Elon Musk's Ex-Wife and Mother Of 5 Kids Says He Declared 'I'm the Alpha' at Their Wedding — Then Had Her Sign a Postnup: 'I Trusted My Husband'

There are two sides to every love story — but when one side reportedly opens with "I am the alpha in this relationship," it's safe to say the honeymoon phase didn't last long.

Before Elon Musk became the world's wealthiest man and the face of Tesla, SpaceX, and a dozen high-profile controversies, he was a young tech founder with a vision, a McLaren F1, and a brand-new marriage. His first wife, Justine Musk, painted a very different picture of their relationship in a 2010 Marie Claire essay titled "I Was a Starter Wife: Inside America's Messiest Divorce."

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In the piece, Justine recounted the moment at their wedding reception when Elon leaned in and said, "I am the alpha in this relationship." At the time, she shrugged it off. But over the course of their marriage, she said the statement proved to be more than just a bold quip.

"Elon's judgment overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking," she wrote. The dynamic shifted further after Elon sold Zip2 for roughly $300 million in 1999, becoming instantly wealthy. What began as a romance with a "struggling 20-something entrepreneur" quickly evolved into a relationship dominated by vast economic imbalance and rising public scrutiny.

Justine recalled how, two months before their January 2000 wedding, Elon scheduled a meeting with a lawyer. "It's not a prenup," she remembered him saying — but what followed was, in essence, a postnuptial agreement, presented under the guise of corporate necessity. She signed it. "I trusted my husband — why else had I married him?"

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She also described the early days of Elon's fortune as surreal. "His wealth seemed abstract and unreal," she wrote, describing how he bought a condo, a million-dollar sports car, and a plane — all while she tried to adjust to their new financial reality. "I made uneasy jokes that he was about to dump me for a supermodel. Instead, he proposed."

Despite the tension that followed, Justine's 2014 TEDx Talk, "Visionaries Are People Who Can See in the Dark," offered a more measured reflection. She acknowledged Elon's intensity, citing his focus and fierce discipline as two key drivers of his success. He said no to anything that didn't align with his vision, she noted — and he worked far harder than most people ever see.

Elon, for his part, responded in July 2010 with an essay of his own, published by Business Insider. He didn't name Justine's Marie Claire article, but said he wanted to "correct the record" about his divorce. "Several awful things have been widely reported that are simply false," he wrote.

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He said custody of the children was split evenly and noted that he continued providing financial support to Justine and the kids. 

Elon also noted that the divorce came with unexpected financial strain: "What caught me by surprise… were the enormous legal fees I had to pay my ex-wife's divorce lawyers," he wrote, explaining that California law required him to cover both sides' legal costs.

He said they began financial negotiations two months before the wedding with separate lawyers and an independent mediator, finalizing the agreement six weeks after marrying. "Friends and family advised me to separate whether the marriage was for love or money," Elon added.

Despite the drama, the two share five children and a long history that intersects with the rise of one of the most recognized names in business today. While Elon has famously said he'd rather "stick a fork in my hand than write about my personal life," Justine's account offers a rare glimpse into that world — one that was once built on ambition, idealism, and, eventually, a postnup.

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