Photo Credit: Getty Images
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and founder of Neuralink, has become a father of 12 after welcoming a third child with Shivon Zilis, Neuralink’s director of special projects. The birth, confirmed by Musk on June 23, was initially reported by Bloomberg Businessweek. The baby, whose name and sex have not been disclosed, was born earlier this year.
Despite the private nature of the birth, Musk dismissed claims that it was a secret. “All our friends and family know," he told Page Six, adding, "Failure to issue a press release, which would be bizarre, does not mean 'secret.'” Musk, 52, and Zilis, 38, also share twins Strider and Azure, conceived via IVF and now 2 years old.
In Walter Isaacson's biography "Elon Musk," Zilis explained her decision to have children with Musk, stating, "He really wants smart people to have kids, so he encouraged me to. If the choice is between an anonymous sperm donor or doing it with the person you admire most in the world, for me that was a pretty f**king easy decision."
Musk's growing family includes three children with singer Grimes: X Æ A-Xii, 4, Exa Dark Sideræl, 2, and Techno Mechanicus, known as Tau. Musk also fathered six children with his ex-wife, Justine Wilson: twins Griffin and Vivian, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian. Their first child, Nevada Alexander, tragically died at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome.
In April, Musk humorously commented on parenting, writing on X "I just realized that raising a kid is basically 18 years of prompt engineering." He has been vocal about concerns over population decline, emphasizing the importance of higher birth rates.
Grimes recently addressed her co-parenting situation with Musk on X, calling for privacy and highlighting her amicable relationship with Zilis. “We respect each other a lot and we're excited to become friends and have the kids grow up together,” she stated.
