How Billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk went from loner in South Africa to richest man in the world

Billionaire Elon Musk is attempting to expand his booming business with a shock attempt to take over Twitter – which he would add to his already impressive roster of companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.

But while the eccentric businessman – who is the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $260 billion – is known around the world for his professional endeavors, quirky lifestyle, and rocky romances, his life has not always been so high-profile. 

In fact, Musk, 50, experienced a difficult childhood thanks to a rocky relationship with his father – who the SpaceX founder has described as ‘evil’ in the past and a seemingly-lonely upbringing. 

Now, it seems, Musk has moved far past the tough times, in order to attempt to once again make financial history with his attempted takeover of Twitter.  

The SpaceX founder announced on Wednesday that he wants to buy Twitter for $41.39 billion – offering $54.20 per share in cash. 

It’s been reported that Twitter’s board of directors is meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss Musk’s historic bid and ‘carefully review the proposal,’ and that the company plans to hold an all-hands meeting later in the day to update employees. 

Musk said that he is pursuing the takeover of Twitter not for financial gain, but for the ‘future of civilization,’ adding that he has a ‘Plan B’ if his initial $41.3 billion offer fails.

‘This is not about the economics,’ he said at the TED2022 Conference in Vancouver on Thursday afternoon, as it was reported that Twitter’s board is plotting to employ a ‘poison pill’ in order to stop his takeover attempt.

‘My strong intuitive sense is having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is important to the future of civilization. The civilizational risk is decreased the more we can increase the trust of Twitter as a public platform.

‘Twitter has become kind of the de facto town square, so it’s really important that people have both the reality and perception that they are able to speak freely, in the bounds of the law.’ 

According to Bloomberg, Musk is currently the wealthiest person in the world – with a net worth of around $260 billion.

Billionaire Elon Musk is attempting to expand his booming business. The SpaceX founder announced on Wednesday that he wanted to buy Twitter for $41.39 billion

How did Musk go from a nerdy child living in South Africa with an absentee mother and emotionally abusive father to the richest man on Earth? He is pictured as a baby with his dad

As he gears up to potentially purchase Twitter and expand is already-enormous list of business ventures, FEMAIL has taken a look back at his career. He is pictured in 2016

Besides launching his own aerospace manufacturing company – SpaceX – he also serves as the CEO of automobile company Tesla, Inc. and has created The Boring Company – a construction service dedicated to building tunnels.

He has also co-founded Neuralink, a neurotech company, and artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI.

Previously, he created Zip2 – an online directory that provided addresses and directions to newspapers – as well as X.com – an online banking system that was later turned into PayPal.

But how did Musk go from a nerdy child living in South Africa with an absentee mother and emotionally abusive father to the richest man on Earth? 

Musk didn’t have the easiest childhood – he was severely bullied by his classmates and it got so bad that he was once hospitalized after they pushed him down a set of stairs.

As he entered his teen years, he dreamed of moving to America but struggled to find the funds.

Against all odds, he eventually made it to the U.S. – through scholarships, loans, and working two jobs simultaneously – where he graduated from college and launched his first business.

But not without more hardship – while starting his primary company in 1995, Musk became homeless and had to sleep on the couch in hi
s office. 

As he gears up to potentially purchase Twitter and expand is already-enormous list of business ventures, FEMAIL has taken a look back at his career from start to finish – including how he escaped his abusive father to how he started his first million-dollar company without even having a place to live. 

Elon Musk’s childhood: How he overcame years of abuse from his ‘evil’ and ‘terrible’ father

Musk grew up with his mom, Maye, and his dad, Errol, and as his siblings – brother, Kimbal, and sister, Tosca. He is pictured (standing in the back) with his mom and siblings

Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa.

For the first eight years of his life, he lived with his mom, Maye – a dietician and a model from Canada – and his dad, Errol – a South African engineer – as well as his siblings – younger brother, Kimbal, and younger sister, Tosca.

He previously recalled his parents being absent for much of his childhood, revealing that he was often watched by a housekeeper.

‘I just had a housekeeper who was there to make sure I didn’t break anything,’ he recalled to Rolling Stone in a 2017 interview.

