19-05-2025
‘My genius boy': Elon Musk's mother shares results of his computer aptitude test from 1989
Maye Musk, mother of tech billionaire Elon Musk, recently gave the world a rare look into her son's early brilliance by sharing results from a computer aptitude test he took as a teenager in South Africa.
Sharing a picture, Maye wrote, 'While sorting through photos, I came across computer aptitude test results of @elonmusk at 17. My genius boy. Proud mom.' The heartfelt message quickly gained attention online, with many users expressing admiration for the Tesla CEO.
The document, dated 1989 and signed by the director of information management at the University of Pretoria, highlights Musk's academic potential during his brief time at the university before he left for Canada at the age of 17.
Conducted by the ISM (SA), the aptitude test results showed Musk earning A+ grades in both programming and operating systems. 'The results were outstanding,' the letter stated.
See the viral post here:
While sorting through photos, I came across computer aptitude test results of @elonmusk at 17. My genius boy. Proud mom.
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) May 18, 2025
The post garnered over 5 lakh views, prompting a reaction from Elon Musk himself. 'They said I scored the highest for engineering aptitude that they had ever seen. Or, in other words, not bad for a human, as a future AI might say,' he commented on his mother's post.
Several social media users chimed in, hailing the tech mogul, with one saying, 'Probably the most important human being to ever live – men want to work for him and he wants to advance society ruthlessly. He support free speech and he is bringing the future closer to us rapidly. Well done!!' Another user commented, 'It's incredible to see such early proof of brilliance! Any mom would be proud—what a wonderful memory to find.'
'If there was a Mother of the Century award, you would win it by a landslide Maye,' a third user posted.
Elon Musk, who also heads SpaceX and is currently the world's richest individual with a net worth of $433.9 billion (approximately Rs 36.01 lakh crore), as per Forbes' World's Billionaires List for 2025. He began his higher education journey in 1990 at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. After two years, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned dual degrees, a Bachelor of Arts in Physics and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the prestigious Wharton School.
In 1995, Musk was accepted into a PhD programme in materials science at Stanford University. However, just two days into the programme, he decided to drop out to pursue opportunities in the internet industry.
