Over a four-hour lunch, Errol Musk defends a harsh upbringing, attacks Starmer and Minton Beddoes, and explains why he paid for Tommy Robinson's Russia trip.
Errol Musk walked into the restaurant in Langebaan, on South Africa's west coast, with a flash of white teeth and a firm handshake. The 80-year-old former emerald dealer settled on a Castle Lite beer and a small sirloin steak. Over the next four hours, he gave the Financial Times' Africa Editor David Pilling an unfiltered tour of his worldview – and his relationship with his son, the world's richest man.
"I'm his father, not his pal," Errol said at one point, recalling how he responded when 12-year-old Elon was beaten so badly by a school bully that he spent a week in hospital. Errol was unsympathetic. The phrase became a refrain.
Father and son are talking again after years of estrangement. They message each other, Errol said, signing off with the Afrikaans "lief vir jou" – I love you. Their politics have converged on a range of issues, including the European far right and what they see as Britain's decline.
Errol defended a harsh Pretoria upbringing. "I grew up in a very harsh South Africa. Thrashings were part of every day," he said, adding that his own father Walter's disciplinary methods were no exception. He denied abuse allegations levelled against him by five children and stepchildren, first reported by The New York Times. He has never been convicted of any crime. He also denied ever hitting his first wife Maye Haldeman, a beauty queen who said she returned from their European honeymoon "bruised and pregnant".
Russia and Putin
Errol lavished praise on Vladimir Putin's Russia. He was invited last year to the Forum of the Future in Moscow to discuss traditional family values and population decline – a topic where Errol, with 23 grandchildren, has done his bit.
"Russia is amazing. Russia is a secret that is hidden from us," he said. "Moscow is by far the most beautiful capital city in the world." He found Putin to be "a very humble kind of guy, no airs or graces".
When challenged on whether Putin is a dictator and a warmonger, Errol pushed back. "The whole world is authoritarian," he said, adding that Russia was justified in invading Ukraine, which he claimed attacked Donbas first.
Tommy Robinson and legal fees
Errol paid for Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – to attend Russia's anti-Davos conference this July. Robinson had heard a TV interview in which Errol called him a future British prime minister and called from prison to say thank you.
"'Thank you, bruvver,'" Errol said in a faux Cockney accent. "Then Elon immediately arranged for all his legal fees to be paid."
Why support Robinson, a man apparently set on fomenting anti-Muslim vigilantism in Britain? "I completely agree with him. I think you English are very short-sighted to give away your capital," Errol said. "London has such a marvellous history and now three-quarters of Londoners are from somewhere else."
When Pilling challenged the "three-quarters" figure, Errol pressed on. "You've got to really have a screw loose to do that."
Starmer, Minton Beddoes and Fauci
Errol turned to Keir Starmer. "I've done a lot of ocean trips on yachts. If Keir Starmer was on board, I'd push him off. He's a real bad piece of work. He's gay."
Starmer is not gay, Pilling said. Errol said his objection was to Starmer's alleged negligence as director of public prosecutions during the grooming gang scandal.
On Elon's recent interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor of The Economist, Errol was blunt. "Stupid woman. I wanted to give her a facelift." He said Minton Beddoes' comment that people loathe Elon would have hurt his son. "He's a bit childlike – and with young boys you have to be careful what you say."
Elon is 55, Pilling said. "Yes, but he's very much like a boy."
Errol moved on to Anthony Fauci, who he is convinced is going to jail. Covid was a scam, both harmless and part of a plot to reduce the global population. Michelle Obama is a man, he said. Throughout, he betrayed little anger.
"You look quite healthy," Errol said hopefully, after noting that Pilling had taken a Covid booster.
He stood up to go. "I've enjoyed this," he said. "Don't crucify me."
The FT was paying for the steak.
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