Honoured guest, unwanted visitor. How Elon Musk’s father charmed the Kremlin and outraged Russian farmers

How Elon Musk’s father charmed the Kremlin and outraged Russian farmers

Errol Musk is best known as the father of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. But over the past year, the 80-year-old South African businessman and engineer has also become a frequent and celebrated guest in Russia, appearing on state television, meeting with regional governors and far-right oligarchs, and attending an Easter service alongside Vladimir Putin. Not everyone has welcomed him with open arms, however. His plan to resettle South African farmers in Russia has sparked backlash among locals. Novaya Gazeta Europe explains how Errol Musk became Russian propaganda’s new favourite foreigner and champion of “traditional values” — despite the fact that several of his own children have accused him of sexual abuse.

“[The authorities] are planning to build African villages all over our country! And each one, built with our money, can hold up to 5,000 Africans. They’ll be fed and given healthcare, cows and jobs,” Olga, a resident of Russia’s Vladimir region, says angrily at a citizen’s gathering outside the presidential administration reception office. “And do you know what’s in store for our farmers? A measly payout! Errol Musk, Elon Musk’s father, plans to bring 50 families to farm in the Vladimir region. I just have one question: Why does Putin allow this? Why aren’t people outraged?”

On 6 May, a video of Olga was posted to the Agrarian Council (AC) Telegram channel, an informal network of farmers from across Russia. Throughout May, the AC campaigned extensively against Errol’s plans to resettle 50 families of white South African farmers, who are supposedly fleeing “the escalating conflict with the local Black population” in South Africa, to the Vladimir region. As Errol met with the regional governor, AC activists appealed to any authority they could to try and stop him.

The AC itself emerged from a movement associated with conspiracy theorist and fringe spiritual healer Svetlana Lada-Rus. Her political party, Volya, was later banned as extremist in Russia, though a mix of nationalist rhetoric and conspiracy theories continues to attract supporters.

“After the US Justice Department released the Epstein files, we saw the ruling elite and the ultra-rich for what they really are — and we were horrified. Everyone realised that the world is ruled by satanists, paedophiles and even cannibals,” reads one AC post about Errol. “It would appear that Errol Musk is one of them.”

A year ago, most Russians had never heard of Elon Musk's father. That changed in June 2025, when Errol came to Russia as an honorary guest at the Forum of the Future — 2050. The event was organised by the Tsargrad Institute, founded by far-right oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, who helped bankroll the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Errol Musk, Sergey Lavrov and Russian preacher Andrey Tkachev were the event’s most high-profile attendees.

“It’s more of a freak show,” historian and sociologist Nikolay Mitrokhin told Novaya Gazeta Europe. “Musk’s father is a freak, Lavrov is a war criminal, Tkachev is absolutely insane. Two thirds of the speakers were complete nobodies.”

The Kremlin, however, seemed impressed. State media eagerly quoted Errol’s speech, in which he called Moscow the capital of the world and Russians among the smartest people on earth. He soon became a regular on pro-government talk shows, where he expressed his desire to visit the occupied territories of Ukraine. “Yes, I’d like to see the regions that have reunited with Russia,” he said. “Those artificial borders that were drawn, they serve no purpose.”

In October 2025, Errol was invited to attend the 20th anniversary of Russian state television channel RT at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where Putin spoke. It was likely there that the two met, an encounter Errol has mentioned at every opportunity since. Errol also stopped in Kazan, where he boasted that the city was superior to the West in every way and called it a “wonderful surprise” he would be sure to recommend to his “boys”, Elon and Kimbal. In April 2026, Errol attended Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, again in Putin's company. His visits quickly became a staple of Russian media coverage, with outlets tracking his every move.

For each appearance, Errol reportedly charges close to two million rubles (around €24,000) per hour. But what makes him so valuable to the Kremlin is the Musk name. Errol has become, in effect, an unofficial ambassador for his son in Russia, allowing pro-Kremlin media to attribute his praise to Elon.

State TV host Andrey Malakhov even devoted a whole episode of his show to him, titled: How do you raise a genius? “Lots of smacks on the backside,” Errol answered. “That’s it.” But the reality of his family life tells a different story.

Errol’s marriage to Elon’s mother, Maye Haldeman, lasted nine years. After the couple divorced, Maye described the marriage as violent, detailing a constant atmosphere of fear. “He told me over and over that I was stupid, ugly, boring,” she recalled. After she filed for divorce, he showed up at her home with a knife. She fled into the street and soon obtained a restraining order against him.

His wealth came from emerald mining in Zambia, a business he himself describes as operating “under the table.” But Errol’s money largely ran out with the end of apartheid in South Africa, leading his sons to financially support him on the condition, Elon wrote on X, that he “not do bad things.” “Unfortunately,” Elon added, “he did do bad things.”

“He was such a terrible human being. You have no idea,” Elon said of growing up with his father. “Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.”

After his divorce from his first wife, Errol married a widow named Heide Bezuidenhout and became stepfather to her three children, including a four-year-old named Jana. According to a New York Times investigation published in September 2025, five of Errol's children and stepchildren alleged sexual abuse. The first reported incident dates to 1993, when a young Jana reportedly told her aunt, who says they immediately went to the police. Errol denies all of it.

Jana later became his third wife. They have two children together.

“The Russian people didn’t invite Errol Musk, we don’t need an American billionaire on Russian soil! We, the native Russian people, are categorically against granting Russian citizenship to Errol Musk,” reads one of the Agrarian Council’s latest appeals. “We do not agree to the mass resettlement of Black people, people from South Africa, and other countries in Vladimir, Tver, and other regions of Russia.”

The AC’s campaign against Errol’s resettlement plans for South African farmers ultimately succeeded. The Vladimir regional administration promised to hold off on bringing in foreigners and a representative for Errol expressed regret that the idea had generated such a negative reaction.

For the Kremlin, Errol Musk remains a valuable guest as a famous last name willing to sing Russia’s praises. But beyond that, his actual influence is likely to remain minimal, like that of other Western celebrities who discovered a warm welcome as supporters of Putin’s Russia.