KEY POINTS

  • Maye Musk, Elon's mom, tweets old photo of Elon in a rundown car
  • Elon explains he went to junkyards to get replacement parts
  • Elon's mom is a famous fashion model in her own right

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!" is a plaint often heard from teenagers when their moms proudly show-off old photos of them in awkward poses or situations they'd rather forget.

Well, Elon Musk is no exception. His mom, Maye, did just that in a single tweet that's drawing a lot of comments.

Maye Musk was a famous celebrity long before Elon was born. Born in Canada in 1948, Maye Musk has been a model for over 50 years. She's appeared on the covers of many magazines, including Time, Elle Canada and New York magazine, where she posed nude with a fake pregnant belly.

In September 2017, she became CoverGirl's oldest spokesmodel at age 69. The New York Post declared she's "a star in her own right" because she earned her fame the hard way. Elon's mom calls herself "Mother of Invention" because of her famous son.

“I was famous until Elon became famous,” said Maye in an interview with The New York Times in 2016.

On Tuesday, Maye posted an old color photo of a 24-year-old Elon sitting inside a beat-up, rundown relic of a car. Turns out, the car belonged to Elon. The caption she wrote to accompany the photo reads: "@elonmusk #1995 And people said you knew nothing about carrs. #FoundThisPhoto."

To which Elon was forced to reply, "Couldn’t afford to pay for repairs, so I fixed almost everything on that car from parts in the junkyard. Ironically, that’s me replacing broken side window glass. The circle is complete lol."

Renata Konkoly then asked, "How did the window break?"

And Elon replied, "They smashed the window to steal the radio, which was worth maybe $20. Got a replacement from junkyard. Btw, great deals available from junkyards! It’s pretty fun fixing/upgrading cars."

And the tweet thread went on and on.

Because of his mom's well meaning old photo, we now have confirmation Elon owned an old beat-up sedan and that his car got broken into. We now also know where the best place is to get the cheapest car parts. The Tesla CEO preferred to go to junkyards for replacement parts. All thanks to mom.

Elon musk and mother
Elon Musk's mother, Maye Musk, has written a book about her life and her son's childhood. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and mother Maye Musk attend the premiere of "Revenge of the Electric Car" during the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival at SVA Theater on April 22, 2011 in New York City. Getty Images/Charles Eshelman