So here's one of those wild Musk family stories that actually makes you wonder: were Elon Musk's parents actually rich? Because depending on who you ask, you get completely different answers.

Errol Musk, Elon's father, tells these incredible tales about the family's wealth back in the day. He talks about owning an emerald mine in Zambia and having so much cash lying around that they literally couldn't close their safe. Like, someone would have to hold the money in place while another person slammed the door shut, and there'd still be bills sticking out of it. He even recalls young Elon casually walking into Tiffany & Co. with emeralds in his pocket, selling a couple for $2,000, only to spot one of them later in a display case marked up to $24,000.

But here's where it gets interesting. Elon's version of events tells a completely different story about his parents' wealth and his upbringing. In a 2022 tweet, he pushed back hard on the whole emerald mine narrative. He said there's literally no evidence the mine ever existed. Nobody's ever actually seen it, no records, nothing. His take is that his father's business did okay for a while, but financially deteriorated over decades. So much so that Elon and his brother Kimbal ended up supporting their father financially.

According to Elon, growing up wasn't the money-everywhere situation his dad describes. He frames it more as a middle-income household that moved into upper-middle class territory, but it wasn't exactly a happy childhood despite the relative comfort. No massive inheritance, no big financial gifts. That's his story.

Fast forward to now, and Elon's obviously become one of the richest people on the planet with Tesla and SpaceX. Meanwhile, his father's relying on his sons for support. The whole thing is this fascinating contradiction about whether the Musk parents were actually rich or if that was mostly just Errol's version of things. Either way, Elon's still providing for his dad, though apparently with some conditions attached about staying out of trouble.