‘She wasn’t, like, watching me. I was off making explosives and reading books and building rockets and doing things that could have gotten me killed. I’m shocked that I have all my fingers.’

He fell in love with reading at a young age, and also credited ‘books’ with ‘raising him.’ 

As a young child, he had his adenoids – the lymphatic tissue located behind the nasal cavity – removed because doctors thought he was deaf.

However, his mother later realized that he could hear, and that he was just ‘in another world.’

The business mogul grew up wealthy, with his dad once claiming that they ‘had so much money, at times they couldn’t even close their safe.’

His parents divorced in 1980, and Musk went to live with his dad – which he later regretted.

‘It was not a good idea,’ he told the outlet, while reflecting on his decision to move in with his father.

Described as an ‘awkward and introverted’ kid, Musk (pictured left with his siblings and mother) was severely bullied by his classmates throughout his childhood

‘I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. He seemed very sad and lonely by himself. So I thought, “I can be company.”

‘Yeah, I was sad for my father. But I didn’t really understand at the time what kind of person he was.’ 

He went on to call his dad a ‘terrible human being,’ adding that he ‘carefully thought-out plans of evil.’

‘You have no idea about how bad [it was],’ he continued. ‘Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.’ 

He added that although Errol was emotionally abusive, he never physically hurt him. 

In a statement to the outlet, Musk’s father wrote: ‘I love my children and would readily do whatever for them.’ 

He also responded to Musk’s claims during an interview with DailyMail.com months later, saying, ‘Elon needs to grow up. He needs to get over himself. I’m not going to hit back.

‘I’m going to wait until he comes to his senses. He’s having a tantrum, like a spoilt child. He can’t have what he wants and now I am apparently an evil monster.’  

His parents divorced in 1980, and Musk went to live with his dad (pictured in 2014). But he later said his dad emotionally abused him and called him an ‘evil’ and ‘terrible human being’

Musk first became interested in computing and video games at age 10. By the time he was 12, he had already created his own video game – which he later sold to a company called Blastar for $500 after entering a local contest. 

Described as an ‘awkward and introverted’ kid, Musk was bullied throughout his childhood.

It got so bad that he even had to be hospitalized after a group of his classmates threw him down the stairs at one point. 

‘For the longest time, I was the youngest and the smallest kid in the class because my birthday just happens to fall on almost the last day
that they will accept you into school, June 28,’ he recalled to Rolling Stone.

‘And I was a late bloomer. So I was the youngest and the smallest kid in class for years and years. … The gangs at school would hunt me down – literally hunt me down.’

He began taking karate, judo, and wrestling classes so he could learn to defend himself. And when he started to fight back, the bullying ended.

Musk moved to Canada in 1989. He attended Queen’s University in Ontario for two years before he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995 (pictured left that year)

After graduating from Pretoria Boys High School, he decided to apply for a Canadian passport so he could get closer to the United States. While waiting to be approved, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months.

When asked why he wanted to move to North America, he later told 60 Minutes, ‘It seemed like the vast majority of such things came from the United States.

‘I also read a lot of comic books, and they all seemed to be set in the United States. So it’s like, “Well, I’m going to go to this place.”‘

He moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1989, where he lived with a second-cousin for about a year. During that time, he worked odd jobs at a farm and lumber-mill to get by.

The billionaire recalled his father telling him that he was ‘never going to make it’ right before he left.

‘[He said] I’m never going to make anything of myself. He called me an idiot all the time. That’s the tip of the iceberg, by the way,’ he told Rolling Stone.

He attended Queen’s University in Ontario for two years before he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1995.

During college, he interned at an energy storage company called Pinnacle Research Institute, and at the video game developer Rocket Science Games.

In 1995, he was accepted at Stanford University in California for a Ph.D. program, but dropped out two days into it. 

A deeper dive into the Musk family: How his siblings earned their own fame and fortune

Musk’s mother (pictured in 2011) has been a model for more than 50 years now, appearing in campaigns for magazines like Time, New York Magazine, Elle Canada, Women’s Day, and Vogue

Musk’s mother has been a model for more than 50 years now, appearing in campaigns for magazines like Time, New York Magazine, Elle Canada, Women’s Day, and Vogue, and for brands like Special K, Revlon, and Target.

