Errol Musk, the 79-year-old father of Elon Musk, has been accused of sexually abusing five of his children and stepchildren since 1993, according to the New York Times.

The report said these allegations may explain why Elon Musk rarely speaks about his father.

It also noted that some of Musk’s family members have reached out to him for help, leading him to sometimes intervene.

Errol Musk denied the claims, telling the Times they were “nonsense” and “false.”

Citing personal letters, emails, and interviews with relatives, the Times said Errol Musk, who has at least nine children and stepchildren and has been married three times, “maintains a powerful grip over much of the family.” Elon Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

Court documents, correspondence, social workers, and family interviews suggest the earliest allegation came in 1993, when a four-year-old stepdaughter told relatives Errol Musk had touched her at the family home.

About ten years later, the same stepdaughter alleged that she caught him sniffing her underwear, the Times reported. Other family members have also accused him of abusing two daughters and a stepson.

Three separate law enforcement investigations were opened, the Times said, citing police and court records. Two cases ended without action, while the outcome of the third is unclear.

“There was no evidence because this is nonsense,” Errol Musk told the Times. He said family members were “putting the children up to say false things” in an attempt to extort Elon, his eldest son.

Elon Musk has spoken little about his father but has described a strained relationship. In a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, he said his father had done “almost every evil thing you could possibly think of.”

Musk recalled living with his father at age 10 while his siblings Kimbal and Tosca stayed with their mother.

“I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. He seemed very sad and lonely by himself. So I thought, ‘I can be company,’” Musk said.

He added: “I didn’t really understand at the time what kind of person he was … It was not a good idea.”

Without offering details, he told the publication: “My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. He will plan evil.” (Nigerian Tribune)

•Errol Musk, who has at least nine children and stepchildren, at his home in South Africa in 2022.Credit…Gianluigi Guercia/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images