Elon Musk's estranged father has been accused of sexually abusing five of his children and stepchildren over the past three decades, according to a new investigative report that claims family members repeatedly reached out to the tech mogul for help.
A New York Times investigation found the sex abuse allegations were a significant factor in the schism between Musk and his father, who is accused of committing the abuse in South Africa and California since 1993, according to police and court records, as well as personal correspondence, communications with social workers and interviews with family members.
"The earliest accusation was in 1993 when Errol Musk’s stepdaughter, then 4 years old, told relatives he had touched her at the family house," the Times reported. "A decade later, the stepdaughter said she caught him sniffing her dirty underwear. Some family members have also accused Errol Musk of abusing two of his daughters and a stepson. And as recently as 2023, family members and a social worker attempted to intervene after his then 5-year-old son said his father had groped his buttocks."
"Three separate police investigations were opened, according to police and court records, as well as family members," the newspaper added. "Two of the inquiries ended, while it’s unclear what happened in the third. Errol Musk, 79, has not been convicted of any crime."
Family members have turned to the tech executive, who is Errol Musk's eldest child, for help, and the Times reviewed a five-page letter written around 2010 imploring him to intervene in the matter.
“We really need your advice, help and guidance in these matters because we daily see these children suffer,” the relative wrote in the letter.
It's not clear whether Elon Musk, who briefly served as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump before a falling out, read the letter, but one of his assistants communicated with a family member about the allegations, and the billionaire has provided financial support for a former stepmother and two half sisters.
He has extended financial assistance to a former stepsister and tried to keep his stepfamily and half-siblings in California, far away from his father, the report stated.