Elon Musk, the trailblazing Tesla CEO along with being a tech mogul is also a dad extraordinaire, boasting a progeny of a whopping 12 children from his sweet adventures in love and life. Known for raising concerns about the ‘under-population crisis’, he’s clearly not wasted any time procreating. The billionaire businessman, with quite a reputation for having multiple romantic partners, has in a span of two decades introduced us to a stellar squad of mini-Musks (Elon Musk’s children).
The first was born in 2002 and the latest addition to the Musk clan has been introduced recently to the world as baby no. 12. The name and gender of his new child haven’t been revealed yet but we know that it is his third with Neuralink Corp.’s director of special projects, Shivon Zilis.
Earlier his 11th child affectionately called ‘Tau’ also remained a secret until the pages of American writer Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography about Elon Musk unveiled the billionaire’s on-again, off-again partner Grimes as the “mother of three of Musk’s children.” This was a revelation since the world only knew about 10 of Musk’s offspring until then.
However, this supposedly super dad just declared his trans child, Vivian Jenna Wilson — born Xavier — dead (figuratively) after he was “tricked” into giving consent for his child to go on puberty blockers.
Elon Musk says his child transitioning means they’re “dead” to him. “Killed by the woke mind virus.”
This is every LGBT person’s nightmare reaction from their parents to them coming out.
pic.twitter.com/vsAnepkAJA— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) July 22, 2024
As this viral clip from his interview with Jordan Peterson and the recent revelation about his 12th kid stirs up curiosity about Elon Musk’s children, his myriad romances and family dynamics, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to take you through his solid progeny and the incredible women who helped him become a dad who will, undoubtedly, go down in history.
Meet Musk’s 12 children in chronological order
- Nevada Alexander (died at the age of 10 weeks)
- Griffin Musk (20 years old)
- Vivian Jenna Wilson (20 years old)
- Kai Musk (18 years old)
- Saxon Musk (18 years old)
- Damian Musk (18 years old)
- X Æ A-Xii (4 years old)
- Azure Musk (2 years old)
- Strider Musk (2 years old)
- Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (2 years old)
- Techno Mechanicus aka Tau (1 year old)
- Baby no. 12 (name and date of birth is currently unknown)
Now, let’s take a look at the mothers of Elon Musk’s children
Justine Wilson: His first star wife
Canadian author Justine Wilson was Elon’s first wife and inaugural partner in the journey to parenthood. Their marriage, which lasted from 2000 to 2008, led to Musk’s first six children. Wilson humorously referred to herself as a ‘starter wife’ in a candid Marie Claire essay.
Grimes: His songstress partner
Canadian singer and songwriter Grimes, a former romantic partner, shares three children with Elon Musk. The duo has had a very on-and-off relationship and has parented three children – X Æ A-Xii in May 2020, followed by Exa Dark Sideræl and Techno Mechanicus (Tau) to their stellar family.
Shivon Zilis: His Neuralink romance
Elon’s professional world collided with his personal life when he welcomed a set of twins with his company Neuralink’s top executive Shivon Zilis in November 2021, nestled neatly between his sporadic love endeavours with Grimes. This was followed by the latest addition — baby no. 12 — to the Musk clan in 2024.
That’s not all.
In between these years, the Tesla CEO also married and divorced actress Talulah Riley twice — the first lasting from 2010 to 2012, and the second from 2013 to 2016. However, the two never had children together (unless there’s another biography in the making that confirms otherwise).
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Now, let’s delve into the details about Elon Musk’s 12 children
Nevada Alexander (died at the age of 10 weeks)
Born in: Sometime 2002
Nevada was the first of Elon Musk’s offspring, born in 2002 to his first wife Justine Wilson. Tragically, their parental bliss took a grim turn when, at just 10 weeks old, Nevada lost his life due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Griffin Musk – 20 years old
Born in: April 2004
Following the heart-wrenching loss of their firstborn, Elon and Justine turned to IVF, a path that led to the joyful arrival of their twins Griffin and Vivian, born in April 2004. The twins are now 20 with Griffin being Musk’s eldest son.
Vivian Jenna Wilson – 20 years old
Born in: April 2004
Elon Musk’s daughter Vivian, born alongside her twin brother Griffin in 2004, has undergone a remarkable journey herself. In 2022, at the age of 18, she initiated the legal process of changing her name and gender, seeking recognition for her identity as a woman. She also requested a new birth certificate, bearing her mother’s surname, symbolising her desire to distance herself from her father’s name.
