Elon Musk’s mother Maye Musk recalls 14-year-old son’s investment advice

Elon Musk, who’s recently closed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, shared some investment advice. His mother, Maye Musk, retweeted her son’s tips and shared a story of how 14-year-old Musk had given her financial pointers. 

The 74-year-old recalled, “In South Africa, when you were 14, you asked me to buy stock in a company you really believed in. My stockbroker friend said it’s a bad idea, so I only bought R1000 (similar to $1000 at that time), which is the maximum amount I was willing to lose.” 

The model and dietitian continued, “The stock quickly rose to R3000. My stockbroker friend panicked and said I had to sell. So I panicked too and sold. You weren’t happy. That stock continued to rise.” The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s mother concluded the tweet, saying she had divided the winnings among her children, Elon, Kimbal and Tosca Musk. The world’s richest man had found the move “unfair” at the time, Maye Musk recalled, asking her son “Who was right?”

Also Read | Is Twitter owner Elon Musk confusing the Left’s criticality with hatred?

Musk, in his tweet on investment tips, said “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in”, adding, “Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does”. 

The billionaire concluded, “This will serve you well in the long-term.” 

Musk has a diverse portfolio with investments in artificial intelligence, solar energy, and subsurface transport systems. His net worth is estimated to be $268.2 billion. 

Also Read | Explained: What changes are expected after Twitter goes private?

The entrepreneur recently joked about buying Coca-Cola and McDonald’s after closing the Twitter sale. Musk’s recent acquisition has some worried since the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” has placed himself to the right of centre on the political spectrum. Amnesty International warned that with Twitter’s new ownership there might be a blind eye toward hate speech.