Shivon Zilis, the thirty-something AI genius who shares the life of the indomitable Elon Musk

Elon Musk is a UFO even in his family life, and let's face it, we're starting to get lost in his family tree. Or at least, his descendants. For the richest man in the world, births are increasing, and sometimes even just a few weeks apart. On July 7, 2022, the boss of Tesla confirmed the rumor and revealed to Page Six being the father of ten children in total. A few months earlier, in November 2021 to be precise, he had indeed welcomed twins in Austin. And this, in the greatest secrecy. While he was obviously in a relationship with Natasha Bassett at the time, a young Australian actress, the mother of these children happened to be Shivon Zilis. Her name means nothing to the general public, and yet she is an influential figure in Silicon Valley. An expert in artificial intelligence, she runs Neuralink, Elon Musk's latest company, which develops computer chips designed to be implanted in the brain.

In addition to putting an end to Elon Musk's romance with Natasha Bassett, the sudden announcement raises questions. It is mainly the timing that raises the question. Because in December 2021, a month before the birth of his twins, Elon Musk welcomed their second child with the pop-gothic singer Grimes, from whom he was officially separated: a daughter born to a surrogate mother and named “ Y” (together, they already have a boy named “X”, and will soon have a third child, Techno Mechanicus, whose diminutive would be “Tau”). But the arrival of this eleventh child will have, as strange as it may be, no impact on his relationship with his new partner Shivon Zilis, who has become his most fervent supporter.

Also read
Married 3 times, 12 children: in the privacy of Elon Musk, the man behind the superman

Rising AI star

Born in 1986 in Markham, Ontario, Shivon Zilis grew up playing ice hockey, as she tells USA Today in 2015. Her passion for this sport will follow her to her high school studies at Yale University, where she becomes goalkeeper for the women's team. At the very exclusive University of Connecticut, known as one of the best in the United States, she followed a course in economics and philosophy. Graduating in 2008, she quickly attracted the attention of Silicon Valley. And it is at IBM that the Canadian will begin her career. She stayed there for three years.

Later, Shivon Zilis participated in the launch of the Bloomberg Beta investment fund. There, she played a key role in financing innovative startups and deepened her knowledge of AI, a field that had fascinated her since her pre-adolescence, when she discovered Spiritual Machines from Our Lady Peace (an album influenced by futuristic concepts). His expertise has earned him a place in the “30 Under 30” list of Forbes in the venture capital category in 2015. But above all, it allows him to join OpenAI in 2016, the company behind ChatGPT co-founded among others by Elon Musk and Sam Altman. At 30, Zilis became the youngest member of the board of directors. What she will remain until her resignation in March 2023, we read in the specialized media The Information .

Subsequently, Elon Musk hired him in two of his powerful companies. At Tesla, from 2017 to 2019, where she brought her AI expertise to the autopilot and chip design teams. Then within Neuralinks which she joined in 2017 – in parallel with Tesla – and of which she became the director.

3 kids and a house in Austin

Even today, it is unknown when the relationship between Musk and Zilis, originally professional, took a romantic turn. Usually, Elon Musk refuses to comment on his private life. As for Shivon Zilis, she remains discreet. Even if she does not hide her support for the entrepreneur, who has just been appointed by Donald Trump to head a ministry of “governmental efficiency”.

There is no one I respect and admire more

Shivon Zilis, on Elon Musk

The proof: in May 2020, Elon Musk publicly opposed the State of California over its Covid-19 containment restrictions, calling them “fascist”. Revolted, he promises that Tesla's headquarters will therefore be moved to Texas, which angers Democratic MP Lorena Gonzalez. “F*ck Elon Musk,” enrages the elected official on Twitter – the network is not yet owned by the billionaire. Shivon Zilis decides to respond and goes to the rescue of his boss (and perhaps already companion). “No one is perfect, but I have never met anyone who endures so much personal suffering to fight for an inspiring future for humanity – and has done so tirelessly for decades,” defends the director of Neuralinks. Then to insist: “Everyone has the right to have their opinion, but mine is that there is no one I respect and admire as much as him.”

Since then, Shivon Zilis has given birth to a third child, the billionaire's twelfth. Always, in the greatest of secrets. Neither the first name nor the sex of the baby, who would have been born this year, have been revealed. The couple and their three children live today in Austin, in a very private property inside a “gated community” (a closed neighborhood), located not far from the Tesla Gigafactory. Only, in court documents obtained by Business Insider Musk still lists as his primary residence a small $50,000 house in Boca Chica, a stone's throw from the SpaceX launch site in south Texas.

LISTEN TO SCANDALS