Maye later recalled realizing that Musk was a ‘genius’ at age three

She starred in Beyoncé’s music video for her hit song Haunted in 2013, and made history in 2017, when she became CoverGirl’s oldest spokesmodel at age 69.

She also wrote her own memoir in 2019, called A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success.

While promoting the memoir, she recalled realizing that Musk was a ‘genius’ at age three.

‘Well at thee, I knew he was a genius, but you still don’t know if he’s going to do great things,’ she told CBS This Morning.

‘Because many geniuses end up in a basement being a genius but not applying it.’

In an essay for CNBC, Maye admitted to feeling guilty about ‘working full-time’ when her kids were young, but added that she ‘didn’t have a choice.’

‘Taking care of my children was the top priority; I worked hard to keep a roof over our heads, food in our stomach, and basic clothes on our back,’ she wrote.

She starred in Beyoncé’s music video for her hit song Haun
ted in 2013, and made history in 2017, when she became CoverGirl’s oldest spokesmodel at age 69. She is pictured in 2012

Musk’s siblings have launched major careers of their own. His brother, Kimbal (center), is a well-known restaurateur, chef, and entrepreneur, and his sister, Tosca (right) in a filmmaker

Musk’s siblings have launched major careers of their own over the years. His brother, Kimbal, is a well-known restaurateur, chef, and entrepreneur. 

He owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group – a collection of restaurants located throughout Colorado, Chicago, and Indianapolis.

He also founded an urban farming company called Square Roots, which focuses on growing food in indoor, climate controlled shipping containers.

He also sits on the boards of two of his older brother’s companies – Tesla and SpaceX – and he helped co-found the software company Zip2 with him in 1995.

He was married twice – first, to a woman named Jen Lewin whom he shares three kids with. 

He then married Christiana Wyly in April 2018, who is an environmental activist and the daughter of billionaire Sam Wyly. 

As for Musk’s sister, Tosca works as a filmmaker in South Africa and has made quite a name for herself in the movie industry.

She directed her first feature film, called Puzzled, in 2001 – and her older brother served as the film’s executive producer. She has since produced over a dozen movies, TV shows, and web series.

Musk’s growing business empire: How he went from a nerdy kid in South Africa to a billionaire mogul

In 1995, Musk founded a web software company called Zip2 with his brother, Kimbal, and businessman Greg Kouri.

In 1995, Musk founded a web software company called Zip2 with his brother, Kimbal, and businessman Greg Kouri. He is pictured in 1995

The company was funded by angel investors and it created an online guide which provided newspapers with maps, directions, and yellow pages.

And the tech mogul wants people to know that his dad did not help him start his first business.

‘One thing [my dad] claims is he gave us a whole bunch of money to start, my brother and I, to start up our first company. This is not true,’ he told Rolling Stone in 2017.

‘He was irrelevant. He paid nothing for college. My brother and I paid for college through scholarships, loans and working two jobs simultaneously.

‘The funding we raised for our first company came from a small group of random angel investors in Silicon Valley.’

While working on the company, Musk later revealed that he couldn’t afford to pay rent, so he often slept on a couch in his office and showered at the local YMCA.

‘When my brother and I were starting our first company, instead of getting an apartment, we just rented a small office and we slept on the couch,’ he said in 2014. 

‘We showered at the YMCA and we were so hard-up that we only had one computer.’ 

It’s been said that when he and Kimbal disagreed on business matters, they would settle them by wrestling. 

He recalled working on the website ‘seven days a week, all the time,’ and would often stay up all night coding it.

Eventually, Zip2 was purchased by Compaq for $307 million in 1999. Through the sale, Musk received $22 million for his seven per cent share.

He then went on to co-found X.com – an online financial service. It took off pretty quickly – earning more than 200,000 customers during its initial months of operation. 

He then went on to co-found X.com – an online financial service. It took off quickly – earning more than 200,000 customers during its initial months of operation. Musk is pictured in 2000

The company eventually merged with Confinity – who owned PayPal – and in 2000, Musk was replaced as CEO with Confinity founder Peter Thiel. The company then renamed X.com to PayPal, and sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion. Musk and Thiel are pictured in 2000

The company eventually merged with Confinity – who owned PayPal – and in 2000, Musk was replaced as CEO with Confinity founder Peter Thiel. 

