Elon Musk Was So Focused That His Mom Checked On Him Daily To Make Sure He Was Eating And Wearing A 'Fresh Pair Of Socks'

Before Elon Musk launched rockets, built electric cars and bought social media platforms, he was just a guy with big ideas and relentless focus. He was so focused that his mother, Maye Musk, used to check on him during college to make sure he was taking care of basic human needs.

In a 2012 Forbes profile titled At Home With Elon Musk: The (Soon-to-Be) Bachelor Billionaire, author Hannah Elliott offered an intimate look at Musk's life, blending anecdotes from his family with her observations. 

Don't Miss:

• Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target – Last Chance to get 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $0.26/share!
• If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it?

One particularly humanizing detail came from Musk's mother, Maye, who shared how she had to keep tabs on him during his college years at the University of Pennsylvania. Elliott wrote, "Maye felt the need to check on him to make sure he was at least getting something to eat and wore a fresh pair of socks every day." It was a small but telling window into the singular focus that would later define Musk's career.

Elliott visited Musk at his 20,000-square-foot French Nouveau mansion in Bel Air, a space that felt surprisingly impersonal despite its size and luxury. The author described the mansion as more of a functional base than a home. The furniture was leased, the shelves in the library were nearly bare and even his two dogs left no trace – no leashes, toys or dishes to be found. Musk himself admitted that the house wasn't a permanent place for him but a stopover, a way station while he poured his energy into his companies.

See Also: It’s no wonder Jeff Bezos holds over $70 million in art — this alternative asset has outpaced the S&P 500 since 1995, delivering an average annual return of 11.4%. Here’s how everyday investors are getting started.

The profile revealed Musk's relentless drive had existed long before he became a billionaire. Maye recalled how, as a child in South Africa, he would disappear into bookstores for hours, devouring knowledge with an intensity that set him apart. By age nine, he had read and retained much of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

In the article, his sister, Tosca, described him as "brutally honest" but not out of malice. "He thought he was doing [people] a favor," Tosca said, though it often alienated others.

Musk rejected the notion of living in another era. "Life sucked in the old days," he said. "People knew very little and you were likely to die at a young age of some horrible disease. You'd probably have no teeth by now. It would be particularly awful if you were a woman."

Trending: The global games market is projected to generate $272B by the end of the year — for $0.55/share, this VC-backed startup with a 7M+ userbase gives investors easy access to this asset market.

Musk's unique blend of practicality and visionary thinking was on full display. He described modern engineering as "magic," marveling at how technologies we now take for granted – like long-distance communication, flight and the internet – would have been seen as miraculous just a few centuries ago. "Engineering is, for all intents and purposes, magic and who wouldn't want to be a magician?" he mused to Elliott.

It's been over a decade since that Forbes interview and Musk has become the richest man in the world, revolutionizing industries. From electric vehicles and reusable rockets to shaking up social media, his relentless focus hasn't wavered. 

The same intensity that kept him glued to his college books – and had Maye checking in on his meals and socks – is still there. He might still forget the little things now and then, but it's hard to argue with the results. For Musk, a single-minded drive is not just a habit – it's his magic.

Read Next:

• ‘Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest TODAY for just $0.26/share with a $1000 minimum.
• This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, with minimum investments as low as $100 for properties like the Byer House from Stranger Things.