Elon Musk's father, Errol, has expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin "as a man," saying it would be "foolish not to admire (him)" in an interview with BBC Russia published on April 3.
In the interview, he said "only in time will it be possible to understand who really started" the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — despite it being Russia — and said he considers Putin "a strong leader."
"It would be foolish not to admire Putin. I listen to his speeches — he says logical things. If you view him simply as a man, not in the context of international politics, it's hard not to have respect for Mr. Putin," he said.
Errol Musk is a South African former businessman and politician known to have had a fractious relationship with his children.
Elon’s younger brother, Kimbal, has previously said their father would scream at them for several hours at a time, calling them worthless and pathetic.
When asked in the BBC Russia interview about Musk's attitude toward Putin, Errol said their views were similar.
"We all think so. We're all the same," he said in reference to his family.
Errol also said that Musk’s decision to provide Ukraine with the Starlink satellite internet network at the beginning of the war in 2022 was right, but now the war "has dragged on and goes on and on."
Errol Musk rejected the idea that Musk's move into politics was due to business interests, saying their family does not need additional income.
"God heavens, we have everything. We don't need money or one more successful business," he added.
Elon Musk oversees SpaceX, which holds billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts with the Pentagon and NASA, and has a $1.8-billion intelligence community contract to develop a spy satellite network.
Musk has claimed he possesses a U.S. security clearance, allowing him access to classified information.
SpaceX’s dominance in the U.S. space sector, with its Starlink network of almost 7,000 satellites, plays a critical role in U.S. military communications, including those of Ukraine’s armed forces on the battlefield.
Chris York
(Updated: )
