NEWSElon Musk's Mom Brushes Off Haters Who Criticize His Astonishing Wealth: 'You Can’t Argue With Stupid and Crazy People'

Elon Musk's mother defended him from critics.
Sept. 24 2026, Published 12:04 p.m. ET
In an interview on NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight, Elon Musk's mother, Maye Musk, vehemently defended her much-maligned son against criticism of his exorbitant wealth.
Maye was on the Wednesday, September 23, episode to discuss her latest memoir, Timeless: The Art of Reinvention and Resilience at Any Age.
When asked how she feels about the backlash Elon receives regarding his recent trillionaire status, his mom expressed, “Well, as I say in my book, my mother says you can’t argue with stupid and crazy people. And you have to be very stupid not to know that; that’s money in the bank.”

Maye Musk defended her wealthy son, praising him for starting his companies.
Maye continued, “He invested in his companies. So if you start six companies, which are going to fail, and regularly every day you’re told, but in media, you’re going to fail, and then you don’t, and then you still have those shares and those companies which come to make them a trillionaire, then you can start six companies that won’t succeed as well, and then you can be a trillionaire. How’s that?”
In June, Elon made history as the world's first trillionaire. However, he is no longer a trillionaire, though he remains the world's wealthiest individual by a very wide margin. As of September, his net worth is estimated to be roughly between $870 billion and $940 billion.
Who Is Maye Musk?

Maye Musk said she refuses to argue 'with stupid and crazy people.'
Maye, 78, is a Canadian-born model, registered dietitian, author and speaker best known as Elon’s mom.
In 1950, her parents moved the family to Pretoria, South Africa, where she grew up alongside her twin sister and three other siblings. Her parents were well-known amateur explorers who famously flew around the world in a prop plane and spent years leading family expeditions into the Kalahari Desert.
In 1970, she married South African engineer Errol Musk, with whom she had her three children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979, after which she raised her children as a single mother under financially strained circumstances.
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Maye Musk Dishes on Spending Time With Elon

Elon Musk's net worth is estimated to be between $870 billion and $940 billion.
Elon, 55, chose to live with his father a few years after his parents divorced.
“And I accepted that, but I did see him once a month. He came and joined us, and we had a great time. And then, it was just, you know, I just couldn’t keep him away from books and computers. And that’s a good thing because it’s worked just fine,” she said.
When Maye visits her son these days, she sleeps in a garage at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Tx., something she claims her son didn’t know.

Maye Musk sleeps in a garage at SpaceX's Starbase facility when she visits her son in Texas.
“Well, first of all, he didn't know I was sleeping in the garage. He thought because there was a room in the hotel 45 minutes away from Starbase, and I could stay there, but I didn't want to, because the whole point is that when I wake up, I want to have breakfast with him,” she explained.
Maye has publicly railed against mainstream media, claiming journalists are "paid to lie" or pressured to print negative stories about her son.
She has acknowledged using X to tag and shame reporters who write critical pieces about Elon.

