Elon Musk has sparked a debate about maintaining a career as a parent, after tweeting about the importance of being a mother.
On Twitter on Tuesday, the 51-year-old business magnate briefly shared his thoughts on parenting and wrote: “Being a Mom is just as important as any career.”
His tweet, which has over 431,600 likes, has prompted a wide range of responses, with Twitter users questioning why he didn’t opt to compare fatherhood with work, as he is a parent himself with a demanding and prominent career.
“Sorry Elon but should be…’Being a Mom and DAD is just as important as any career,’” one person wrote.
“Why [does] a man say that for a woman?” another Twitter user asked. “Why not say for yourself: ‘[A] Dad is just [as] important as any career? Oh wait no… a man can’t say that!”
A third person added: “How about instead, you speak of what you know? Which is being a dad. A tweet from you saying, ‘being a dad is just as important as any career’ would’ve made sense as you know first hand & would’ve been so adorable! cutie dad things.”
Other people went on to criticise the billionaire’s parenting skills and claimed that he doesn’t pay attention to the children that he has because of his career.
“Does money make up for a parent who has 8 children and isn’t living with them, or giving them the time and attention and love that each individual child requires?” one person wrote.
Musk is notably the father of 10 children with three different mothers. He welcomed his first child, Nevada, with his now ex-wife, Justine Wilson, in 2000. However, their child tragically died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when he was 10 weeks old. Wilson and Musk, who divorced in 2008, now share 18-year-old twins, Griffin and Xavier, and 16-year-old triplets, Kai, Saxon, and Damian.
In May 2020, Musk and his now ex-girlfriend Grimes welcomed their first son, X AE A-XII. Last December, two months after Musk announced him and the musician’s breakup, they welcomed their daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (who they call Y), via surrogate.
In July, Musk made headlines when it was reported that he had fathered twins with Shivon Zillis, a high-ranking executive at one of his companies, Neuralink. Court documents revealed that the children were born in November 2021.
On Twitter on Wednesday, other people praised Musk for sharing his thoughts about motherhood and agreed with his statement.
“Nothing has brought me greater joy than being a mom. Thats why it’s so important to protect and support family values,” one wrote.
“Nowadays, not all women recognize this,” another added. “Children need a mother more, so women should take this into account. Dads are also very important, but children’s need for them is not as strong as for mom.”
Prior to sharing his tweet, Musk also went to Twitter to respond to Grimes’ interests in plastic surgeries, after she posted about possibly getting “elf ears” and “vampire teeth”.
He appeared to express his disapproval of the musician’s idea and wrote: “The downside of elf ear surgery probably outweighs the upside.”
