Elon Musk does not practice a formal religion. He was raised and baptized in the Anglican Church, but today describes himself as a “cultural Christian” who values the moral lessons taught by Jesus. Musk has said “the teachings of Jesus are good and wise” and specifically praises values like forgiveness and “turning the other cheek”. At the same time, he emphasizes that he is “not a particularly religious person”.
Quick Profile: Elon Musk
| Full Name | Elon Reeve Musk |
| Born | June 28, 1971 (Pretoria, South Africa) |
| Nationality | South African, Canadian, American |
| Occupation | Technology entrepreneur and industrialist (SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, The Boring Company, Twitter/X) |
| Known for | Founding SpaceX and Tesla, co-founding PayPal (2002), Neuralink, OpenAI, plus CEO of X (formerly Twitter) |
| Education | Education University of Pennsylvania (BS Physics, BA Economics, 1997) |
| Religion | Cultural Christian (raised Anglican, baptized as a child) |
| Net Worth | US$504 billion (2025) |
What religion is Elon Musk?
Musk has openly discussed religion and faith in public interviews. He says he was “brought up as an Anglican, and [was] baptized” when young. However, he does not regularly attend church or subscribe to a creed. Instead he admires the ethical teachings of Christianity. For example, in a 2024 interview Musk called himself “probably a cultural Christian”, explaining that although he is “not a particularly religious person,” he believes many Christian principles (like forgiveness and mercy) are “good and wise”. Musk explicitly said he was “brought up Anglican” and highlighted Christian values such as “turning the other cheek” and ending cycles of vengeance.
At the same time, Musk rejects the label of devout Christian or any conventional religion. He notes that he never formally “accepted Jesus as [his] Lord and Savior”. In 2025 he described himself as “open to believing in things proportionate to the information that I receive,” saying he is “open to the idea of God” but will form beliefs based on evidence. He even drew a distinction between a creator and a moral judge, Musk mused that one could call the unknown force that started the universe “God,” but he questioned a God who oversees our morality, noting that evil still exists. In short, Musk admires Christian ethics but maintains a science-based outlook. He has described himself as essentially having a “religion of curiosity”, seeking truth through inquiry rather than orthodox faith.
Interestingly, Musk has also mentioned his Jewish cultural ties. In early 2024 he told the European Jewish Association that he went to a Hebrew preschool and “grew up around a lot of Jewish people,” joking that his name is “very Jewish” and calling himself “Jew-ish… aspirationally Jewish”. This comment was made in a lighthearted context and reflects his upbringing among Jewish friends, not a formal conversion. Overall, Musk’s religious identity is informal, he was raised Anglican, finds value in Christian moral teachings, has joked about cultural Judaism, and embraces a broadly secular, evidence-based worldview.
Early Life
Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother, Maye, is a Canadian-born model and dietitian, and his father, Errol, is a South African engineer. Musk’s family was relatively well-off, owning businesses in South Africa. As a child he was quiet and bookish. He attended local schools (Waterkloof Prep, Bryanston High, then Pretoria Boys High). Musk was an avid reader and taught himself computer programming early, at age 12 he wrote and sold a video game called Blastar to a computer magazine for $500.
Musk’s family emigrated when he was a teen. To avoid compulsory service in the apartheid-era South African military, Elon left for Canada in 1989 by claiming citizenship through his Canadian mother. He briefly stayed in Canada, working odd jobs, then moved to the U.S. for college. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania (graduating in 1997). (He had studied at Queen’s University in Ontario for two years before transferring to Penn.) Musk later began a graduate program at Stanford University in 1995, but dropped out after two days to pursue Internet entrepreneurship. His early life was marked by fascination with technology and space, not traditional religion, although he kept the Anglican faith of his childhood.
Elon’s Career
Musk quickly launched a series of successful companies. In 1995 he and his brother Kimbal founded Zip2, a web software company for newspapers; Compaq acquired Zip2 in 1999, earning Musk millions. He then co-founded X.com (1999), an online payment company that soon merged into PayPal; when eBay bought PayPal in 2002, Musk (as largest shareholder) received over $150 million.
That same year (2002) Musk founded SpaceX, a private space launch company. As CEO and lead engineer of SpaceX, he oversaw the development of the Falcon rocket series and Dragon spacecraft, making history with the first privately-built rocket to reach orbit. In 2004 Musk joined Tesla Motors (electric cars) as an early investor and eventually became CEO and product architect in 2008. Under his leadership, Tesla grew into a leading maker of electric vehicles. Musk has also launched other ventures, he co-founded OpenAI (AI research) in 2015 and later left it, founded neurotech company Neuralink (2016) and tunneling firm The Boring Company (2017), and announced an AI startup called xAI (2023).
In 2022 Musk acquired the social media platform Twitter and rebranded it as X. His tenure at Twitter/X included high-profile content and policy changes. Throughout his career, Musk has become known for grand vision from colonizing Mars to building a hyperloop.
Personal Life
Musk’s personal life has attracted as much attention as his business ventures. He has been married twice. His first marriage was to Canadian author Justine Wilson (m. 2000–2008); they had six children together (including one son who died in infancy). In 2008 Musk met actress Talulah Riley; they married in 2010, divorced in 2012, remarried in 2013, and divorced again in 2016. Musk has also had relationships with others, including musician Grimes. With Grimes he has had three children (a son and two daughters). In total, Elon Musk is known to have fathered at least 14 children with various partners.
Musk lives a high-profile but somewhat private life. He is active on social media, especially X/Twitter, but he does not frequently give personal interviews. He is known for grand gestures (like auctioning a Tesla Roadster into space) and also for personal controversies (he has said he supports freedom of speech on social media, and he spent over $270 million on U.S. political donations in 2024). He is also a noted philanthropist, he founded the Musk Foundation (2001) to fund clean energy, space exploration, and science education projects. Despite his enormous wealth (see below), Musk has joked about being “cash poor” because his net worth is tied up in company stock.
Endorsements and Wealth
Musk seldom does traditional product endorsements, but he does have a massive influence as a spokesperson. He frequently promotes his own products (Tesla, SpaceX, etc.) through social media and events. He has also used his platform to influence public opinion on issues like cryptocurrency (e.g. tweeting about Dogecoin) and politics (publicly supporting certain candidates).
Financially, Musk is one of the richest people on Earth. He became the world’s richest person around 2021, with net worth estimates in the $400–500 billion range (as of 2025). Most of his wealth comes from shares in Tesla and SpaceX. He famously negotiated a $55.8 billion stock-based compensation package at Tesla in 2018 (one of the largest ever awarded to a CEO). Musk owns surprisingly few personal assets, he sold most of his real estate holdings by 2021 to simplify his life. His wealth is largely tied to Tesla stock; during share price surges or dips, his net worth swings dramatically. He described himself as “cash poor” despite his fortune.
Trivia
- Musk holds triple citizenship: he is a citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the United States
- As a child he was a coding prodigy: he wrote and published a video game at age 12 and sold it for $500
- The comic book character Tony Stark/Iron Man was partly inspired by Musk. Robert Downey Jr. met Musk before filming and used him as a role model for Stark
- Musk is a big X-Men fan. He has named Tesla’s test robots after X-Men characters (Iceman, Storm, Wolverine, etc.), and he named his son Xavier (as in Professor Xavier)
- He owns Bond’s submarine car: Musk purchased the Lotus Esprit “Wet Nellie” from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me and plans to make it functional
- His son’s unusual name X Æ A-Xii is pronounced “X Ash A Twelve”, using the Welsh pronunciation of Æ.
