Elon Musk’s ex-wife says the secret to his £338bn fortune is a ‘psychological tactic’ that allows him to juggle tasks.
The billionaire Tesla chief executive has recently been put in charge of Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). He made his early millions through software companies Zip2 and Paypal.
Ex-wife Justine Wilson says that while Musk displayed talent in both the software and business world, it was his ability to say “no” that truly stood out.
Canadian fantasy writer Justine, who was married to the tech magnate for eight years until 2008, says it meant he could ignore anything that he felt was unproductive.
Wilson says Musk, 53, saw saying no as much more than just an act of rejection. To her ex-husband she believes it was a way of avoiding unnecessary distractions as he attempts to reach his goals, reports ABC.
Wilson explains it as a “deep yes of self worth”. She opened up about her marriage to Musk during a TEDxOlympicBlvdWomen talk in 2014.
She said: “I was married to a man who became extremely successful and as I watched him rise, I noticed two things. He worked very hard, much harder than average, and he said no a lot. He said ‘no’ to people who wanted his time, attention and energy.
“He said ‘no’ in a way that protected his resources, so that he could channel them toward his own goals. And I realised that behind every no there is a deeper yes to whatever it is that you do want.
“’No’ is like a bright line that, when used properly, marks off where you end and others begin. And we learn this young.
“I have kids and when they want to assert their power and individuality, they say no. But when you lose your ‘deep yes’, you also lose your bright ‘no’. How can you say no to protect what you want if you don’t even know what you want?”
Wilson and Musk met while studying at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. Musk subsequently married St Trinian’s star Talulah Riley in 2010.
The couple divorced in 2012 and remarried a year later, splitting for a second time in 2016. SpaceX founder Musk also had a relationship with Canadian singer Grimes – the couple share three of his 12 children together including X Æ A-Xii who appeared at a press conference alongside President Donald Trump earlier this week.
The 36-year-old musician – real name Claire Elise Boucher – revealed she wasn’t aware her son would be attending the White House briefing. Writing to Grimes on X, one person said: “Lil X was very polite today! You raised him well. He was so cute when he told DJT ‘please forgive me, I need to pee’.”
She replied: “He should not be in public like this. I did not see this, thank u [sic] for alerting me. But I’m glad he was polite. Sigh.”