Mr Nice guy: Elon Musk was originally going to be named after the French city where he was conceived
- Elon Musk was almost called Nice, a new book by Walter Isaacson said.
- The name was a reference to the city in France where the billionaire was conceived, the book said.
- The Tesla CEO's parents opted for Elon in the hopes of making Maye Musk's family happy.
The Musk siblings are known for their unusual first names, but the initial choice for Elon Musk was arguably the strangest of all.
Walter Isaacson's biography said that the Tesla CEO had been due to be called Nice, which was a reference to the French city where the billionaire was conceived, the book said.
The Tesla CEO's parents, Errol Musk and Maye Musk, later opted for Elon in the hopes of making his mother's side of the family happy, the book said.
Elon was also the name of Maye Musk's grandfather and his middle name, Reeve, was the name of her maternal grandmother, Isaacson wrote.
Isaacson's book touches on various details of the billionaire's childhood. It is based on the two years the biographer spent shadowing the Tesla CEO, along with multiple interviews he conducted with associates, exes, and relatives, among others.
Errol Musk liked the name Elon because of its biblical links, the book said. It added that Errol Musk later said it was a prescient reference to a science-fiction book written by rocket scientist Wernher von Braun about colonizing Mars. Elon is the title given to elected leaders of Mars in the book.
The SpaceX CEO has said he wants to build a self-sustaining city on Mars in the coming decades. In 2021, Elon Musk said he was selling his possessions and wanted as much capital as possible to fund a Mars colony.
Representatives for Elon Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.
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