Did Elon Musk's Dad, Errol Musk, Really Marry His Stepdaughter? What You Need To Know

Errol Musk, the father of billionaire Elon Musk, is no stranger to controversy. While Elon continues to dominate global news with his active involvement in politics and business, his father's complicated personal life continues to attract attention.

Recently, Errol gave a candid interview on a podcast and discussed many aspects of his life. During the conversation, he openly criticised his son's parenting style, saying that 'he [Elon] hasn't been a good dad,' a move deemed to stir up tension between them.

However, the public's attention is now focused on Errol's relationship with his former stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout. In the interview, Errol opened up about his controversial romance with the daughter of his ex-wife, Heide Bezuidenhout, to whom he was married for 18 years.

But how did Errol end up courting his stepdaughter, and did he marry her as well? Here is everything you need to know.

Who is Errol Musk?

Born in South Africa, Errol Musk came from a family of achievers. His father was the first to fly a single-engine plane from South Africa to Australia, and his grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada.

As an engineer, businessman, and even a one-time politician, Errol's achievements are not to be overlooked. However, despite his professional success, his personal life has often raised eyebrows.

Errol's first marriage to model Maye Haldeman resulted in three children: Elon, Kimbal, and Tosca. But their divorce in 1980 marked the beginning of a turbulent personal life. Errol has publicly admitted to having extramarital affairs, which he claims played a part in the breakdown of his marriage.

According to reports, Maye described Errol's behaviour as emotionally abusive during their relationship. Eventually, the couple got divorced, and it became the first in a series of complex relationships that would later define Errol's narrative.

The Controversial Relationship With His Stepdaughter

However, Errol's most shocking relationship is with Jana Bezuidenhout, the daughter of his second wife, Heide Bezuidenhout. After marrying Heide in the early 1990s, Errol became stepfather to Jana, who was just four years old at the time. But their story didn't end there.

In 2017, after divorcing Heide in 2004, Errol rekindled his relationship with Jana, which soon became romantic.

In the podcast, Errol revealed that in 2014, Jana reached out to him during her 'struggling' years. 'If I don't get help, I'm going to commit suicide, so then I thought I better go and see her,' Errol said. 'So I drove to where she was and met her, and her legs were like broom handles.' Errol added that he decided to offer to help Jana, who was already a mother to a 7-year-old daughter.

According to Errol, he helped Jana with money and resources for over two years. Then, in 2016, she contacted him again. 'She said she's on the street, and this chap has thrown her out of this place that they were staying in as they hadn't paid the rent,' Errol said in the podcast, adding that he then invited Jana to stay at his property, where they got along romantically really well. During this time, Jana was reportedly 28 and Errol 69.

While speaking on his relationship with Jana, Errol once told the Times, 'We were lonely, lost people. One thing led to another — you can call it God's plan or nature's plan.'

The two's age difference—41 years—made their relationship all the more controversial. However, Errol has repeatedly insisted that he never viewed Jana as a stepdaughter because she was raised away from the Musk family for much of her childhood.

In 2017, the couple had their first child, a son named Elliot, followed by a daughter in 2019. However, it was never confirmed that they were married at any point.

Meanwhile, Elon was reportedly furious upon learning that his father has two children with his former stepdaughter, especially since Jana had been a part of the Musk family for years.

Elon Musk's Response

Elon Musk's reaction to the news of his father's relationship with Jana has been far from forgiving. In his biography, written by Walter Isaacson, the Tesla CEO described how difficult his childhood was growing up with Errol, recounting instances of emotional abuse.

While speaking to Rolling Stone, Elon once said, 'In my experience, there is nothing you can do. Nothing, nothing. I wish. I've tried everything. I tried threats, rewards, intellectual arguments, emotional arguments, everything to try to change my father for the better, and he... no way, it just got worse."

In the biography, Isaacson shared that Elon was 'creeped out' and reached a new low when Elon learned of Errol's relationship with Jana.

Meanwhile, public reaction has been critical of Errol's relationship with Jana. Many have pointed to the troubling power dynamics, particularly the big age gap and that Jana had once been a young child under Errol's care.

In interviews, Errol has defended his actions, insisting that his relationship with Jana was nothing more than two adults finding each other after years of separation.