Fact Check: Viral photo does not show Elon Musk, his mother in South Africa

Hyderabad: A photograph of a kid sitting on his mother’s lap on the sofa with a domestic help on the floor beside them has gone viral on social media. Users claim that the photo shows business magnate and investor Elon Musk with his mother.

An X user shared the photo with the caption, “This is @elonmusk and his mother next to an oppressed black mother in South Africa during 1988, today he lies on Twitter that there is genocide in South Africa. (sic)”

Another X user shared the photo with the caption, “1988 South Africa. This is the world in which Elon Musk was born and raised. Take some time and study what’s being conveyed, here. @CarlFoster. (sic)”

This comes after Musk, the South African-born billionaire, replying to a post on the song “Kill the Boer” at a political rally in South Africa, accused alleged radicals of “openly pushing for the genocide of white people in South Africa.” He also questioned South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over his silence.

Fact Check

The claim is false as the photo doesn’t show Elon Musk or his mother.

On performing a reverse image search, we found the photo on the website of the National Gallery of Art. The photo was titled, “Mother, Daughter and Maid, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1988.” As per the website, the photo was taken by Rosalind Solomon — an American artist born in 1930.

We also found the photo uploaded on Artsy, an online marketplace for art. It was also featured in a Vulture interview of Rosalind Fox Solomon, published on October 28, 2021.

Elon Musk was born on June 28, 1971, which makes him around 17 years of age at the time photo was taken in 1988. The kid in the photo does not seem to be a teenager.

Hence, we conclude that the photo shows an unnamed South African mother, daughter, and domestic help photographed during apartheid. The claim that the photo shows a childhood photo of Elon Musk with his mother is false.