health. For the unversed, Errol Musk has fathered two children with a woman he raised as his stepdaughter.