Elon Musk is a Racist Piece of Shit, and There is a Reason Why.....

Yes, it was a Nazi salute. But this goes way deeper than that.

Update: Included data and citation from Joshua Benton

Look, we need to talk about Elon Musk's childhood, because holy shit - this guy grew up in one of the most fucked up social systems of the 20th century. While everyone knows him as the dude who's sending cars to space and tweeting himself into trouble, his early years in apartheid South Africa shaped him in ways that we're probably still seeing today. Let's dive into this mess and see what we can learn about how growing up in a system of institutionalized racism might have influenced the world's sometimes-richest man.

The Reality of Apartheid South Africa

When Elon popped into existence in Pretoria in 1971, South Africa was deep in the grip of apartheid. We're talking about a system that wasn't just regular old racism - this was racism cranked up to eleven and written into damn near every law in the books. White folks like the Musks lived in fancy neighborhoods, while the government forced Black South Africans into townships that were basically glorified slums.

The education system was completely segregated, with white kids getting the best of everything while Black students got screwed over with the "Bantu Education" system - a deliberately inferior curriculum designed to keep them from advancing in society. The whole system was built on the idea that white people deserved better everything - better schools, better jobs, better futures.

The Musk Family's Position in the System

Here's where shit gets complicated. The Musk family wasn't just living in this system - they were pretty much at the top of it. Elon's father, Errol Musk, was an electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, and consultant who benefited from the apartheid system's preferential treatment of white professionals. The family lived in Pretoria's wealthy suburbs, and later in Johannesburg - both areas that were exclusively white under apartheid laws.

They had access to the best schools, the best healthcare, and all the privileges that came with being white in apartheid South Africa. We're talking about having domestic workers (who were almost always Black and paid poverty wages), living in segregated neighborhoods, and being part of a social class that was literally protected by law from economic competition with the Black majority.

So here's the deal with Elon Musk's family history - his grandpa Joshua Haldeman wasn't just some quirky conservative doing rodeo tricks. This dude literally moved his whole family TO apartheid South Africa in 1950 because he thought it was awesome, telling newspapers that the racist government "encouraged me to come and settle here." He even wrote this batshit book claiming South Africa would "become the leader of White Christian Civilization" while spouting garbage like "the natives are very primitive and must not be taken seriously."

Fast forward to little Elon growing up in this fucked up system where his family wasn't just passively benefiting from apartheid - they actively chose it. His grandfather was out there defending anti-Semitic propaganda and getting arrested for being part of some weird technocracy movement that wanted to end democracy. Makes you look at some of Elon's modern-day takes a bit differently, doesn't it? The apple didn't fall far from the conspiracy theory tree.

Childhood Experiences and Social Development

Growing up in this environment would have been a mindfuck for any kid. Young Elon was apparently bullied pretty severely at school, which is its own kind of trauma, but it's crucial to understand that this was happening within an extremely privileged bubble. The schools he attended were exclusively white, well-funded institutions that were literally off-limits to the majority of South African children.

The social dynamics he experienced were shaped by this bizarre reality where white children were taught - both explicitly and implicitly - that they were superior and deserved their privileged position in society. It's like growing up in a cult where everyone tells you you're special, but the special-ness comes from something as arbitrary as skin color.

The Psychological Impact of Systemic Privilege

This is where we need to get real about how growing up in a system like apartheid might fuck with someone's head. When you're raised in an environment where your privilege is not just normal but legally enforced, it can create some seriously warped perspectives on merit, success, and human value.

Think about it - if you grow up in a system where your success is partially engineered by the state, but everyone around you is pretending it's purely based on merit, what does that do to your understanding of fairness and achievement? It's like playing a video game with cheat codes but being told you're just naturally gifted at gaming.

Emigration and Carrying the Past Forward

Musk got the fuck out of South Africa in 1989, just before apartheid started to crumble. He went to Canada, then the US, and started building his empire. But here's the thing about childhood experiences - they don't just disappear when you move to a new country. The social attitudes, assumptions, and ways of thinking that get baked into your brain during those formative years tend to stick around.

This might help explain some of Musk's more controversial positions and behaviors as an adult. His approach to leadership, his views on government intervention, his resistance to unions - all of these might have roots in growing up in a system where labor rights were severely restricted and where success was seen as a purely individual achievement, despite the massive systemic advantages some people had.

Contemporary Reflections and Understanding

Today, Musk rarely talks about his South African childhood, and when he does, it's usually focused on personal experiences rather than the broader social context. But understanding this background is crucial for anyone trying to make sense of one of the most influential (and controversial) figures in modern technology and business.

The point isn't to condemn Musk for growing up in apartheid - that wasn't his choice. The point is to understand how growing up in such a profoundly unequal system has influenced this asshole to stand in front of a crowd of people and throw a Nazi Salute.

Fuck him.

Citations

1. Thompson, Leonard. "A History of South Africa" (Yale University Press, 2001)

2. Welsh, David. "The Rise and Fall of Apartheid" (Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2009)

3. Vance, Ashlee. "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" (Ecco Press, 2015)

4. O'Kane, Sean. "Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century" (Doubleday, 2021)

5. Clark, Duncan. "Elon Musk: The Early Years in South Africa" (Business Insider South Africa, 2018)

6. Joshua Benton “Elon Musk’s Anti-Semitic, Apartheid-Loving Grandfather” Sept 20, 2023