Tech magnate Elon Musk has quietly welcomed his 12th child, his third with Neuralink Director Shivon Zilis. Musk clarified that the birth was not kept secret, as his family and friends were fully aware of it. He also denied reports that he "secretly fathered" the baby, emphasizing that the absence of a press release does not imply secrecy.
Musk remarked that issuing a press release about the birth would have been "bizarre." The name and gender of the baby have not been disclosed. "As for 'secretly fathered,' that is also false. All our friends and family know. Failure to issue a press release, which would be bizarre, does not mean 'secret,'" Musk told Page Six.
This marks Musk's third child with Zilis, who works for his brain implant firm Neuralink. Their twins, Strider and Azure, were born in 2021.
Musk's family history is extensive. He first married Justine Wilson in 2000, and the couple has five children together. They divorced in 2008. He then married actor Talulah Riley in 2010; they divorced in 2016. In 2018, Musk began dating Canadian musician Grimes, with whom he has three children. The couple separated in 2021.
The 52-year-old billionaire has been vocal about his concerns regarding declining birth rates, noting that many countries are already below the replacement rate and that this trend is expected to continue globally. "Many countries are already well below replacement rate, and the trend is that almost all will be. This is simply a fact, not a 'debunked theory,'" he told Page Six. Musk highlighted that "2.1 kids is the replacement rate, and obviously the world as a whole will soon drop below that point."
In a July 2022 interview with Page Six, Musk supported the idea of having "big families" and expressed his desire to have many children so he could spend time with them and be a good father. He also tweeted at the time that a "collapsing birth rate was the biggest danger civilization faced."
Besides his three children with Zilis, Musk has twins Griffin and Vivian, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian with Justine Wilson. Their eldest child, Nevada, tragically died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at 10 weeks.
