San Francisco: SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a rare and emotional reunion with his father Errol Musk after seven years of estrangement. The father and son met at the launch site of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, the world’s most powerful launch system, in Boca Chica, Texas, on November 18, 2023.
Errol Musk, a 77-year-old engineer and pilot, had flown from South Africa to witness the historic launch of Starship, which aims to send humans to Mars for the first time. He was accompanied by his ex-wife Heide Musk and their daughters Tosca and Kimbal.
Heide Musk told CNN that the meeting between Elon and Errol was a very emotional moment for the whole family. “They talked for a long time. Seeing this was a very emotional moment for me and our daughters. We were speechless,” she said. “The meeting brought tears of joy to the family. It was quite an emotional moment. Both Errol and Elon were very happy to see each other. Both of them met as if no time had passed.”
Elon and Errol had a bitter fallout in 2016, when Errol revealed that he had fathered a child with his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout, who was 42 years younger than him. Elon had called his father “a terrible human being” and “a maniac” in an interview with Rolling Stone. He also said that he had not spoken to his father for years and that he did not want to have anything to do with him.
However, Errol had always expressed his admiration and gratitude for his son’s achievements. He had said that he was proud of Elon and that he was managing well. He had also attended Elon’s 70th birthday celebrations in Cape Town, Africa, in 2016, which was the last time they had met before the Starship launch.
The Starship launch was a success, as the rocket reached orbit and returned safely to Earth. Elon Musk celebrated the milestone with his family and his girlfriend Grimes, who had also flown to Texas to support him. He said that the launch was a step closer to his vision of making humanity a multi-planetary species.
