Mama Musk – revelling in her 71-years of learning

A model since age 15, Maye Musk was in her 60s when her life took a turn for the fabulous.

Published on:

26 Feb 2020, 9:36 am

We all know the value of a solid, loving, supportive family that does everything except mollycoddle the kids. In South Africa, as in many other places in the world, it's a patriarchal society, but it's the matriarchs who nurture and mould our nation, providing the glue that holds things together. Here's a Canadian-born woman who epitomises that truth; Maye Musk, 71, mother of three highly successful kids, the most famous of whom is rocket-launching, electric car pioneer, Elon. She's a current supermodel, dietician and much sought-after media celebrity, not that well-known locally. This one-on-one interview with the Wall Street Journal shows her to be revelling in life as she gets older, solidly at the wheel of where she wants to go, ticking off the milestones as she goes. That she let her kids learn through their own failures, providing safety and structure while avoiding the over-controlling pitfalls that lead to an attitude of entitlement, is evident in their resilience and success. Her own life is an inspiration to anyone afraid of getting older – she's thriving on applying the lessons of experience to boost her enjoyment of life as this interview graphically illustrates. Her success is well-earned. – Chris Bateman