Chapter 138

In late 2021, Musk becomes a father to twins with Shivon Zilis, his AI investor and Neuralink operations manager, while simultaneously having a daughter via surrogate with Grimes. The chapter explores his evolving relationships and family dynamics as he reaches peak prominence, becoming Time's Person of the Year.

In November 2021, Musk fathered twins—Strider Sekhar Sirius and Azure Astra Alice—with Shivon Zilis, the bright-eyed AI investor he recruited to OpenAI in 2015 and who became Neuralink's top operations manager. Zilis and Musk had developed a deep, conflict-free intellectual friendship over six years; she decided to have children after being inspired by Musk's advocacy for higher birthrates to sustain civilization. Musk suggested being the sperm donor, which Zilis accepted. Though Zilis was visibly pregnant while leading a tour of Neuralink's new Austin facility, no one knew Musk was the biological father. The twins were born seven weeks prematurely but healthy, given Zilis's last name. Musk became unexpectedly involved in parenting, visiting weekly to feed them and conduct meetings while sitting on the floor with them. Concurrently, Musk and Grimes, though in a rough patch, had conceived a daughter via surrogate to avoid complications from Grimes's previous pregnancy. By coincidence, both Zilis and the surrogate were hospitalized simultaneously in Austin, with Grimes staying with the surrogate unaware of Zilis's presence. The daughter was born in December and eventually named Exa Dark Sideræl, later simplified to Y. When Musk brought Y home, he introduced her to his son X with Grimes in a family setting, then took X to New York for Time magazine's Person of the Year ceremony, where Musk was recognized for his influence on Earth and potentially off-Earth ventures. In 2021, he became the world's richest person, SpaceX sent the first civilian crew to orbit, and Tesla reached a trillion-dollar valuation.