Realized my child was a prodigy at the age of 3 because he liked to “reason” with his mother.
In a recent television interview, 74-year-old model Maye Musk revealed that she knew her son was a prodigy since Elon Musk was 3 years old. She remembered that when she registered her son for kindergarten, when she told the teacher that her son was a prodigy, the teacher was… “wide-eyed” in surprise.
“I knew my son was special from the beginning. When Elon was 3 years old, I sent him to kindergarten and told the teachers at school that my son was a prodigy, everyone was surprised. Elon was quite shy, so people did not see the genius side of him back then.
“I was the only person Elon felt comfortable talking to, so I knew that. Ever since he was little, Elon liked to use logic to talk to me and remember everything that happened around him,” Maye recalled.
However, Mrs. Maye herself never thought that her son could reach the level of success he has today, becoming one of the world’s richest billionaires and successful in many fields.
At work, Elon Musk often shares his plans with his mother. Previously, the billionaire confided in his mother about his plans to pursue the development of solar energy technology, electric cars, rockets, spaceships…
Whenever her son shared such grand plans with Mrs. Maye, she always advised him to give up and take a break, because she saw that her son was working too hard and might be stressed. But Elon often did not listen to his mother. As a result, we all have seen in the present, Elon Musk has become the richest billionaire in the world.
After all, Mrs. Maye realized: “My son should be free to pursue everything he wants. I have advised Elon to back out of many plans, and he has never listened to me, and we all see the results.”
Elon Musk was very shy and afraid to communicate when he first started his business.
Maye said that Elon Musk was initially shy and had difficulty communicating, even in his adult years. Maye said that it was her second son, Kimbal Musk, who helped his brother Elon Musk achieve his first success in the business field.
The brothers and some partners founded a computer software company in 1995. The company was later sold for $307 million in 1999. Elon Musk received $22 million for holding 7% of the company’s shares.
According to Ms. Maye, because his younger brother Kimbal was there, Elon did not have to make an effort to explain his ideas to his colleagues and partners, because Kimbal did that task. Thanks to that, Elon did not need to appear or communicate much.
After achieving some success in business, Elon Musk now understands that he can no longer avoid the media and meetings and dialogues.
Elon had to step into the “light” to build his personal image, with the hope that this could positively support the future projects that Elon Musk pursues.
“I remember the first time I read an interview with Elon, I was so shocked that I called my son and asked, ‘Hey Elon, did you just do an interview?’ My son said, ‘No one will sell me rocket building equipment because they don’t know who I am, I’ve never appeared in an interview before, Kimbal has always done that for me.’”
Decided to get out of a marriage with a terrible spouse
Talking about her broken marriage with Mr. Errol Musk, Mrs. Maye said that she often had to listen to angry yelling and screaming from her terrible spouse, so she decided to divorce and take her 3 children with her.
Life was very difficult financially at first, but she felt comfortable mentally: “Raising three children was actually not the hardest thing, the hardest thing was having a terrible spouse. I found my life better without him. Although at first, I didn’t have enough money to cover my living expenses, I didn’t get yelled at all the time.
Leaving was not easy because I had lived in fear for a long time. I had no confidence in myself. I didn’t know if I could survive. But if I wanted to, I could still go back to that terrible situation. So I left to give myself and my children a choice for a better life.”
After becoming a single mother, Maye took on multiple jobs to support her children: “I did all sorts of jobs, some of which were far from home. I went to work in the freezing winter weather, but I didn’t have enough clothes and shoes to keep me warm. I kept telling myself that life would get better, but first I needed to work.
I have three children to support and I am out on the streets all day looking for work opportunities. I have also had to accept a lot of rejections, but I keep moving forward to find the next opportunity.”
The secret to raising children successfully without money
Maye married engineer Errol Musk at the age of 22 in South Africa. The couple has three children, the eldest of whom is billionaire Elon Musk. All three of her children have impressive careers in different fields. In addition to Elon being the richest technology billionaire in the world, her second son – Kimbal Musk – has founded a chain of restaurants operating on a farm-to-table model.
Her youngest daughter, Toscar Musk, is a filmmaker. During her nine-year marriage to Errol, Maye endured abuse. At the age of 31, Maye decided to divorce, taking her three children with her and entering the life of a single mother. Elon Musk is her most famous child, the other two children are also Maye’s great pride.
After several years as a single mother in South Africa, Maye returned to her home country of Canada with her children. At that time, the four of them lived in a rented apartment in Toronto, Canada.
In her later years, Maye Musk herself always tried to pursue her studies, she became a qualified nutritionist, and in addition, she still pursued a modeling career.
From being a poor single mother to now being the mother of the richest billionaire in the world, Mrs. Maye has always worked tirelessly.
When asked about the secret to raising children to be good adults, some even becoming extremely successful like billionaire Elon Musk, Ms. Maye said she has no special secret.
Billionaire Elon Musk once said about his mother’s way of raising children: “My mother always gave my brothers and me the freedom to do what we wanted. Even though we sometimes didn’t have enough to eat, she always prioritized our education. My mother rarely complained but always proactively found ways to overcome difficulties. Her attitude towards life was a valuable first lesson for my brothers and me.”
For her part, Maye Musk remembers her upbringing fondly. Her father was a doctor who ran a private practice. She began working at her father’s clinic after school at the age of eight as a receptionist. She was paid a serious salary, which became Maye’s monthly allowance.
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