Tech billionaire Elon Musk's father, Errol Musk, argued there's no way his son could be racist due to his past relationships with the "black servants" who worked for the family in apartheid South Africa.
After the Tesla CEO faced scrutiny for criticizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Errol Musk was confronted by inquiries about his son's animosity toward the program.
In an email statement to the Washington Post, the elder Musk said his two sons were never interested in political matters growing up.
"They were not into political nonsense, and we lived in a very well-run, law-abiding country with virtually no crime at all," he said. "Actually no crime. We had several black servants who were their friends."
Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971 during apartheid South Africa, or as his father described, a "well-run, law-abiding country."
Stemming from a belief in racist superiority, apartheid was the system of racial segregation and discrimination that was enforced by the country's National Party government in 1948.
It was dismantled in 1994 with the release of anti-apartheid activist and politician Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners.
Many thought Errol's comment about his son not being racist was questionable.
Social media users stated the obvious.
Rudolph Pienaar, a former Pretoria Boys High School classmate who graduated with Musk in 1988, shared with the Post how Musk's privileged upbringing prevented him from fully understanding living with the country's legalized racism that supported the need for separate development of different racial groups since 1948.
“We grew up in a bubble of entitlement,” said Pienaar, adding:
“I am not sure if Elon can conceive of systematic discrimination and struggle because that’s not his experience."
"His life now in some ways is how it was under apartheid—rich and entitled with the entire society built to sustain him and his ilk.”
Musk has faced racism accusations and waning popularity since he aligned himself with the convicted felon in the West Wing and gave what appeared to be the Nazi salute at his inauguration.
