Earlier this year, Elon Musk quietly welcomed his eleventh child, marking his third with Shivon Zilis, as reported by Bloomberg. Zilis, who directs operations and special projects at Neuralink, previously had twins with Musk in 2021. Musk has five children from his first marriage to Justine Musk, three with Canadian musician Grimes, and now three with Shivon Zilis.
The connection between Musk and Zilis wasn’t widely known until 2022, when they sought to change their twins’ names to incorporate both Musk’s and Zilis’ last names as middle names. In September 2023, Walter Isaacson, Musk’s biographer, shared insights into their relationship, posting a photo of them with their twins at Zilis’ home in Austin. Isaacson described Musk discussing AI risks while the twins played nearby.
Zilis has been a key figure in Musk’s professional life for years, joining Neuralink in 2017 and previously working at OpenAI, another initiative co-founded by Musk. She started her career at IBM, moved to Bloomberg Beta, and eventually found her place at OpenAI and Neuralink.
Born in Markham, Ontario, Zilis attended Yale University, where she played goalie on the women’s ice hockey team and graduated with degrees in economics and philosophy.
Elon Musk has been vocal about his concerns regarding global underpopulation, advocating for individuals with high IQs to have more children to address what he perceives as a crisis. Despite controversies, including allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior, Musk’s personal and professional relationship with Zilis continues to capture public interest.