Let’s be real — we all think our kids are special. But when Maye Musk told the preschool teacher her 3-year-old was a genius, even the teacher side-eyed her like, “Okay, lady.” That kid? Yeah, his name’s Elon. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Builds rockets for fun. Buys Twitter on a whim. Might start a colony on Mars by Thursday. That one.

In a recent interview, Maye — model, author, nutritionist, single mom turned icon — spilled some surprisingly humble tea about what it was like raising young Elon Musk… and spoiler alert: It was chaos, brilliance, and a helluva lotta hustle.

🚀 Genius Mode Activated at Age 3

Maye knew something was different about Elon the moment he started talking… like, really talking. Not “why is the sky blue” toddler chatter — more like “let’s debate the existential function of gravity while I eat my cereal.” At three.

Elon was shy with most people, but with his mom? He’d unleash full-blown philosophical debates. “He remembered everything. Not normal toddler stuff — I mean everything,” Maye said. And honestly? That’s your sign. If your preschooler is giving you TED Talks at breakfast, maybe call NASA.

So yeah, while the teacher probably thought Maye was drinking her protein shakes with a splash of delusion, turns out, mama knew best.

💼 From Diapers to Dominating Tech

But even Maye didn’t imagine her little guy would one day become Elon Freakin’ Musk, the world’s richest man with a side gig designing flamethrowers.

When Elon was still just nerding out in South Africa, he was already dreaming big — solar panels, electric cars, interplanetary travel. The works. And you know what Maye told him?

“Maybe take a break, sweetie.”

Yep. She straight-up told him to chill out. She thought he was overworking himself into a breakdown. But did Elon listen? Of course not. He Musked even harder. And boom — now he’s got enough money to buy the moon and rebrand it.

🤐 Socially Awkward? Oh, 100%

For those who think Elon was always this high-profile meme king — think again. According to Maye, early-adult Elon was so introverted, he practically disappeared into the walls. Couldn’t pitch, couldn’t sell, couldn’t people. Total introvert energy.

Enter: Kimbal Musk — the smooth-talking younger brother who basically played Elon’s translator. While Elon coded and dreamt big, Kimbal handled the charm. The two teamed up, launched a software startup in the ’90s, and sold it for $307 million.

Elon got his first $22 million and still didn’t want to talk to people.

🎤 “Wait… You Did an Interview?!”

Maye vividly remembers the day she saw Elon give his first interview.

“I called him up like, ‘Excuse me? You did what now?’”

Turns out, no one wanted to sell him rocket parts because — surprise — they had no idea who he was. He realized he had to come out of the shadows and market himself. Thus began Elon’s journey from shy techie to Twitter troll billionaire with a fanbase that treats him like Tony Stark.

💔 Escaping Her Own Real-Life Villain

Now rewind to Maye’s own story, because this woman didn’t just raise geniuses — she raised herself out of a hellhole marriage. Her ex, Errol Musk, was — in her words — angry, verbally abusive, and toxic AF.

So what did Maye do? Grabbed her three kids and ran.

Zero dollars. No support. No backup plan. Just vibes and survival mode.

She juggled multiple jobs, sometimes walking to work in freezing cold with shoes that didn’t even fit, just to scrape together rent money. Modeling. Nutrition consulting. Anything she could get her hands on.

Because as she puts it: “Having three kids isn’t the hard part. Living with a terrible husband? That’s the hard part.”

Queen behavior. 👑

🍞 Broke but Brilliant

Even when the Musks were so broke they couldn’t fill the fridge, Maye never compromised on one thing: education.

She didn’t pressure her kids to be perfect. No micromanaging. No helicopter parenting. But she made damn sure they had access to books, schooling, and the freedom to figure stuff out.

Elon once said, “We weren’t rich, sometimes we weren’t even full. But mom never made us feel poor in spirit. She hustled, and that attitude shaped everything.”

🧠 The “No BS” Parenting Philosophy

Maye kept it simple. She didn’t believe in pampering kids into uselessness, nor did she believe in scaring them straight.

“You don’t raise adults by treating them like babies forever,” she said. Preach.

She taught them to take responsibility early. She didn’t nag them about homework or demand straight A’s. She expected them to own their outcomes. They had chores. They had boundaries. But most of all, they had respect — both given and earned.

And guess what? It worked.

Elon runs multiple billion-dollar companies. Kimbal runs a food empire. Tosca Musk is a successful film producer.

Three-for-three. Slam dunk.

🔁 From Receptionist to Icon

Maye herself? She never stopped working.

She started out answering phones in her dad’s clinic at age 8. That job taught her discipline, financial literacy, and how to deal with weird humans (which came in handy later, obviously).

Now? She’s a working model in her 70s. Serving looks at the Met Gala, slaying on magazine covers, and still flying coach sometimes — because she can.

No excuses. No retirement speech. Just vibes, lipstick, and full calendars.

🏁 Final Take: Let the Kids Lead (Just Don’t Let Them Be Lazy)

Maye Musk didn’t raise Elon by reading “How to Raise a Billionaire for Dummies.” She didn’t have money. She didn’t have comfort. But she had grit, trust, and a no-nonsense approach.

She gave her kids room to dream — and the hard reality checks to ground them.

Her advice to parents?

“Stop overdoing everything for your kids. Give them security, give them education, and then let them figure out who they are. The sooner they take control, the sooner they’ll take off.”

Mic. Dropped.