SHOCKING! Elon Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, unexpectedly shocked the internet by revealing her glamorous, hidden past as a Miss South Africa finalist!
Elon Musk’s mother surprises the internet with a rare throwback: She reveals her glamorous past as a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant – fans are shocked by Maye Musk’s hidden past as a beauty queen!

Maye Musk – the mother of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk – has reflected on her time as a South African beauty queen, including being a finalist in the Miss SA pageant.
The author and model spent their formative years in South Africa with her three children from her ex-husband Errol Musk before moving abroad.
Maye now lives in New York.
Elon Musk’s mother recounts her failure in a look back at the finalists
In a tweet this week, Elon Musk’s mother recounted her youth in South Africa, where she was, among other things, an aspiring model and participated in beauty pageants.
The 76-year-old posted a picture of her first magazine cover—Power Boating in 1976. As the winner of Miss Vaal, Maye—then still under her maiden name, Haldeman—appeared in the fishing and watersports magazine sporting her beauty pageant crown.
Elon Musk’s mother, Maye Musk.
Later that year, Maye competed in the Miss SA pageant and was a finalist. She appeared on the cover of The Sunday Times. Linda Collett was ultimately crowned the winner.
Maye tweeted: “I probably didn’t win because I gained 13 kilos. I was under a lot of stress because it was my final year at an Afrikaans university and I was struggling with the language. I think many international students will understand how difficult it is to take exams in another language.”
Maye is referring to her time at the University of Pretoria, where she earned a bachelor’s degree.
A year after participating in Miss SA, Maye married Errol Musk and later had children Elon, Kimbal and Tosca.
WHERE DOES MAYE ORIGINALLY COME FROM?
Although Maye Musk lived in South Africa for many years, she was born in Canada. Her family moved to Pretoria when she was just two years old.
After their divorce in 1979, Elon moved in with his father, while his mother lived in Bloemfontein. At the age of 18, Elon emigrated to Canada, and his mother and siblings followed him a few years later.
Elon Musk, his siblings, and his mother, Maye, later moved to the United States, where they are permanent residents.