Maye Musk told The Telegraph she “knew” her son Elon was a genius by the age of three, the interview reported and was quoted by other outlets on Sept. 14, 2026.
In the Telegraph interview — summarized by The Independent — Ms Musk said, “He would reason with me. Three-year-olds don’t reason with you,” and recalled that the future entrepreneur would suggest cheaper options when she shopped, which made her realise his early aptitude.
Ms Musk also defended her son against recent accusations of racism, telling the outlet it is “horrible” and “really hard” that much of the coverage is negative; The Independent reported she said he has received death threats and that family gatherings now happen in “remote” locations so he “can’t go anywhere.”
The interview places Ms Musk — a model and dietitian — describing both childhood memory and current family life. The Independent noted Ms Musk is a septuagenarian and quoted her on visiting Elon’s meetings and finding it hard to keep in touch because of his busy schedule.
Coverage of the Telegraph interview spread on social platforms after publication; The Telegraph posted a link to the full interview on its social accounts the day it went live, and commenters highlighted the three-year anecdote as a memorable line.
Why it matters: the remarks add to a pattern of family interviews in which Ms Musk has described early signs of Elon’s curiosity and focus, and they were picked up by multiple outlets in the hours after The Telegraph published the Q&A on Sept. 14, 2026.
For readers tracking Elon Musk and his businesses, this personal detail comes amid broader coverage of Musk-related market and technology stories, including recent reporting on SpaceX valuation and AI model-testing debates.
Internal links: see recent coverage of Elon and AI labs’ peer review debate and SpaceX market moves for business context.
Elon Musk, per CNBC, urges AI labs and SpaceX stock back in $2 trillion club provide related business context.
Sources
- The Independent — quoted and paraphrased the Telegraph interview, providing direct quotes from Maye Musk about Elon’s reasoning at age three and her defence against accusations of racism.
- The Telegraph — original published interview with Maye Musk (“My son Elon was a genius by three years old”), cited in search results and linked by social posts on Sept. 14, 2026.
