The world’s richest man looked unrecognizable in a childhood holiday photo that some have said actually foreshadowed his controversial future.
An image shared on X Monday captured a young Elon Musk apparently dressed as Santa Claus during a Purim celebration, a holiday commemorating the saving of the Jews from the Persian Empire in the fifth century BC.
Musk, now 54, confirmed that the picture was genuine, replying to the post by saying it was taken ‘at Purim,’ which is typically celebrated in February or March.
The image of a young Musk showed him with noticeably blonde hair, a red robe with white trimming just like Santa, and a white sack for gifts.
However, Musk ditched the fake, white beard and traded in Santa’s classic black boots for a pair of sandals instead.
‘Santa Elon is saving the world one technological present at a time!’ one commenter said on X.
Musk was born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa and lived there until the age of 17, when he and his mother moved to Canada.
Before leaving South Africa, Musk had previously claimed he attended a Hebrew preschool as a child, but the billionaire did not confirm when and where the old photo was taken.
While many social media users enjoyed seeing a young Musk before fame and fortune, some eagle-eyed viewers spotted a face drawn on the wall behind him, which looked eerily similar to the billionaire’s future ally, President Donald Trump.
Multiple X users spotlighted the face, seemingly drawn on a white paper plate, that had Trump’s distinctive blonde haircut hanging right above Musk’s head.
‘Is that Trump?? You have always been a visionary. Lol,’ one commentator on X declared.
‘Is Trump’s face being behind you on the wall a premonition?’ another person added.
‘A prophecy fulfilled,’ a social media user joked.
It’s been a roller-coaster relationship for Musk and Trump over the last year, with the SpaceX and Tesla CEO fully supporting the president’s reelection campaign before eventually walking away from the White House amid tensions over government spending.
However, Musk was recently seen reuniting with Trump during a November 18 dinner at the White House to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
‘This is terrifying,’ one critic on X said next to a zoomed-in image of the ‘Trump face’ in Musk’s childhood photo.
‘With a Trump Haman mask in the background. Classic,’ another person said, claiming the drawing looked like the president and the villain of Purim in the biblical Book of Esther.
According to scripture, Haman plotted to convince the ancient Persian king to kill all the Jews in the empire.
Purim is considered a fun and joyous Jewish holiday that’s often thought of as a mix of Halloween and Mardi Gras, but with a deeper meaning about courage and survival.
For children, they typically dress up in costumes, with some commenting on Musk’s photo and calling it ‘Purim cosplay’ rather than dressing like Santa.
Musk has never described himself as being Jewish in terms of his religious beliefs, but said in January 2024 that he was ‘aspirationally Jewish’ while defending himself against claims of antisemitism.
‘In the circles that I move, I see almost no antisemitism. Two-thirds of my friends are Jewish,’ the tech mogul said in a YouTube video posted by Bloomberg Technology.
‘I have twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends. I’m like Jewish by association.’
While Musk has generally described himself as an atheist over the years, he recently clarified his position on both the existence of God and Christian beliefs.
‘God is the Creator,’ he said during The Katie Miller Podcast on December 9.
‘I believe this universe came from something. People have different labels [for God],’ Musk explained to the podcast host, who is also the wife of Trump advisor Stephen Miller.
