Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, has vehemently denied claims that his son performed a Nazi salute in a viral video from Donald Trump’s inauguration last month.
Errol’s comments come months after he claimed that Elon’s maternal grandparents were allegedly supporters of Hitler and had moved to South Africa to support the Apartheid government.
In recent days, Elon has called out his home country for what he believes are “racist laws” against white South Africans.
ERROL MUSK BACKTRACKS ON NAZI, HITLER CLAIMS?
Speaking on the Podcast & Chill episode on Monday, 10 February, Errol Musk rubbished claims that Elon performed a Nazi salute. Elon has also denied the claims.
Errol told co-hosts MacG and Sol Phenduka: “No man, that is nonsense. It’s what everybody does. Elon was very nervous on stage”.
When asked about Elon’s maternal grandfather, whom he earlier claimed was a supporter of Adolph Hitler, Errol responded: “That man came from a different generation. We can’t really understand [them]. They struggled and had their reasons for things.
He added: “He died in 1970 [1974], a long time ago. It’s too much and it’s too far away. Elon is a very good man, believe me”.
In a sit-down interview with Elon in November last year, Errol Musk expressed different views on the topic.
Of his ex-wife Maye, he said: “Her parents were fanatical in favour of Apartheid. They came to South Africa from Canada because they sympathised with the Afrikaner government. They used to support Hitler.”
He continued: “I don’t think they knew what the German Nazis were doing, but in Canada, they were in the German party, and they sympathised with the Germans.
“So when the Afrikaner government came into power here in 1948, then Maye’s father said he wants to be with the Afrikaners because he agrees with Apartheid. He came here with his family”.
Errol Musk claimed that he clashed with his in-laws as he was not a supporter of Apartheid.
He added: “That caused a lot of tension with me because I was a director of NUSAS (National Union of South African Students, which fought for non-racialism and non-sexism), which was an anti-Apartheid body. I argued with him a lot”.
WAS ELON MUSK’S GRANDFATHER SUPPORT APARTHEID?
According to various media publications, Errol Musk’s claims about his father-in-law, Joshua Haldeman, have been substantiated.
In an article for The Leader-Post, Haldeman said of SA and Apartheid: “The natives are very primitive and must not be taken seriously… Some are quite clever in a routine job, but the best of them cannot assume responsibility and will abuse authority. The present government of South Africa knows how to handle the native question”.
He also believed that the Apartheid government promoted the “white Christian civilization” in its fight against the “international conspiracy.”
Images via YouTube screenshot/ X: @elonmusk
MAYE DISTANCES HERSELF FROM SCANDAL
On her X account, Maye Musk has distanced herself from claims they are a “Nazi family.”
The former model and Miss SA contestant claimed that she had received numerous media queries to elaborate on the topic but had “deleted” them.
Of her childhood, she has tweeted: “I grew up in a happy home, as described in my book.” In another, she describes her father Joshua Haldeman as “magnificent and adventurous.”
She added: “My father’s motto was ‘live dangerously, carefully.’” A third, she tweeted: “My father was brilliant and interesting”.
In 2022, Maye clapped back at a New York Times article that suggested that Elon was born into “white privilege” and was “detached from Apartheid’s atrocities.”
She posted: “In South Africa if you publicly opposed Apartheid, you went to jail… Are you going to blame children for decisions made by governments?”
DO YOU THINK ERROL MUSK IS DOING DAMAGE CONTROL FOR HIS SON, ELON?
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