In her heartfelt petition, Vivian explained, “My decision is driven by my gender identity and my desire to sever all ties with my biological father, embracing a future devoid of any connection in any form.”
However, in a 2024 interview with Jordan Peterson, the SpaceX CEO declared his trans daughter dead. He said that he was “tricked” into giving consent for his child to go on puberty blockers.
During the conversation, Musk expressed, “It happened to one of my older boys, where I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier,” the billionaire told Peterson, adding, “This is before I had any understanding of what was going on. COVID-19 was going on, so there was a lot of confusion and I was told Xavier might commit suicide if he doesn’t (give his consent).”
The Tesla CEO added it wasn’t explained to him that puberty blockers are “actually just sterilisation drugs” when he gave his consent for the treatment.
“I lost my son, essentially. They call it deadnaming for a reason,” Musk said, adding, “The reason it’s called deadnaming is because your son is dead. My son Xavier is dead, killed by the woke mind virus.” He continued, pledging to combat the influence of this ideology.
Kai, Saxon and Damian Musk – 18 year olds
Born in: January 2006
Two years after Griffin and Vivian’s arrival, Elon and Justine’s cosmic family expanded once more with the birth of triplet sons: Kai, Saxon and Damian, born in January 2006. Musk’s three sons recently celebrated their 18th birthday.
Though Elon and Justine have chosen to keep their journey with the triplets relatively private, Justine confirmed that they were conceived through IVF during a 2017 TedTalk.
Elon and Justine parted ways in 2008 and share custody of their five children. In a 2010 op-ed for Business Insider, Elon disclosed that he contributed USD 20,000 a month in child support, in addition to covering living expenses and the salaries of the children’s nannies, emphasising that his children were the heart of his life.
X Æ A-Xii (originally X Æ A-12) – 4 years old
Born in: May 2020
Elon Musk and his former girlfriend Grimes welcomed their first child together on 4 May 2020. Their son was initially called X Æ A-12, but his name was later changed to X Æ A-Xii.
•X, the unknown variable ⚔️
•Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)
•A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent 🤍
+
(A=Archangel, my favorite song)
(⚔️🐁 metal rat)— Grimes (@Grimezsz) May 6, 2020
Grimes revealed her pregnancy on social media in January 2020 and later made a post on Twitter to decode their son’s distinctive name.
Azure and Strider – 2 year olds
Born in: November 2021
When Musk was in an on-and-off relationship with Grimes, he seemed to have had a little office romance with Neuralink’s Director of Operations and Special Projects Shivon Zilis. The two welcomed twin sons Azure and Strider in November 2021. Interestingly, Grimes welcomed a daughter via surrogate around the same time.
Exa Dark Sideræl Musk – 2 years old
Born in: December 2021
Just a month after welcoming a set of twins with Shivon Zilis, in December 2021 Musk and Grimes welcomed their daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, born via surrogate. The parents lovingly nicknamed the child ‘Y’ in honour of her brother having been monikered ‘X.’
Techno Mechanicus (aka Tau)
Born in: September 2023
Techno Mechanicus, affectionately known as Tau joined the ranks as Elon’s 11th child in September 2023. He was revealed to the universe through Walter Isaacson’s biography.
Baby no. 12
Born in: Sometime in 2024
Musk quietly added another baby to his family earlier in 2024 with Neuralink Corp.’s director of special projects, Shivon Zilis. He confirmed the news to Page Six. “As for ‘secretly fathered,’ that is also false,” he shared with the outlet in a statement. “All our friends and family know. Failure to issue a press release, which would be bizarre, does not mean ‘secret,'” the Tesla founder added.
The sex and name of Musk’s 12th child are currently unknown.
Well, considering how vocal Elon Musk has been about his unique perspective on underpopulation (which also explains his large number of offspring), we won’t be surprised to see a couple more children added to his extraordinary list of Muskeeters.
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(Header and feature image courtesy: Instagram/Amber Heard and Twitter/Elon Musk)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Elon Musk has a total of 12 children.
20-year-old twins Vivian Jenna and Griffin Musk are Elon Musk's oldest children.
Elon Musk has two daughters - Vivian Jenna Wilson and Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, born to different mothers.
The gender and name of Elon Musk's youngest child (baby no. 12) is currently unknown, but we know that it is his third child with Neuralink Corp.'s Shivon Zilis.