Maye Musk Reveals the Inspiration Behind Her Children’s Names

The 2022 SI Swimsuit cover model answered rapid-fire questions while in Belize.

While in Belize shooting for her landmark 2022 SI Swimsuit cover, Maye Musk shared some interesting nuggets of info most people wouldn’t know about her. For example, did you know her favorite healthy food is beans? Or that she defines success as doing something you really enjoy and surviving off the passion? We didn’t either. Speaking of success, Musk revealed the inspiration behind the names of her three (wildly successful) children, Elon, Tosca and Kimbal.

 Maye Musk and Tosca Musk attend The Daily Front Row's 9th Annual Fashion Media Awards at The Rainbow Room on September 10, 2022 in New York City. 

Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX who is currently waging a war over the ownership of Twitter, was named after his mother’s grandfather, John Elon Haldeman. The entrepreneur is one of the world's wealthiest people, valued at $273.2 billion.

Tosca Musk, who penned a heartfelt appreciation to her mother in the 2022 issue, was named after a girl that Musk’s ex-husband at the time had a crush on in high school. “I didn’t care. I thought the name was pretty. And I liked it and it suited her,” Musk said. Tosca Musk is the co-founder of the streaming service PassionFlix, which creates movies out of romance novels.

Kimbal Musk is an entrepreneur, chef and restaurateur who launched his own collective of community-inspired restaurants under the umbrella of his company, The Kitchen Restaurant Group. He was named after the book titled Kim by Nobel Prize-winning author Rudyard Kipling.

When Maye Musk was 31 years old, she became a single parent to her three young children. She worked multiple jobs to support them while continuing her education, earning two master’s degrees. She clearly helped instill a sense of independence, drive and purpose in her own children.