‘I had God speak to me,’ Kimball Musk says in newly-resurfaced interview
Entrepreneur Kimbal Musk, the younger brother of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, says he had a life-altering moment in which he believed God spoke to him while he lay paralyzed from the neck down following a severe spinal injury.
In a newly-resurfaced interview, Musk, 53, recounted a 2002 accident during an inner-tubing outing that left him temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. “I land on my head [while inner tubing], and the force pushes my head into my chest. It ruptures my spine at C6 and C7. Paralyzed from the neck down,” he said.
Musk recounted being taken to a medical clinic in Jackson Hole, where doctors assessed the damage. “This doctor says, ‘We think we can fix you.’ And then I realize I’ve got tears streaming down the side of my face, and I have no idea what is going on,” he recalled.
While he said there was no pain due to the paralysis, Musk said he experienced swelling in his spinal column, which raised fears of permanent quadriplegia. Surgeons had to be flown in, delaying the operation by three days while medical staff monitored him closely.
During those anxious days, Musk — who described himself in the interview as critical of organized religion — said he had his first profound spiritual experience. “I’m not a religious person. If anything, I’m against religion. … And I had God speak to me,” he stated. “It was this beautiful, soft, clear message: ‘If they fix you, you’re going to work on kids and food.’ … And it also said I would get a divorce.”
At the time, Musk was running an internet company focused on real-time search and was unhappy in his marriage. The message, he said, came as a surprise given his background and current work. Three days later, he underwent surgery.
“The surgery is a success,” Musk reported. “One of the first things I do is ask for a laptop. I resign from my company and tell my wife I want to work with kids and food.” His then-wife, designer Jen Len, helped design the new restaurant concepts and initiatives connecting children to food through school gardens. “A few months later, I said we also need to be divorced,” he added.
Musk, who is a prominent figure in the farm-to-table movement and education-focused food initiatives, also served as SpaceX director for nearly 20 years before leaving the company in January 2022. After acquiring the light drone division of Intel, Musk is now the co-founder and CEO of Nova Sky Stories.
While it’s not clear where Kimball Musk is currently on his own faith journey, Elon Musk has long flirted with cultural Christianity, particularly after a 2022 interview with satire site The Babylon Bee, in which he said he agrees with the “great wisdom” found in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In a 2013 interview, Musk, who has often been described as atheist or agnostic, was asked whether he subscribes to any particular faith tradition. Musk replied by saying he doesn’t “really worship anything” but devotes himself to the “advancement of humanity using technology.”
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected].
