Elon Musk has ended his relationship with Shivon Zilis, the mother of four of his children, in what she described as a sudden shift from "in love to let go in a week with no warning."
Zilis, 40, announced the split on Friday in a post on X, after an account that tracks big tech pointed out that Musk had stopped following her. She is director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, Musk's brain-implant company, and has worked for several of his businesses.
Her statement contained no accusations. She wrote that she was hurting but cares deeply about Musk and will always cheer for his happiness, and closed with: "God speed, Elon, the world is lucky to have you." She said she hopes the two will remain friends and co-parents.
She also described what she believes she gave him. Zilis called her home a refuge from what she termed his "otherwise militant existence," and said her aim had been to offer him stability.
Alongside the statement she posted a screenshot of one of their last exchanges. In it she told Musk how good it was to see him for breakfast and that she loved him, and he answered on September 24, "Love you too." Three days later she posted a short, unexplained message about a new day and a new life.
The couple have four children, conceived through IVF over five years: twins Strider and Azure, daughter Arcadia, and son Seldon Lycurgus. Musk has 14 known children with several women.
Zilis, a Yale graduate with a background in machine learning and artificial intelligence, worked at Tesla from 2017 to 2019. She joined the OpenAI board in 2020 and left in 2023, after Musk founded the rival company xAI.
Musk has not publicly commented on the breakup.
