Elon Musk’s Family History: His Bloodline is Much More Disturbing Than You Think

 

Elon Musk’s family roots in far-right politics and apartheid reveal the origins of his ideologies.

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.

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.  (more...)

Elon Musk’s Family History: His Bloodline is Much More Disturbing Than You Think