Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Elon: The Musk-see pictures
Visits to England on family hols
IT was clear that even as a child billionaire Elon Musk would go far.
His dad Errol tells how once on a trip to England he dropped off his son at a playground in the Wirral only to find he had vanished when he returned.
“We called the police and the search for him went on until 10pm,” said Errol. “Then the phone rang and it was Liverpool police saying they’d got him. He was 10 miles from the park and was with this lady.
“She told the police she was giving him milk and biscuits, and he was watching the television.”
As it’s revealed that Elon’s family are from Liverpool, these previously unseen pictures are of his childhood holidays with brother Kimbal and sister
Tosca – some in Britain.
The 51-year-old Tesla founder, who grew up in South Africa, picked strawberries and attended Wimbledon during his early trips to the UK. Errol, 76, told the Sunday Mirror: “The first time I took Elon to England was when he was six years old. He loved going to Wimbledon. He also loved going to the fruit fields in the summer and picking strawberries.”
Elon can be seen happily tucking into the fruit in one of our snaps.
His childhood was in stark contrast to the humble beginnings of his grandmother Cora Amelia, who grew up in poverty in Liverpool. Cora’s sister died of scarlet fever when she was just six. Errol went on to tell how Cora was raised in an extremely poor area and was “quite hard up” during her childhood, but she and her siblings were part of a proud, hard-working family.
Her brother Ken Robinson was revealed as an RAF hero. He served as a bomber gunner during WWII , losing his leg and an eye in battle.
Errol himself spent several years in Liverpool during his childhood.
He recalled memories of having a bath only once a week and living on rations during the 1950s.
However, he eventually became a
millionaire, running an engineering firm in South Africa.
His son followed in his footsteps and is now the world’s richest man, worth an estimated £214billion.
Elon’s relationship with his father became strained after he left South Africa to study in the US. The billionaire accused his dad of emotional abuse in a Rolling Stones interview, describing him as “evil” and a “terrible human being”.
He reportedly went “berserk” when he found out that Errol was having a child with his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout. And Errol confirmed
this week he had had a second child with the 36-year-old daughter of his ex-wife Heide. Despite this, Errol denies he and his son are estranged and insists they communicate regularly.
The dad of seven said he is excited to meet Elon’s new twins, who he recently revealed he had fathered with his employee Shivon Zilis. It brings Elon’s tally to 10 kids. Errol described Shivon as “exceptionally beautiful” and a “worthwhile match” for his son.
Elon’s father has now started a new YouTube channel called Errol Musk – Dad of a Genius