The company then renamed X.com to PayPal, and sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion. Musk was still the largest shareholder at the time, and received $175.8 million from the sale. 

After becoming inspired by Mars Society’s plans to place a small greenhouse on Mars and grow plants on the planet, Musk tried to obtain refurbished missiles from Russia.

However, after he was told that he’d have to pay $8 million to purchase the missiles, he decided to start a company that could build its own affordable rockets – and SpaceX was born. 

‘After my second or third trip back from Russia, I was like, “Whoa, there’s got to be a better way to solve this rocket problem,”‘ he said at the 2018 South by Southwest conference.

Convinced that he could bring down the cost of getting to space, he teamed up with rocket engineer Tom Mueller to found SpaceX in 2002 – originally called Space Exploration Technologies Corp. – using $100 million of his previous fortune. 

SpaceX launched its first rocket, called Falcon 1, in 2006, but it failed to reach Earth’s orbit.

After becoming inspired by Mars Society’s plan to place a small greenhouse on Mars and grow plants on the planet, Musk (pictured in 2004) tried to obtain refurbished missiles from Russia

However, after he was told that he’d have to pay $8 million to purchase the missiles, he decided to start a company that could build its own affordable rockets – and SpaceX was born

The company has gone on to release a series of space transportation devices, and has become one of the most successful aerospace manufacturers in the world

Musk invested $6.5 million – becoming the majority shareholder – in Tesla Motors in 2004, an electric car company. He became CEO in 2008

The company faced two more failed attempts before it successfully made it into orbit in 2008. 

The company has gone on to release a series of space transportation devices, including the Falcon 9 rocket, and has become one of the most successful aerospace manufacturers in the world. 

SpaceX has also launched its own satellite internet constellation called Starlink  – which provides internet coverage to 29 countries on Earth.  

Musk invested $6.5 million – becoming the majority shareholder – in Tesla Motors in 2004, an electric car company. 

He then became heavily involved in the company and was promoted to CEO in 2008.

Tesla’s stock has continuously risen since its first initial public offering in 2010, and as of 2020, it was considered the most valuable carmaker in the world. In October 2021, it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion.  

In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity – a solar energy company created by Musk’s cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive – and together, they created Tesla Energy.

Inside Musk’s rollercoaster love life: How he has fathered seven children with two women and gone through multiple divorces 

Musk and his first wife, Justine Wilson, met while they were both attending Queen’s University, and they tied the knot in 2000

They couple tragically lost their 10-week old son, Nevada Alexander, in 2002, when he died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Musk is pictured with his triplets, who were born in 2006

Musk’s love life has been heavily covered in the media throughout his career – going through multiple divorces (including two with the same wife he married twice) and welcoming seven kids along the way.

He and his first wife, Justine Wilson, now 49, met while they were both attending Queen’s University, and they tied the knot in 2000.

While discussing the day they first met, Wilson described Musk as a ‘clean-cut, upper-class boy with a South African accent who appeared in front of her one afternoon as she was leaping up the steps to her dorm,’ during an essay for Marie Claire, which was written in 2010.

‘He said we’d met at a party I knew I hadn’t been to. (Years later, he would confess that he had noticed me from across the common room and decided he wanted to meet me.)

‘He invited me out for ice cream. I said yes, but then blew him off with a note on my dorm-room door.

‘Several hours later, my head bent over my Spanish text in an overheated room in the student center, I heard a polite cough behind me.

‘Elon was smiling awkwardly, two chocolate-chip ice cream cones dripping down his hands. He’s not a man who takes no for an answer.’

They then  welcomed twins Griffin and Xavier (pictured with Musk and his second wife, Talulah Riley, in 2010), in 2004, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, in 2006

Their five children have largely managed to remain out of the spotlight. Twins Griffin and Xavier are pictured with Musk and his second wife, Talulah, in 2010

They couple tragically lost their 10-week old son, Nevada Alexander, in 2002, when he died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

They then welcomed twins Griffin and Xavier, now 17, in 2004, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, now 15, in 2006; all five of the children were conceived via IVF.

