Do you know the emerald mine that Elon Musk mentioned numerous times in the past? Well, now he denies its existence. Not the existence of the mine as a place, but he denies that his family had anything to do with it.
“The fake emerald mine thing is so annoying.” – Elon Musk Tweeted on Saturday. “Like where exactly is this thing anyway?”
Elon Musk Denies The Existence Of His Family’s Emerald Mine In Africa
However, people already know where it is. It is in Zambia. The emerald mine is near Lake Tanganyika, in the northeast part of Zambia. And do you know how people know? Elon Musk told it before. On several occasions. One particular time in 2014 he explained where it is and how it operated.
“Elon Musk and his family seem particularly sensitive about shaping the narrative about their history lately, especially around the emerald mine.” – Paris Marx, the tech critic tweeted. “They act as they’ve never heard of it before, even though he bragged to Forbes about it in 2014.”
In 2014, Elon Musk gave an interview for Forbes, bragging about the mine. The journalist Jim Clash asked a question about Elon Musk’s father’s net worth and properties. Elon Musk didn’t hesitate to brag about his ‘big’ father’s emerald mine.
“This is going to sound slightly crazy.” – Elon Musk told the interviewer like a happy little child. “But my father also had a share in an Emerald mine in Zambia.”
However, if you would like to watch that interview now, interestingly enough, it is not on the website of Forbes anymore. Unfortunately, there is no message on why it has been removed, so its link now leads to a 404 error page.
Now, since Elon Musk is denying the existence of his father’s emerald mine, the questions about its whereabouts are getting more and more popular. People are widely conspiring on the possible location of the mine. While some are following the interview guidelines and claim it is in Zambia, others are claiming that it is near Elon Musk’s origin town. However, regardless of where it is, the emerald mine is the founding stone for Errol Musk’s fortune. Furthermore, it is the main asset that helped in paying off Elon Musk’s student loan debt.
Additionally, there is one more anecdote about Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk when they came to America. According to an interview that the brothers did for Insider back in 2018, they came to America with pockets full of gems from the mine. When they landed in New York City, they went to Tiffany Co and sold the gems for several thousand dollars.
“I did interview Elon, he said what he said, and I don’t know why they’d take it down.” – the person who interviewed Elon Musk for Forbes says.
One thing may explain the strange behavior of Elon Musk now. Denying the existence of something about which he proudly bragged about earlier. Back in 2014, or 2018, it might have been interesting to do so, taking into consideration that not many people own mines. However, now, it might be completely politically incorrect to do so.
Elon Musk is still one of the wealthiest men on earth. However, his fortune is significantly lower than what it was this time last year. The billionaire lost about $200 billion in just one year. Having this in mind, this is the biggest fortune drop in the modern history of the world.
Due to this catastrophic fortune drop, Elon Musk even lost his first place on Forbes’ wealthiest list. He is now worth about $140 billion, less than half of what he was worth this time last year. At the end of 2021, in November, Elon Musk’s fortune peaked at more than $340 billion. This was because Tesla, which now is worth $380 billion, was worth about $1.25 trillion.
The fall of Tesla on the stock market is mainly responsible for this massive drop. Its shares are down by more than 60% in one year. Seems like people are becoming aware that Tesla is just another automotive company and nothing special. Yes, it is ‘sort of’ a pioneer in electric vehicle production, but that’s not something that wasn’t done before. Having this in mind looks like Tesla reached a new low. The stock market price now is equivalent to what it was in early 2020 after which it skyrocketed to $400.
When it comes to Elon Musk’s dad, Errol Musk, it is no secret that the pair are not in a good relationship. Elon Musk told this on several occasions in the past. However, the freshest information comes from Errol Musk himself. Last year, the billionaire’s father revealed that he is not even proud of his son, as he sees the success of Elon as a collective win for the whole Musk family. He claims that the family did ‘a lot of things for a long time’.
In a 20-minute interview for ‘The Kyle and Jackie O Show’, Errol Musk reveals that he is not extremely happy with his son’s achievements. He reveals that he is not feeling the pride everybody expects him to feel. Asked if he is proud of Elon, the 76-year-old Errol Musk answered – “No, well, you know, I mean, we are a family that has been doing a lot of things for a long time. It’s not as though we suddenly did something.” He also reveals that he considers Elon Musk to be unhappy and not in a place where he would truly want to be.
Errol Musk bought 50% of the emerald mine in 1969 for about £40,000, which is equal to about £160 000 today. He did the investment after selling a plane for about £80 000. After obtaining the mine, he tells that he had so much money, that ‘he couldn’t close his safe’.
