He might be a billionaire and the richest man in the world, but Elon Musk apparently makes his own mum ‘sleep in a garage’ when she comes around to stay.
This might just be rich people speak, to be honest.
Maybe the ‘garage’ is actually some sort of huge mansion they have just nicknamed?
Still, we can only go on what we’ve heard, and what we’ve heard is that Maye Musk – Elon’s beloved mammy – has to get her head down in a garage when she visits her illustrious son.
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The 74-year-old has become something of a celebrity in her own right these days, and has opened up on the ‘hard times’ that she’s faced since splitting with Elon’s dad, Errol Musk.
Mummy Musk recognised her son’s talents at a young age, giving him the nickname ‘Genius Boy’ and claiming that she knew he was intelligent at the age of three.
All mums think that though, don’t they?
However, despite the size of his fortune, she claims he’s not interested in the trappings of wealth and ‘doesn’t even own a home’.
Maye credits Elon’s younger brother Kimbal with helping Elon to success.
She explained how the restauranteur and entrepreneur – who now sits on the board of both SpaceX and Tesla – helped Elon out from the beginning.
She said: “In the beginning, Kimbal was with him in the first company [a web software enterprise called Zip2] and Kimbal could explain what a computer is, what’s a cursor, what’s a mouse and the background as to why the programme is so great”.
She went on to explain how his success has allowed him to ‘mix with people who are also shy.’
Maye added: “All his engineers are shy and nerdy.”
Tell us what you really feel, Maye.
Still, when she heads on over to see him at his home in Boca Chica, where SpaceX bases operations, there’s no red carpet rolled out.
Maye continued: “I have to sleep in the garage. You can’t have a fancy house near a rocket site.”
Despite enjoying a good relationship with her wealthiest son, Maye’s advice hasn’t always been heeded.
She said: "He should do whatever he wants.
“I told him not to do an electric car as well as rockets and he didn’t listen to me.”
In hindsight, the cars and rockets have worked out OK.
Perhaps he can convert one of the rockets into a home for his mother to sleep on when she comes to visit?
Tom Wood