Harper\'s Bazaar USA - 12.2019

“Shall we get

ready for space?”

asks Maye Musk,

216

holding out a silver flight

suit. “I haven’t been, but it

seems fun.” For a second I

think she’s serious. After all,

as the mother of tech genius

Elon Musk, she’s got some

inside knowledge of the sub-

ject. But though we’re sur-

rounded by astronaut helmets

and NASA patches, we’re not

in one of her son’s top-secret

labs. Instead we’re perched

on a cliff in the Hollywood

Hills, where Musk poses

gamely for a retro-fabulous

space fashion shoot inspired

by one of Richard Avedon’s

iconic Bazaar spreads. There

are giant sunglasses and moon

boots. There are reflective

running jackets and piles of

toy rockets. And there are

trays of red CoverGirl lipsticks

because—as the eldest cam-

paign star in the beauty

brand’s history—Musk is always prepared to go glam.

It wasn’t always the case. For most of her 20s, Musk was held

captive in a viciously abusive marriage, one that left her penniless

and fearing for her life. After escaping with her three children—Elon,

then eight; plus younger siblings Kimbal, now an eco-food mogul;

and Tosca, a film producer and director—she rebuilt her life as a

dietitian and model for catalogues and department stores. (She

would later walk couture for Dolce & Gabbana, “but that wasn’t

until my 60s!”) Musk is finally ready to share her extraordinary

journey, in the book A Woman Makes a Plan (Viking), which will

be published December 31. It includes not just memories but also

life advice, her beloved bean soup recipe, and never-before-seen

photos from Musk’s family vault.

The story begins with her action-packed childhood. Born in

Canada, Musk grew up mainly in South Africa, where her adven-

turous family searched for the fabled Lost City of the Kalahari in

her father’s tiny plane. (“It sounds like DuckTales!” I tell her as we

sip tea in her seaside condo. “Is that a cartoon?” she asks. “We didn’t

have TV in South Africa. Over there a ducktail means a gangster.”)

Then Musk reveals her journey from beauty pageant winner to

renowned nutritionist, as well as her parenting path with three

precocious children. “You want to know how to raise a genius?

People ask me all the time,” she says. “But I think what I did was

leave them alone to develop their own passions and give them the

freedom to explore their own ideas. Of course, the kids had limits—

they knew if they were disruptive when I was working, I wouldn’t

have a job. Then they wouldn’t have a home! I was always truthful

with them. I guess in a sense I didn’t treat them like children; I treated

them like people.” It worked. When she encouraged Elon, then 12,

to submit a computer program he’d designed to his favorite computer

magazine, the publication not only printed it, but he received a check

for $500. “I don’t think they knew he was 12,” she says with a laugh.

“And there was the time that Tosca sold our house and car without

asking me so we could move to Canada, where Elon was living. She

was 15, but she acted like an adult, so nobody questioned her.” Musk’s

reaction? “Maybe next time you can forge my signature better!”

But while Musk was raising free-range kids, she was also trapped

in a violent marriage. “It was really uncomfortable to discuss at first,”

she recalls. “People think I’m positive and fun. But I had to talk about

what I endured,” including physical and emotional abuse and a

decade’s worth of custody lawsuits post-divorce. “Everybody I knew

called him ‘the Pig’ because he treated me so badly in public. And

I was too scared to tell anyone [about the deeper violence]. Like

every abused woman, I was embarrassed, and I knew I had made a

mistake, you know?” Musk grimaces and hooks her long, pale fingers

into one another. “He told me over and over that I was stupid, ugly,

boring. He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. Once

the kids were living with me, they visited their father some weekends.

He would throw out everything they arrived with, so I had to buy

them all new clothes and school things. Then he’d sue me and say

that I was unfit to parent. He saw a blister on Tosca’s mouth and

said I was malnourishing her. He saw a bruise on Kimbal’s arm—

imagine, an active little

boy with a bruise!—and

said I was beating him.”

According to the

book, five-year-old

Elon tried to stop his

father from beating his

mother by hitting him

on the knees. Even so,

when he was 10, Elon

chose to move to his

father’s home. “That’s

because of his evil

grandmother,” Musk

says. “She made him

feel guilty. She said, ‘Oh,

your mother has all of

you kids. Your father’s

so hurt because he’s

all alone. Do you want

Moon landing. Above and opposite page: Space suit, helmet, and boots, Global Effects Inc.

Right: Musk with her daughter, Tosca, and sons, Elon and Kimbal.

FAMILY PHOTO: COURTESY THE MUSK FAMILY