Elon Musk's mom, 74, becomes Sports Illustrated cover star

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By Asiya Ali

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Elon Musk's mother, Maye Musk, has been revealed as one of the faces of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2022.

At 74, the longtime model, author, and dietician-nutritionist has made history as the magazine's oldest cover star.

She had the opportunity to grace the cover of the swimsuit magazine with model Yumi Nu, singer Ciara, and businesswoman Kim Kardashian.

The American sports magazine posted Musk's cover on Instagram with a caption describing her as a "legend in the modeling industry for more than five decades."

It went on to say that the model "embodies the idea that aging shouldn’t hold you back from pursuing your dreams."

Speaking to PEOPLE, the dietician opened up about her excitement and the significance of being on the cover.

"My first reaction was, I could never dream up something like that because why would anyone have a 74-year-old on their cover, especially in a swimsuit," she joked.

"I do think it's going to make women feel more comfortable in their seventies when they swim, as well as women in their twenties and thirties."

"When women go to the beach, we're kind of shy about our bodies, but men will walk around, looking terrible, and they don't care," she continued. "I think we have to not care that much!"

Musk wore a purple swimsuit - seen in images inside the magazine - and a colorful Maygel Coronel one-piece on the cover. She said, initially, she was unnerved by going to Belize to shoot with photographer Yu Tsai, however, it ended up being a "lovely atmosphere."

"Everybody was polite, kind, considerate, caring, so I felt very comfortable in my swimsuit," she said, adding that "once you've done your first shot, you're fine with all the others because they give you so much confidence about looking good in a swimsuit."

Musk reflected on her body image and aging in her 2019 memoir, A Woman Makes A Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success.

She wrote: "I went through different stages of my life where I was rejected, insulted, disappointed and it just takes away your confidence.

"Then you just have to get over it. So here, I'm 74, I'm the happiest I've ever been, and I don't care, and nobody's insulting me because — you don't want to insult a grandmother. The point is, people are really good to me at this stage, but why should it take so long?"

Also as part of the 2022 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, Musk's 47-year-old daughter, Tosca, wrote an essay titled The Unstoppable Force, as a homage to her mom.

"My whole life, I've seen my mom do everything. As a result, I think I'll always expect her to be able to do everything," Tosca shared. "Sometimes I wonder whether it's time I start limiting those expectations, as she gets older. But then I look at her again, still unstoppable, and I think, not yet."

Tosca spotlighted a few of her mom's achievements, writing:  "My mom is 74 now. In her years on this planet she's earned two master's degrees in nutrition science, won awards in the dietetics field, has been in countless fashion shows and editorials, and she's even appeared in a Beyoncé video. She is an uncontainable force, and she's the most fearless woman I've ever known."

Featured image credit: Image Press Agency / Alamy.