Since the beginning of Donald Trump's second run for the White House, he has cultivated a vast array of supporters. People like Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock, and Robert Kennedy Jr. have jumped on the Trump train. But the most interesting of Trump supporters might be Tesla, SpaceX, and X CEO Elon Musk. His purchase of X was one of the most significant events surrounding the 2024 presidential election. It has been said that without it, things might have gone very differently. Musk is the world's richest man, but who was behind instilling that kind of motivation in him to achieve that? 

Maye Musk on the constant attacks against Elon:

“I'm furious. And you would be furious too if one of your children did something really special, and got trashed all the time. how furious would you be?” pic.twitter.com/UHIDTO2RnW

— Dima Zeniuk (@DimaZeniuk) November 3, 2024

That would be Maye Musk, Elon's mom, model, nutritionist, and, as it turns out, a pretty spicy and powerful woman in her own right. But who is the woman who raised the world's richest man? Well, it also turns out that she has led an interesting life. Maye Haldeman was born in Canada in 1948. Her family moved to Pretoria, South Africa, in 1950, and it was there that Maye started working at just eight years old. At 15, she started modeling and, in 1969, won the Miss South Africa beauty pageant.  

Maye is not just a pretty face; she is very intelligent as well. She has two master's degrees, one in dietetics from Orange Free State in South Africa and the other in nutritional science from the University of Toronto. 

She was still in high school when she met Erroll Musk. They married in 1970 and had three children: Elon, son Kimbal, and daughter Tosca. The marriage ended in 1979 with claims that Erroll Musk was abusive, although he denies those allegations. At 31, Maye Musk found herself as a single mother and moved back to Toronto. It is here that we might get an inkling of where Elon gets his work ethic from. Musk said during a 2018 interview that at one point, she worked five jobs to make ends meet.  

Maye Musk's modeling career has spanned 50 years. But it was when she appeared in her first New York Fashion Week show in her 60s in 2016 that she started turning more heads. Since then, she has been a strong advocate for the representation of older women in the fashion industry. In 2018, at the age of 70, Maye Musk became a Cover Girl cosmetics model. At the time, she said:

"It's the most exciting job, or it's not even a job. It's the most exciting time of my life to be a Covergirl at the age of 70 where I've given up dreaming of it since I was 18."

"She's been my biggest supporter from day one, no matter how crazy my ideas sounded."
Elon Musk on @mayemusk pic.twitter.com/i5tZrIdrBW

— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2024

But Maye Musk wasn't done yet. In 2022, at the age of 74, she posed for the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In a video for Sports Illustrated, Musk laughed and said:

"If I thought I could be a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated, people would have locked me away as a crazy lady. I'm very excited to let people know that women in their 70s are gorgeous."

Like any mom, Maye Musk says that she is very proud of her son and his new partnership with Donald Trump. In a recent interview with Fox Business Channel's Stuart Varney, she stated:

"Of course, I've seen them together, but very shortly. I live in New York, and they're in Mar-a-Lago or [a] SpaceX launch, and they just seem to be having fun. A lot of fun. And it's nice for both of them to have fun, and [Elon] really respects him (Trump) a lot and is really happy that there's a future for America now."

Are women looking for role models beyond their own mothers, grandmothers, or sisters? I don't know if I can answer that. What I do know is that as I am in the home stretch towards my 60th birthday in February, I am so glad Maye Musk is making being a "mature" woman very cool and just in the nick of time!

MAYE MUSK: "The media has to change, and the politicians have to change and stop being mean & nasty, and dishonest.

They used to always hate on Elon Musk for 15 years, but I trusted them with the other news but then, I realized, no, they are dishonest in all aspects." pic.twitter.com/idPKGNqvJE

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) November 25, 2024