Elon Musk’s father Errol Musk, urged the public to "ignore" his son's controversial online comments. Responding to the tech billionaire's criticism of United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Errol downplayed his son's influence, calling him "just a person" and encouraging people to dismiss his remarks.
“People don't have to listen to what he says,” Errol said of his son during an interview with LBC on Monday (January 6).
The 79-year-old discussed his son’s interest in UK politics amid Elon’s recent accusations that the UK’s Prime Minister failed to address serious crimes years ago.
The Prime Minister (PM), Sir Keir Starmer, has faced criticism from Elon, who accused him of failing to address grooming gangs—groups involved in the organized sexual exploitation of children—during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.
Elon Musk’s father Errol Musk, urged the public to "ignore" his son's controversial online comments
Image credits: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
In response, the PM reportedly said that Elon was "desperate for attention" and urged him to stop spreading “lies” and "whipping up intimidation.”
As a result, Errol encouraged the public to disregard his son's online messages. However, he also criticized the UK, describing it as "draconian".
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“The fact that he has money or something, he's a billionaire or something to that effect.
"I mean, hundreds of thousands of people are tweeting the same things or saying the same things as he is.
"So I wouldn't just because he's a person that stands out more that they can knock him or just don't listen to him, that's all.
Responding to the tech billionaire's criticism of United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Errol downplayed his son's influence
Image credits: LBC
"I'd say don't worry about it. Tell him to get lost."
The South African man went on to defend his son’s interest in UK politics by citing his deep ties to England, including childhood visits and milestone celebrations.
This comes after Errol recently spoke about his 53-year-old son’s pronatalist beliefs, which emphasize the idea that population growth is humanity’s most important objective.
Image credits: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
Elon’s outspoken advocacy for pronatalism has sparked debate as he has been frequently warning of a global population decline on social media.
"Population collapse is coming... Earth is almost empty of humans," the richest man in the world wrote recently on social media.
"Instead of teaching fear of pregnancy we should teach fear of childlessness," he added.
Errol called Elon "just a person" and encouraged people to dismiss his remarks
Image credits: PowerfulJRE
Elon has 11 living children with three women. With his first wife, Justine Musk, he has six children: twins Griffin and Vivian, aged 19, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, aged 17.
He also has three children with musician Grimes: son X Æ A-12, aged three, daughter Exa Dark Sideræl ("Y"), aged two, and a third child, Techno Mechanicus ("Tau"), whose age is not publicly known.
Additionally, the businessman shares twins, now aged one, with Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive.
Image credits: LBC
"Elon doesn't try to push his opinion across, but he will have an opinion," Errol, who has seven children himself and is also a pronatalist, told Sky News in November 2024.
He continued: "We're not here to enjoy boating or flying or skiing or kite surfing, or something.
"We are here to continue being here. We should all be worried about declining populations, any country with any industry should be worried."
“People don't have to listen to what he says,” Errol said
Image credits: Real Time with Bill Maher
While Elon became the first person to reach a net worth of $400 billion in 2024, his success can be attributed to more than just personal ambition.
He was born into a wealthy family with ties to diamond mining in Africa, giving him a privileged start in life.
In a 2015 interview with Forbes, Errol revealed that his parents were the first to ever fly from South Africa to Australia in a single-engine airplane.
His grandmother broke barriers of her own, becoming the first-ever chiropractor in Canada.
Image credits: LBC
Errol told Business Insider South Africa that he once owned half of an emerald mine in Zambia, which he claimed to have purchased on a whim.
Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from South Africa to England to sell the aircraft — but when they couldn't make a scheduled stop in Saudi Arabia, he pivoted his plan and changed his life.
He recalled: "We were going to fly into Jeddah and there was a religious holiday, and they said if we come in now we have to pay $2,000, but if we wait 10 days we can come in at no charge.
"So we decided to head back to Lake Tanganyika from where we were, I think we were in Djibouti."
"Kinda hard not to listen to him when he's buying social media platforms," a reader commented
