Elon Musk's Father Isn't Thrilled About His New Role In Trump's Administration

Since his 2024 election win, Donald Trump has seemingly been joined at the hip with his new BFF, Elon Musk. Although Trump accidentally confirmed that Musk was getting super annoying in mid-November, the close bond between them is obvious, and is likely rooted in deep similarities. As a source explained to Politico, the entrepreneurs-turned-politicians are two peas in a pod: "Elon is probably the only other man in the world who can truly relate to President Trump." However, not everyone ships this peculiar pair. Elon's father, Errol Musk, doesn't seem thrilled about his son's new role in the Trump administration. 

In an interview with Al Arabiya News (via YouTube), Errol shared his two cents about how Elon's appointment to the Department of Government Efficiency could negatively impact his many other ventures. As Errol pointed out, Elon already has a very full plate: "He has a couple hundred thousand employees and a lot of very serious things going on in his life, so he has to be available for all that. He started all that, and he has to continue [it]." He went on to explain that people in positions of power, like Elon, have extremely limited time to invest in new tasks and initiatives. 

Although he'll be paired with fellow Trump supporter Vivek Ramaswamy, it's certainly possible that Elon will find himself struggling to balance his DOGE duties with running his multiple businesses. However, given Elon's estranged relationship with his father, we have a feeling Errol would doubt his son's abilities to juggle this task regardless of whether or not he already has a full plate. 

Elon Musk is undeniably outspoken, and he has never shied away from sharing his true feelings about Errol Musk. Although what we know about Elon's father is very limited, Elon's past comments suggest that Errol may not have been an ideal parent. For example, the entrepreneur candidly described the man who raised him to Rolling Stone: "He was such a terrible human being. You have no idea." Although Elon was relatively vague about what "terrible" meant, he did reveal one very telling detail: his father doubted his ability to succeed from very early in his life. 

After Elon moved to Canada at 17 years old, his father reportedly had zero expectations for his son. "He said rather contentiously that I'd be back in three months, that I'm never going to make it, that I'm never going to make anything of myself. He called me an idiot all the time," he recalled. These comments would be hurtful for most young adults to hear, and it's hard not to wonder if some of Elon's seemingly limitless entrepreneurial drive comes from a desire to prove his father wrong. If so, successfully managing his businesses while actively participating in DOGE could be yet another opportunity to do just that.