Elon Musk Just Dropped A DNA Correction: 'British, Not Afrikaner' — And It Gets Weird With LOTR

Elon went on a mini ancestry clarification spree this week, tweeting that he’s actually from British/English roots rather than Afrikaner background. The twist? He compared himself to J.R.R. Tolkien, who was also born in South Africa.

What’s The Deal?

Musk posted: “Small correction: I am from a British/English background, not an Afrikaner background (similar to JRR Tolkien, who was also born in South Africa).”

Turns out some fan blogger had described Elon as growing up in an “Afrikaner family in apartheid South Africa,” which apparently bugged him enough to set the record straight. The distinction matters — Afrikaners descended from 17th-century Dutch/German/French settlers and speak Afrikaans, while English South Africans trace back to 19th-century British colonists.

The Tolkien Connection (It’s Actually Deep)

This isn’t random fandom. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein back in 1892 to English parents, then dipped to England as a kid. Elon was born in Pretoria in 1971 — similar timeline, different vibes.

But here’s the thing: Musk’s a legit Tolkien stan. He’s cited the author’s works multiple times online, and apparently Tolkien’s literature even played a role in his whole courtship dynamic with Grimes. Yeah, really.

The Messy Part

Musk’s South African childhood was rough — he attended some intense wilderness survival camp at 12 that he described as “paramilitary Lord of the Flies.” Then there’s all that noise about his father allegedly owning an emerald mine, which Elon keeps shooting down, calling it the “fake emerald mine thing.”

Basically: heritage context matters when you’re one of the world’s richest people making big decisions.