In her essay, Wilson recalled feeling more like an ’employee’ than a ‘wife’ to Musk.

‘He had grown up in the male-dominated culture of South Africa, and the will to compete and dominate that made him so successful in business did not magically shut off when he came home,’ she explained.

‘This, and the vast economic imbalance between us, meant that in the months following our wedding, a certain dynamic began to take hold.

‘Elon’s judgment overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking. “I am your wife,” I told him repeatedly, “not your employee.”

‘”If you were my employee,” he said just as often, “I would fire you.”‘

She said that what ultimately led to their divorce in 2008 was a car accident, where her first thought was, ‘My husband is going to kill me.’

She added: ‘In my mind’s eye, I could suddenly see myself: a woman who’d gotten very thin, and very blonde, stumbling out of a very expensive car with the front-left wheel smashed in.

‘I barely recognized myself. I had turned into a trophy wife – and I sucked at it. I wasn’t detail-oriented enough to maintain a perfect house or be a perfect hostess.

Musk and Wilson split in 2008. Twins Griffin and Xavier are pictured with Musk and his second wife, Talulah, in 2015 

It was revealed in 2018 that all of boys were being educated at a radical, ultra-exclusive school set up by the Tesla founder at his SpaceX headquarters. His son Saxon is pictured in 2017

As of 2018, the ‘experimental school’ was being attended by a very small, select group of students, including Musk’s five sons. Kai (left) and Damian (right) are pictured in August 2017

‘I could no longer hide my boredom when the men talked and the women smiled and listened. I wasn’t interested in Botox or makeup or reducing the appearance of the scars from my C-sections.

‘And no matter how many highlights I got, Elon pushed me to be blonder. “Go platinum,” he kept saying, and I kept refusing.

‘Not long after the accident, I sat on our bed with my knees pulled up to my chest and tears in my eyes. I told Elon, in a soft voice that was nonetheless filled with conviction, that I needed our life to change.

‘I didn’t want to be a sideline player in the multimillion-dollar spectacle of my husband’s life. I wanted equality. I wanted partnership. I wanted to love and be loved, the way we had before he made all his millions.’

After one month of counseling, Musk filed for divorce. As of 2010 when the essay was written, Wilson said she and Musk were ‘estranged,’ but that she did not regret their relationship.

‘Although I am estranged from Elon – when it comes to the children, I deal with his assistant – I don’t regret my marriage,’ she wrote.

‘I’ve worked through some anger, both at Elon for rendering me so disposable, and at myself for buying into a fairy tale when I should have known better.

‘But I will always respect the brilliant and visionary person that he is. I also can’t regret the divorce (our case was bifurcated, which means that even though the property issues aren’t settled, our marriage is legally dead).

Following his split from Justine, Musk began dating British star Talulah Riley, who is most known for her role in Pride & Prejudice. They are pictured in 2012

‘Elon and I share custody of the children, who are thriving. I feel grounded now, and deeply grateful for my life.’

Their five children have largely managed to remain out of the spotlight, although it was revealed in 2018 that all of boys were being educated at a radical, ultra-exclusive school set up by the Tesla founder at his SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

The ‘experimental’ school, which is called Ad Astra, meaning ‘to the stars’ in Latin, was set up in 2014.

It was said that they met at a bar in London, with Ashlee Vance writing in her book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, that they ‘hit it off immediately.’ They are pictured in 2013

As of 2018, it was being attended by a very small, select group of students, including Musk’s five sons and the offspring of several SpaceX employees.

Although few details about the school’s methods have been revealed, some reports suggest that its students are subjected to a host of very unconventional teaching techniques.

Previous reports on Ad Astra also stated that the children are allowed to skip any subjects they don’t like, spend time building flamethrowers and learn how to ‘defeat evil A.I.s.’

Musk created Ad Astra to ‘exceed traditional school metrics on all relevant subject matter through unique project-based learning experiences,’ according to a previously unreported document filed with the IRS and uncovered by tech-focused publication Ars Technica.

Following his split from Wilson, Musk began dating British star Talulah Riley, who is most known for her roles in Pride & Prejudice, St. Trinian’s, Fritton’s Gold, The Boat That Rocked, Inception, Westworld, and Bloodshot. 

