Elon Musk’s first wife Justine reveals secret to his success: ‘Hard work and saying no a lot’ | Company Business News

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is set to join the Donald Trump-led US government this week — partnering with Vivek Ramaswamy on a project to slash the size of the federal government. There has also been renewed interest in his personal life and work ethics as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO becomes a permanent fixture in news headlines.

“I was married…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 your average bear. And he said no a lot,” his ex-wife Justine Musk reportedly said during a TedX talk in 2014.

Details about their messy divorce — outlined by Justine Musk in a 2008 essay — have also come under the spotlight ahead of the inauguration.

She had met the businessman at Queen’s University in Ontario and they eventually married in 2000. The couple tragically lost their first child to sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks. They went on to have five more children through IVF — twins in 2004 followed by triplets in 2006. The loss of their son and the subsequent birth of five more children as well as Musk’s growing role in the business world had severely strained their relationship.

“This, and the vast economic imbalance between us, meant that in the months following our wedding, a certain dynamic began to take hold. Elon’s judgment overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking,” she wrote.

The Canadian author also recalled telling her then husband repeatedly that she was his wife and not an employee.

“If you were my employee…I would fire you,” she quoted him as responding just as often.

Elon Musk is now slated to lead the Department of Government Efficiency under Donald Trump. DOGE will be a nongovernmental task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations — all part of what the incoming POTUS calls his “Save America” agenda for a second term in the White House.

(With inputs from agencies)