Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk doesn't mince words when it comes to his father. In a candid Rolling Stone interview years ago, he painted a remarkably dark picture of Errol Musk, who had connections to South Africa's apartheid regime and has faced multiple criminal accusations.

"He was such a terrible human being, you have no idea. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. He will plan evil. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done. It's so terrible, you can't believe it," Elon Musk said about his father.

The accusations aren't purely rhetorical. In 1998, Errol admitted to killing three people, claiming self-defense. He was arrested, though authorities eventually dropped the charges.

Elon has made it clear that he considers his father's words unreliable, which only underscores how fractured their relationship has become.

"In my experience, there is nothing you can do. Nothing, nothing. I wish. I've tried everything. I tried threats, rewards, intellectual arguments, emotional arguments, everything to try to change my father for the better, and he, no way, it just got worse," Elon Musk added.

The troubled relationship between one of tech's most influential figures and his father has fascinated the public for years. Understanding these family dynamics offers a glimpse into the personal challenges faced by someone who's otherwise reshaping entire industries.