It was said that they met at a bar in London, with Ashlee Vance writing in her book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, that they ‘hit it off immediately.’

‘I remember thinking that this guy probably didn’t get to talk to young actresses a lot and that he seemed quite nervous,’ Riley said of the night they met.

‘I decided to be really nice to him and give him a nice evening. Little did I know that he’d spoken to a lot of pretty girls in his life.’

Rile, now 36 – who was a virgin when she began dating Musk in 2008 – first tied the knot with the Tesla architect in 2010.

Riley, now 36, first tied the knot with Musk in 2010, but they split in 2012, when she walked away with $16 million as part of a divorce settlement. They are pictured in 2011

They remarried the next summer. In March 2016, RIley requested a divorce again, and the pair split for good. They are pictured in 2014 (left) and 2015 (right)

However, their first marriage ended in 2012, when she reportedly walked away with $16 million as part of a divorce settlement.

‘It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day,’ he tweeted at the time.

By the following summer, they had remarried. But then, in December 2014, she filed for divorce a second time, only to withdraw her lawsuit the following year.

In March 2016, Riley requested a divorce a third time, and the pair split for good; the couple did not have any children together. 

Musk told Forbes at the time, ‘We took some time apart for several months to see if absence makes the heart grow fonder, and unfortunately it did not. 

‘I still love her, but I’m not in love with her. And I can’t really give her what she wants.’

He also called her ‘a great woman’ and said he will ‘always be friends’ with her.

At the time, he said he had no interest in marrying again for a while, adding, ‘I think it would be extremely unwise for me to jump into a third marriage without spending considerable time figuring out if the third one will work.

‘It was never my intention to have a short marriage. Essentially I’d want to be super sure before getting married again, but I certainly would love to be in a relationship. For sure.’ 

Musk dated actress Amber Heard, 35, for several months in late 2016 and early 2017, after he reportedly pursued her for many years.

Musk dated Amber Heard (pictured in 2017) for several months in late 2016 and early 2017. After they split, he said he was ‘really in love’ with Heard and that their breakup ‘hurt bad’

Heard’s ex-husband Johnny Depp later accused Amber of cheating on him with Musk while they were still married, but both of Musk and Heard denied the affair. They are pictured in 2017

Heard’s ex-husband Johnny Depp later accused Heard of cheating on him with Musk while they were still married, but both Musk and Heard denied the affair. 

They split in the summer of 2017, and afterwards, he told Rolling Stone in 2017 that he was ‘really in love’ with Heard and that their breakup ‘hurt bad.’

‘She broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think,’ he told the outlet at the time.

‘I’ve been in severe emotional pain for the last few weeks. Severe. It took every ounce of will to be able to do the Model 3 event and not look like the most depressed guy around. For most of that day, I was morbid.’

He continued, ‘If I’m not in love, if I’m not with a long-term companion, I cannot be happy.

‘I will never be happy without having someone. Going to sleep alone kills me. It’s not like I don’t know what that feels like: Being in a big empty house, and the footsteps echoing through the hallway, no one there – and no one on the pillow next to you. F**k. How do you make yourself happy in a situation like that?’

Musk then began dating singer Grimes in April 2018, a month before they made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala.

A source told Page Six at the time that they met online ‘through a joke about artificial intelligence that Musk had planned to tweet, but discovered Grimes had already made.’

Musk and singer Grimes began dating in April 2018 after reportedly meeting online, a month before they made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala (pictured)

Rumors started to swirl that they had split by that fall, however, Grimes insisted that they were still together during a March 2019 interview. She and Musk are pictured in 2018

Then, in January 2020, she announced that she was pregnant with their first child via Instagram. They then welcomed their son, whom they call X, in May of the same year

Rumors started to swirl that they had split by that fall, after the pair unfollowed each other on Twitter, however, Grimes insisted that they were still together during a March 2019 interview with Wall Street Journal.

Then, in January 2020, she announced that she was pregnant with their first child via Instagram, when she shared a pic of her baby bump, with no caption.

They then welcomed their son in May of the same year, who they named X Æ A-12, but they call him ‘X’ fo
r short.

