Elon Musk has strong links with Merseyside thanks to his paternal grandmother, who was born and brought up in Liverpool. The tech billionaire’s nan, Cora Robinson, was born on Bridge Road in Mossley Hill in August 1923, eventually leaving England to settle in South Africa, where she married Walter Musk in 1944.

Cora was the mum of Errol Musk, Elon’s dad. According to Errol, Cora “grew up in poverty” in pre-war Liverpool. He said the family was “quite hard up” during her childhood, but that she and her siblings were part of a “proud, hard-working family”. Cora’s sister reportedly died of scarlet fever when she was six.

In an interview with the Mirror in 2022, Errol recalled taking a young Elon to Merseyside for family holidays in the 1970s. Errol told the Sunday Mirror: “The first time I took Elon to England was when he was six years old. He loved going to Wimbledon. He also loved going to the fruit fields in the summer and picking strawberries.”

On one family trip, Errol dropped Elon off at a playground in Wirral, where he claims his son disappeared, sparking a police search. “We called the police and the search for him went on until 10pm,” said Errol. “Then the phone rang and it was Liverpool police saying they’d got him. He was 10 miles from the park and was with this lady. She told the police she was giving him milk and biscuits, and he was watching the television.”