Tech billionaire Elon Musk recently took to social media to provide clarity on his South African heritage. Late on Tuesday, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla tweeted about his ancestry, dispelling the commonly held belief of his Afrikaner heritage.

What Happened: Musk asserted his roots are of British/English descent. He drew a parallel with renowned “Lord Of The Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien, who was also born in South Africa.

“Small correction: I am from a British/English background, not an Afrikaner background (similar to JRR Tolkien, who was also born in South Africa),” he posted.

Why It Matters: Musk’s background has often been a topic of interest and speculation. The tweet was prompted by a snippet shared on social media from the blog of a fan named Casey Handmer. Handmer emphasized how misinterpretations of Musk’s past can lead to a lack of context in understanding his work.

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Handmer’s blog post initially described Musk as having grown up “in an Afrikaner family in apartheid South Africa, which is so culturally foreign to most of the rest of us it makes the Mormons and their traditional work ethic and focus on irrigation/terraforming look quaint.” 

Cultural Differences: “Afrikaner” denotes descendants of 17th-century Dutch, German, and French settlers, primarily speaking Afrikaans. They have a distinct cultural identity shaped by a history intertwined with the colonial and apartheid periods. In contrast, English South Africans trace their ancestry to 19th-century British settlers, primarily speaking English, and maintain cultural ties to Britain. 

Tolkien, the renowned author, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892. His parents were English, and he spent his early years in the country before moving to England at a young age. 

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