Describing her role in her son’s life, Grimes told Vanity Fair that she has taken responsibility for ‘handling his creative stuff,’ while she notes that Musk ‘really sees [X] as a protégé.’ Musk and X are pictured in February 2021

‘Describing her role in her son’s life, Grimes told Vanity Fair that she has taken responsibility for ‘handling his creative stuff,’ while she notes that Musk ‘really sees [X] as a protégé.’ 

Just over a year after welcoming their son, who now 23 months old, Musk told Page Six that they were ‘semi-separated.’ 

‘We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,’ he said in September 2021.

‘It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in LA. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.’

Grimes relocated in December from her home in Los Angeles to a property in Austin, Texas, where she is currently residing in a ‘sleepy neighborhood cul-de-sac’ that is located ‘a short drive’ away from Tesla’s factory.

They then welcomed their second child via surrogate that same month – a baby girl named Exa Dark Sideræl.

According to the singer, the newborn’s quirky first name, Exa, was inspired by the supercomputing term exaFLOPS, which is ‘the ability to perform one quintillion floating-point operations per second,’ while her second name Dark, is a nod to dark matter and ‘the unknown.’

‘People fear it but truly it’s the absence of photons. Dark matter is the beautiful mystery of our universe,’ she told the magazine.

Finally, Sideræl, which is pronounced sigh-deer-ee-el, is a ‘more elven spelling’ of sidereal, which Grimes described as ‘the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time.’

Their daughter’s third name is also a reference to Grimes’ favorite Lord of the Rings character, the elf Galadriel. The couple will call their baby daughter ‘Y’ for short.

They then welcomed their second child via surrogate that same month – a baby girl named Exa Dark Sideræl 

Grimes said she wants to keep her daughter’s life as private as possible – unlike her son X (pictured in November 2021) who has been featured numerous times on his father’s social media

During the time of the Vanity Fair interview, Grimes said she ‘would probably refer to Musk as her boyfriend,’ adding that the relationship was ‘very fluid.’

She said: ‘We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time…. We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it. This is the best it’s ever been…. We just need to be free.’

However, after it came out, she took to Twitter to reveal that they had since broken up.

‘Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article,’ she wrote on March 10. ‘But he’s my best friend and the love of my life.’

Both Grimes and Musk noted to Vanity Fair that their current separate living situation is the best for both of them, explaining that they each have very different needs and likes when it comes to creating a home.

While Musk likes things to be ‘reasonably neat,’ Grimes is described as taking a more creative, artistic approach to her home. She also enjoys Japanese art and anime, which the Tesla founder explained he ‘doesn’t like.’

Grimes said she was determined to keep her daughter’s life as private as possible – unlike her son X who has been featured numerous times on his father’s social media accounts, and has been seen out in public with his parents on several occasions.

She noted that her son ‘out there’ because Musk has been ‘bringing him to everything,’ however she doesn’t want her daughter to have the same attention. Musk and X are pictured in December 2021

During the time of the Vanity Fair interview, Grimes said she ‘would probably refer to Musk as her boyfriend.’ However, after it came out, she took to Twitter to reveal they had broken up

She noted that her son ‘is just out there,’ largely because Musk has been ‘bringing him to everything,’ however she is eager to ensure that her daughter will not have to face the same public scrutiny, even stating that ‘the best situation’ for the parents would be for ‘her to train the girl’ and for ‘him to train the boy.’

‘Didn’t mean for them to find out about my daughter so please respect her privacy as I’d love her to be able to live as private of a life as possible,’ she added on Twitter, while discussing the article.

‘This is the last time I’ll do any traditional press [cause] I’m a pretty private person. Haven’t done press in a long time [cause] my personal life is so mad and I think it’s hard to foreground my work but also maybe it’s all intertwined at this point.’

Aside from his complex dating life, Musk’s living condition is also somewhat of a mystery.

It is currently unclear where exactly the business mogul – who has an estimated net worth of around $221 billion – is living.

He announced last year that he was ‘selling almost all physical possessions,’ including several California properties amounting to more than $100 million – and $15 billion worth of Tesla stock.

He purportedly then moved into a 75-square-foot $50,000 ‘Tiny House’ close to SpaceX’s Starbase rocket-launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.  

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