Elon Musk Has Reportedly (and Quietly) Welcomed Twins According to new reports, the Tesla CEO quietly fathered twins with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis in November 2021.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Maja Hitij | Getty Images

Elon Musk rarely holds back when it comes to discussing his life interests — from business to politics to the world of cryptocurrency.

But his personal life is a different story.

According to new reports, the Tesla CEO quietly fathered twins with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis in November 2021, just prior to the birth of his daughter with Grimes the following month.

Related: Elon Musk Secretly Welcomed a Second Child

Zilis serves as the director of operations and special projects for the neurotech company that aims to implant patients' brains with machine technology. Musk is currently Co-CEO of the company.

In court documents obtained by Insider, Zills gave birth in November of last year, filing a petition to change the names of the two children to legally have the two children take Musk as their last name while using Zills' name as part of their middle names.

The petition was filed on April 25 (the same day that Musk submitted his bid for a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter) and then approved in May 2022, making the twins the 9th and 10th children of the Musk clan.

Musk is also the father to Nevada Musk (who tragically passed away in 2002 of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), twins Griffin and Vivian Musk (18 years old), triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian Musk (16 years old), X AE A-XII Musk (age 2) and Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (7 months old).

Earlier this year, Grimes revealed in a feature interview with Vanity Fair that she and Musk had welcomed Exa via surrogate in December 2021, though she hadn't planned to disclose the information.

"Didn't mean for them 2 find out about my daughter so please respect her privacy as I'd love her to be able to live as private of a life as possible," she tweeted out after the release of the interview.

The news of Musk's twins with Zilis prompted a characteristic Twitter spree from Musk who began talking about fertility rates and the growth of families.

"Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis," he joked to his followers. "A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far."

The billionaire also noted that the population of Mars is in fact still zero before ending on a sweet note.

"I hope you have big families and congrats to those who already do," he heartwarmingly penned.

Musk's net worth as of Thursday afternoon was an estimated $231.5 billion.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Thought Leaders

12 Big Ideas From Business Books Published in 2024

After considering more than 1000 books for our annual Non-Obvious Book Awards, a few big themes emerged. Read our trend recap and how these trends can help your business in 2025.

Business News

These Are the 10 Highest-Paying Jobs With the Lowest Stress, According to a New Report

From astronomer to geographer, these jobs will reportedly offer the highest paychecks with the least amount of stress in 2025.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Side Hustle

This 24-Year-Old's Creative Side Hustle Surpassed $1 Million in Sales: 'Definitely Doing Something Right'

Content creator and actor Alyssa McKay saw the perfect opportunity to innovate.