It was 2022. The pandemic had just ended. I was invited to speak at a Tamil entrepreneurial event in New York. One of the other speakers was a former Tesla executive.

At the end of the event, I saw a massive rush of kids running toward him, eager to talk about—of course—Elon Musk. He was mobbed.

• "What’s it like working for him?"

• "Have you been in the same room as him?"

• "Have you touched him?"

• "Did you sleep in the office like Elon?"

The excitement was palpable. That’s when I realized something—Elon Musk isn’t just a hero to the younger generation; he is something beyond that.

And to be honest, until a few years ago, even 55-year-old me was an Elon Musk fanboy—until I learned who he really was.

For those who haven’t had the chance to learn what I’ve learned about Elon Musk, here’s something you should know. Please read.

The Legacy of Elon Musk’s Family

Elon Musk’s grandfather, J.N. Haldeman, an American-Canadian, was part of the Technocracy movement, which believed that scientists and engineers—not the people—should rule. He was also the national chairman of the Social Credit Party, a movement notorious for its antisemitic views at the time.

In 1950, just two years after South Africa institutionalized apartheid, Haldeman moved his family from Canada to South Africa and became a vocal defender of the apartheid regime. He was a pro-apartheid, antisemitic conspiracy theorist who blamed much of what bothered him about the world on Jewish financiers.

Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, was a businessman who immensely benefited from apartheid. He owned a lucrative emerald mine in Zambia, generating significant wealth. While Elon Musk has often downplayed his family’s fortune, Errol Musk himself admitted that at one point, they had so much money they "couldn’t close the safe."

Meanwhile, young Elon was flying around in private jets.

And let’s not forget—Errol Musk had a child with his own stepdaughter and justified it by saying, "The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce."

This was the environment Elon Musk grew up in. Of course, we can’t blame him for the actions of his father or grandfather. But I share this as context for what comes next.

Elon Musk’s Personal Life

Elon Musk has 14 children from four different women.

In fact, he had two children within the span of two weeks—from two different women.

Two of these women are suing him for being an absent father.

Two of his own children have denounced his last name and cut ties with him.

You might ask: Why does this matter? This is his personal life.

Well, this is where my problem starts, son.

If he were just another entrepreneur, I wouldn’t care.

But here you are, worshipping him like a god.

What You’re Really Saying When You Idolize Musk

By holding up Elon Musk as your role model, you are also endorsing:

• It’s okay to have children with multiple women at the same time.

• It’s okay to be an absent father.

• It’s okay to treat women as tools for reproduction—as long as you build electric cars, send rockets to space, and dig tunnels under cities.

Here is another truth you might not be willing to accept:

Elon Musk didn’t create Tesla, and he is the biggest 'welfare queen' in America.

Elon Musk didn’t create Tesla; he financed it. Tesla was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk later took over as CEO and continues to call himself the founder.

By worshipping him, you are redefining what it means to be an entrepreneur—suggesting that financiers, rather than builders, are the true creators.

So where does that leave the real entrepreneurs who actually build companies from the ground up?

And let’s not forget—none of Elon Musk’s companies would exist today without government subsidies, the same subsidies he now opposes. When Tesla was on the brink of collapse, Barack Obama’s administration provided it with a massive government loan. Now, Musk aligns himself with people who questioned whether Obama was even born in the U.S.

Just as Musk treats his children as vanity objects, he cares nothing about you or humanity, no matter what you may believe.

Elon Musk cares only about Elon Musk. And by the way, on February 25, 2025, he tweeted, “Canada is not a real country.” Remember that every time you sing:

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.

Your Real Heroes Are Closer Than You Think

Here’s something you may have forgotten:

Your parents lived through one of the most brutal civil wars in Sri Lanka.

They survived each day, fearing for their lives.

They lost everything and came to Canada with nothing.

They worked multiple jobs, went days without sleep, and sacrificed their dreams so that you could be here today—educated, successful, and with a future ahead of you.

If you’re looking for true inspiration, you don’t have to look far.

Your Appa and Amma are the real heroes.

Elon Musk is the opposite.

PS: There was an article published on the Oxford University Student Body claiming something called “Elon Musk Fanboy Syndrome.” It refers to the phenomenon of individuals exhibiting excessive and often unquestioning admiration for Elon Musk, characterized by glorifying his wealth, making excuses for his actions, and turning a blind eye to his problematic conduct. Google it.