Elon Musk is a multifaceted individual known for his ventures in technology, space exploration, and even his stint as a host on "Saturday Night Live." Alongside these roles, he's also a father to 11 children, fathered with three different women.
With musician Grimes, Musk shares three children. He has twins with tech executive Shivon Zilis. Additionally, Musk has five children—comprising a set of twins and triplets—with his former wife, Justine Wilson.
According to author Walter Isaacson, who extensively covered Musk's life, Musk believes in the importance of having multiple children. Isaacson mentioned this perspective during an appearance on TODAY on September 11, 2023, noting that Musk desires a large family and "wants to have a lot of children."
This provides an overview of Elon Musk's diverse family situation and his perspective on parenting and family life.
Strider and Azure
It's interesting to learn more about Elon Musk's family dynamics. He shares twins, Strider and Azure, with Shivon Zilis, who is an AI specialist and serves as an executive at Neuralink, a company co-founded by Musk. Walter Isaacson's Time cover story delves into their relationship, describing Zilis as Musk's "intellectual companion on artificial intelligence" since the founding of OpenAI eight years prior.
Isaacson also revealed the names of Musk and Zilis' twins, who were born in November 2021, and even shared a photo of them, providing a glimpse into Musk's personal life and his connections within the tech and AI spheres.
Ever since imbibing Isaac Asimov stories as a kid, Musk has worried that our robots could turn on us. This Time excerpt of https://t.co/7JGHd10lOC explains why and what he’s doing about it. https://t.co/EiXqmMi3E6 pic.twitter.com/loKKgwYoIx
— Walter Isaacson (@WalterIsaacson) September 6, 2023
It sounds like a heartwarming moment captured by Shivon Zilis! Sharing an adorable video of her twins running around and hearing one of them shout, "I love you," must have been a joyful and special moment for her. It's lovely to see these glimpses into the personal lives of individuals like Zilis, especially in the context of such a close-knit family with Elon Musk.
I love youuuuuu pic.twitter.com/1yKfIPPH1e
— Shivon Zilis (@shivon) September 8, 2023
X Æ A-Xii, Exa Dark Sideræl and Techno
Elon Musk and Grimes made headlines with the unique name of their son, originally X Æ A-12, later adjusted to X Æ A-Xii to comply with California naming regulations. Musk clarified the pronunciation on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, explaining it as "X Ash A Twelve," with Grimes contributing to the name's creation.
Despite a brief separation in September 2021, Musk and Grimes reconciled, and they welcomed another child in December 2021. Their daughter, named Exa Dark Sideræl, arrived via surrogate and is affectionately nicknamed Y. Grimes elaborated on the pronunciation of her daughter's name as "sigh-deer-ee-el" in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Grimes discussed her relationship dynamics with Elon Musk in an interview with Vanity Fair, describing it as fluid and unconventional. While she referred to Musk as her boyfriend, she emphasized their strong friendship and unique arrangement, such as living in separate homes but spending ample time together.
Additionally, Grimes mentioned their shared desire to expand their family, expressing hopes of having three or four children together.
However, shortly after the Vanity Fair article was published on March 10, 2022, Grimes took to Twitter to announce that she and Musk had once again ended their relationship.
Me and E have broken up again since the writing of this article haha, but he’s my best friend and the love of my life, and my life and art are forever dedicated to The Mission now, I think Devin wrote that part of the story rly well. Sique - peace out
March 10, 2022
In September 2023, a New York Times review of Walter Isaacson's biography on Elon Musk disclosed that Musk and Grimes had welcomed their third child, Techno. Grimes also made a mention of Techno in a lengthy post on X, expressing her desire to showcase Techno's cuteness but prioritizing keeping their children away from public attention for the time being.
She urged followers to respect their decision to maintain privacy for their children at that time.
Hey, I wud prefer to not breathe any more life into this current press cycle but I want to de-escalate the narrative atm.
September 10, 2023
I spoke with Shivon at length finally, which was long overdue. This wasn't her fault, plz don't be angry at her! We respect each other a lot and we're…
In September 2023, following their breakup, Grimes took legal action by filing a court petition to establish parental rights regarding their children.
Griffin, Vivian and Nevada
Elon Musk and his first wife, Justine Wilson, have twins named Griffin and Vivian, born in 2004. Before the birth of their twins, the couple tragically lost their son Nevada in 2002 due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
It's heart-wrenching to learn that Elon Musk's firstborn son passed away in his arms, as he shared in an email exchange reported by Business Insider India in February 2022. He expressed the profound experience of feeling his son's heartbeat during that tragic moment.
Kai, Saxon and Damian
Elon Musk and his first wife, Justine Wilson, expanded their family with triplets, all boys, born in 2006. However, their marriage ended in divorce in 2008.
After divorcing Wilson, Musk married actor Talulah Riley in 2010. They went through multiple cycles of marriage and divorce, first divorcing in 2012, then remarrying in 2013, only to divorce again in 2016.