Maye Musk, the mother of Elon Musk, shed tears during an interview

The Met Gala is a globally famous fundraising gala for the benefit of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art held in May every year. It is hosted by the fashion magazine Vogue. People say, “While the West has the Academy Awards, the East has the Met Gala, which is also called “fashion’s Oscars.” Celebrities showcase top designer brands’ dresses. After the red carpet event, Vogue selects the best dressed in a fan vote.

This year, the exhibition was Manus x Machina. An unexpected person drew attention: Maye Musk, 69, the mother of Tesla and Space X billionaire Elon Musk, 45, and model. The New York Times covered her story in an article in the fashion section with a title “At 68, Maye Musk, the Mother of Elon, Is Reclaiming the Spotlight.”

Elon Musk is the real life of Ironman’s Tony Stark and is a co-founder of PayPal. He is a genius who coded a video game at the age of 12 after teaching himself computer programming. Americans love and have a great interest in Elon who is called the “CEO investing in the future.”

Ms. Musk says she gets more than 100 requests a month from people who want to meet her son. But she politely declines such requests.

Elon’s net assets are worth up to 14.2 billion U.S. dollars. Though his son is a billionaire, Ms. Musk continues her modelling career, which looks glamorous on the stage but is tough. What has made the grandmother of 10 grandchildren continue to work as a model for over five decades?

In the morning on May 1, this reporter had a brunch with her at a coffee shop in the lobby of Four Seasons Hotel on the 57th street in Manhattan, New York, and asked about her life and philosophy for one and a half hours. Unexpected answers and unpredicted situations ensued.

- You started working at 15 and you're still doing modeling work. It’s surprising.

“I’m surprised at myself, too. When I started working, I used to hear that my model career would end at around 18. I gave birth to three children in my mid-20s and returned to work at 28 when I was already the ‘oldest model.’ Looking back, I really worked diligently to do both studying and modelling. I didn’t like to be a ‘just beautiful model.’ My interest in the body and health kept me studying on nutrition and diets.”

According to a study, the average age of 261 models in New York and Los Angeles was only 26. It starts early, but it ends early. The fashion community in New York says, “There are many designers in their 60s or 70s but old models are very rare because they have strictly discipline themselves.”

Ms. Musk’s parents were Canadians but lived in South Africa. She said, “(They said) they wanted to explore Africa. Longing for and curiosity about the unknown territory seem to be in my blood and Elon’s.” Ms. Musk was the finalist of the 1969 Miss South Africa beauty competition and got married to Errol Musk, an engineer, in 1970. Unfortunately, the couple got divorced in a decade and she began a tough life journey as a single and working mom of three children.

― When I look at your interviews with the U.S. media, I repeatedly see the expression‎, “I just worked hard to survive.” Was it that tough?

“We moved to Canada in 1989 because of Elon’s study. We lived in a rented apartment where poor people lived. My children still say, ‘Mom, we didn’t feel that we were poor when growing up,’ but we were really poor. I had to worry about how to feed, clothe and sleep three kids.”

Despite the challenging conditions, she both worked and studied. She received even two master’s degrees related to nutrition. Her three children graduated from college with scholarships and student loans. She said, “When I lived in Canada, I had five jobs. While working at a research center in college, I worked as a model and a lecturer teaching models. I also made money by teaching nutrition and providing counseling on diets.” She described her life as “struggling” and “juggling.”

In another interview, she said, “'Don’t cry over spilled milk' was not suited for me. I shed tears when the kids spilt milk because I didn’t have money to buy another milk.”

- You, who are sitting in front of me, are elegant and luxurious. I can’t imagine you crying over spilt milk.

　

“….”

Instead of an answer, I heard her sobbing and saw tears rolling down from her eyes. My eyes also welled up.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve never cried during an official interview. It was the toughest time in my life. It was the time when I had to make up my mind that I should never get sick to live with my kids.”

Ms. Musk changed the atmosphere of the interview. She said, “It was the time when I had to work for survival to pay rent and to feed my kids and myself. Now, I’m living a completely different life. We are in (high-end) Four Seasons.” She added with a slight smile, “I work to enjoy my life (rather than for survival). So, I’m happier now.”

This reporter asked a different question.

Many people including myself make a New Year’s resolution like “losing weight and having a healthy body.” But it often ends up in vain. Please give me advice as a career model and nutritionist.

“I kept gaining weight after giving birth to children one year after another. I also like sweets. I want to suggest you a habit of recording what you ate and will eat. You know how much and what to eat is good for your health. A diet log is like your own secret diary. Others can’t read it but it presses and persuades you. It makes you regret, saying, ‘Why did I who want to become thin eat such high-calorie food?’ and makes you try not to make the same mistake.”

For those who want to continue working as a model for a long time like her, she advised that they keep a healthy weight and make themselves up continuously. She said people like kind and good people rather than famous people.

-You have successfully raised your three children Many people are curious about your education philosophy or principles. One of them is my wife who often complains that becoming a good mom is the most challenging thing in the world.

“I lived thinking that kids are fine as long as they are healthy. So I didn’t get much stress from becoming a good mom. To say one thing, I had zero tolerance about impolite words or behaviors. I clearly pointed out and scolded them when they did not say hello to me or other adults, sit right while eating, or put dishes back to the sink after eating. These are still applied to my 10 grandchildren.”

Kimbal Musk, 44, Elon’s younger brother, is the CEO of eight restaurants and venture capitalist. He co-founded Zip2, a software company, with his brother. Tosca Musk, their sister, 42, is a promising movie director.

Ms. Musk said, “As a mom, I don’t know how much they’ve achieved objectively and how great they are. But one thing for sure is that all three of them have a good character.” This means that they kept her policy of being nice and kind. In addition, she said, “As a mom, I didn’t do something special for them. I just showed how to work hard in life.” When she worked as a model, their children had to do homework at a model show. All of her children called his mother “amazing, dynamic and awesome”, according to the New York Times.

“I had my 50th birthday party in Silicon Valley where my three children lived. Then, they gave me a wooden car and house and they said, ‘Someday we will buy you a house and a car.’ All of them were only in their 20s.”

She has a house in New York and Los Angeles and drives a Tesla. She said, “I can’t forget the feeling I had when I first got into an electric car for the first time. It was very quiet and smooth, felt like I was in a spaceship. I got to love Tesla so much. Even if my son had not been the CEO of the company, I would still have kept driving a Tesla.”

-What’s your plan or dream?

“I want to be active as a model and nutritionist. Particularly as a model, I want to be in Asia including Korea and China. I really like exploring and experiencing new cities and culture while traveling the world. My son (Elon) is a celebrity but I’m not a famous model yet.”

The Business Insider, a management magazine, recently said, “If you know right a little more about his mother Maye, you can understand much about Elon.” It analyzed that Elon’s thoughts and behaviors are highly influenced by his mother.

Ms. Musk’s bio in her website or her social media ends like this. “My passport and suitcase are always ready to travel. At 68, I’m only just beginning.”

뉴욕=부형권특파원 bookum90@donga.com