Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, recently opened up and shared a traumatic gun standoff he had with several assailants. The South African businessman recounted the incident that almost got his daughter killed. The 79-year-old also confessed to killing three armed men in an act of self-defense.
Erroll recently appeared as a guest on the Anything Goes with James English podcast, where he recalled the incident from decades ago. The dangerous confrontation happened on one of Musk’s properties located in Sandton, Johannesburg. Errol and his daughter Ali, who was 6 at the time, were visiting one of his rental properties.
The South African businessman was at the location to oversee some painting work. He also shared how he was in possession of his 357 Magnum revolver at that time because it was common practice to be armed in Johannesburg at the time.
He was preparing a bath for his daughter when things started going downhill. Errol heard unfamiliar noises coming from the lounge of the house. “I went up to the lounge and in the lounge were, my memory is not entirely sure, but about seven or eight men,” he recalled.
Errol shared how a well-dressed man stood before him in the well-lit room. He greeted the group of strangers while asking them if he could help them in any way. “He brought up his left arm, I presumed he wanted to shake hands, he had a black jacket on,” Musk noted.
This is when the businessman noticed “sparks come from his hands” and quickly realised that the man was armed. Before Errol could take action, the man shot at him. “I probably ducked or dived or did something,” he recalled. The Tesla CEO’s father credits his quick reflexes to his decades of practicing karate.
⁉️WHAT⁉️ Errol Musk, Elon Musk’s father, talks about an attempt to use his daughter for witchcraft practices involving the consumption of human parts for luck & medicinal purposes, a ritual known as “mootie”. pic.twitter.com/6778v7k7ul
— The Rubber Duck ™ (@TheRubberDuck79) May 14, 2025
He was able to dodge the bullet that went through the glass door, shattering it. He used the momentary distraction to run down the hallway and grabbed his gun. “I took out the guy with the tie, the one who shot me in the head. And that bullet went into the chap behind him as well,” Errol recounted.
The South African businessman then shot a third man from the group in the hip, which led to his death. He noted how around 52 bullets were shot at him, which he returned with two of his own and still managed to escape unharmed.
According to Errol, the rest of the men then ran away, which gave him and Ali enough time to get out of the house and seek help. He spoke about how his 6-year-old daughter would’ve been turned into a “muti” if he had failed to protect her.
“If I didn’t kill those African gang members, my daughters head would be hanging from a taxi. Because they eat them and they use the children as medicine. It’s called Muti.”
-Errol Musk pic.twitter.com/N4ohE2wvCG
— Uncommon Sense (@Uncommonsince76) February 17, 2025
“You know, they would have eaten her. It means if you eat a finger or something, then you have luck for life, you know,” he explained on the podcast episode. He added how the cops told him that his daughter would’ve been killed by the group and used as “muti – it is medicine, witchcraft.”
He claimed that the group would have used his daughter’s head to dangle from a taxi mirror. They boil the head until it is shrunk, and they hang it from a taxi mirror,” Errol explained.
