Elon Musk Wanted His First Wife to Know He Was the ‘Alpha’ of the Relationship

10 Sep 2026, 14:10 · Thought Catalog

FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images

Updated 3 minutes ago, September 10, 2026

Justine Musk says her first dance with Elon Musk came with a warning. As the newlyweds swayed together at their wedding, she recalls, her husband leaned in and told her, “I am the alpha in this relationship.”

Elon Musk makes his way into the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland on April 30, 2026, as his lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over the company’s shift to a for-profit model continued in court. Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy / Getty Images.

It was an early sign of a dynamic Justine says defined the marriage — one she now describes as the relationship that taught her the meaning of the word “gaslighting.” The couple wed in 2000 and separated in 2008.

At Avalon in Hollywood on March 3, 2010, Justine Musk and Global Green USA CEO Matt Petersen attend the organization’s 7th Annual Pre-Oscar Party. Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images.

During those years they had six children together. Their first son, Nevada Alexander, died of sudden infant death syndrome shortly after his birth in 2002. The couple went on to have five more children.

Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump look on as SpaceX’s Starship lifts off on its sixth test flight from Brownsville, Texas, on November 19, 2024. Photo by Brandon Bell / Getty Images.

Justine recounts the wedding-dance remark in Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour documentary “Musk,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 8. The film also features interviews with Musk’s father, Errol Musk, former partner Ashley St. Clair and Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, and is scheduled to reach U.S. theaters on October 16.

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