Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), has become a polarizing figure in global politics, often aligning himself with far-right movements and controversial ideologies. But Musk’s political leanings are not an anomaly within his family. A closer look at his family history reveals a troubling legacy of far-right activism, white supremacy, and ties to apartheid-era South Africa—a legacy that stretches back to his grandparents and beyond.
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The Grandparents’ Nazi Sympathies
While Musk’s recent endorsements of far-right political parties like Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) and his promotion of conspiracy theories like the “great replacement” have drawn widespread criticism, the roots of his family’s political ideology run much deeper. Musk’s maternal grandparents, Joshua Haldeman and Wyn Fletcher, were prominent Canadian doctors who openly supported fascist ideologies in the 1940s, including sympathies with Adolf Hitler’s regime.
In an interview, Musk’s father, Errol Musk, acknowledged this dark chapter of family history.
“They used to support Hitler and all that sort of stuff,” Errol said of his ex-wife’s parents. “But they didn’t know, I don’t think they knew what the Nazis were doing. But they were in the German Nazi party but in Canada. And they sympathized with the Germans.”
Haldeman and Fletcher’s far-right activism didn’t end with World War II. After the war, explicit support for Nazi ideology became taboo in Canada, prompting Haldeman to relocate his family to apartheid South Africa, where his views found a more welcoming environment. In South Africa, Haldeman became an outspoken advocate for apartheid, delivering speeches that echoed white supremacist rhetoric. In one 1950s address, he claimed apartheid South Africa was leading “White Christian Civilization” against an “International conspiracy of Jewish bankers” and the “hordes of colored people” he alleged they controlled.
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The Musk Family’s Apartheid-Era Wealth
This ideology was passed down to Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, who has remained a staunch supporter of far-right politics throughout her life. Maye has publicly endorsed Donald Trump and promoted anti-immigrant rhetoric, including claims that Democrats “ship illegal immigrants” across the Mexican border to secure votes—a narrative rooted in the white supremacist “great replacement theory.”
Musk’s father, Errol, also embraced far-right politics and amassed significant wealth through investments in emerald mines in Zambia during the apartheid era. The Musk family’s fortune, which laid the foundation for Elon’s rise to becoming the world’s richest man, was built on the exploitation of African labor and resources during a time of systemic racial oppression.
Elon Musk’s upbringing in apartheid South Africa further contextualizes his political evolution. Born in 1971, Musk grew up during a period of intense racial tension and state violence. The apartheid regime, led by figures like Prime Minister John Vorster—a former member of a pro-Nazi militia—enforced a brutal system of racial segregation and white supremacy. Musk attended elite, predominantly white schools that propagated the ideology of Christian nationalism, which Vorster himself compared to Nazism and fascism.
Musk’s formative years in this environment have led some to draw connections between his upbringing and his current political stances. His recent embrace of far-right conspiracy theories, his hostility toward diversity initiatives, and his alignment with figures like Donald Trump and Steve Bannon suggest a continuity with the ideologies that shaped his family’s history.
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The Global Recycling of Fascist Ideologies
The Musk family’s story is not unique in the context of global imperialism and the recycling of fascist ideologies. After World War II, many former Nazis and fascist sympathizers found refuge in countries like the United States, Canada, and South Africa, where their ideologies were repurposed to serve imperialist agendas. For example, the U.S. government’s “Operation Paperclip” brought over 1,600 Nazi scientists and engineers to America, while Canada granted amnesty to Ukrainian Nazi SS officers like Yaroslav Hunka.
In South Africa, the apartheid regime provided a haven for white supremacists and far-right activists from around the world. The Musk family’s migration to South Africa and their subsequent rise to wealth and influence exemplify how fascist ideologies were integrated into the structures of apartheid and global imperialism.
Today, Elon Musk wields unprecedented influence as a tech billionaire and public figure. His ownership of X has turned the platform into a hub for far-right rhetoric, while his financial support for far-right political parties in Europe underscores his alignment with reactionary movements. As Musk continues to shape global discourse, the dark history of his family serves as a reminder of the enduring legacy of fascism and white supremacy in the modern world.
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Confronting the Legacy
The Musk family’s story is a microcosm of a broader pattern: the recycling of fascist ideologies by imperialist powers and the ruling class. The echoes of this history resonate deeply, stretching from the oppressive systems of apartheid South Africa to the influential hubs of Silicon Valley. They compel us to take on questions about the structures of power, the unearned privileges they uphold, and the unsettling resilience of far-right ideologies in shaping our modern world. This legacy challenges us to confront not only the past but also the ways in which these ideologies continue to infiltrate and distort the present, demanding a reckoning with the moral and ethical foundations of our global society.
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