Shivon Zilis, Elon Musk’s longtime partner and the mother of four of his children, says the billionaire ended their relationship without warning, admitting that “it’s hard to go from in love to let go in a week.”
Zilis, an executive at Musk’s brain-computer technology company Neuralink, shared her emotional account in a lengthy post on X on Friday. Her message came just hours after social media users noticed that Musk had unfollowed her on the platform he owns.
“I’ve loved him more than life itself,” Zilis, 40, wrote. She said Musk had given her “100 lifetimes of knowledge” and filled her life with meaning, adding that their breakup represented a significant loss—but that they had also welcomed “four beautiful little loves” into her life.
“I am so beyond grateful for our children and they make every single day the best day of my life,” she continued. Zilis said she hoped and prayed that she and Musk could remain close friends and supportive co-parents.
She also said she was grateful to have shown Musk what it felt like to be “deeply understood, nurtured, and peacefully loved with stability and gentleness.”
“I loved being that counterbalancing place of safety, sense of calm, and love,” Zilis wrote. She added that she took joy in making Musk smile when he was struggling and would miss him deeply.
“I’m hurting, but care deeply about E and will always be cheering for his happiness,” she said, referring to Musk. “God speed, Elon, the world is lucky to have you.”
Shivon Zilis, Elon Musk’s longtime partner and the mother of four of his children, said on Friday that the billionaire ended their relationship “with no warning.” The pair are pictured together in February
Zilis appeared to suggest that the separation caught her off guard by posting screenshots of affectionate messages exchanged with Musk only days earlier.
“It was really wonderful to see you for breakfast. Love you very much,” she wrote in one message.
“Love you too. I didn’t realize that this Xi dinner included significant other—the Beijing one did not—or I would have invited you,” Musk replied on September 24. Zilis responded: “Aw, that means so much to me. Thank you.”
Musk, 55, has not publicly addressed the reported breakup.
The apparent split was preceded by a cryptic post from Zilis on September 28, when she wrote: “New day, new life.”
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Earlier on Friday, Big Tech Alert, an account that monitors the social media activity of prominent technology figures, reported that Musk had stopped following Zilis.
Musk follows roughly 1,400 accounts on X, making the change particularly noticeable to online observers.
The reported breakup comes only months after Zilis testified in Musk’s legal case against OpenAI earlier this year.
Born in Ontario, Canada, and educated at Yale University, Zilis first crossed paths with Musk through OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research organization he co-founded in 2015.
Zilis, the mother of four of Musk’s 14 children, appeared to indicate that the breakup came as a surprise after sharing screenshots of affectionate messages the pair exchanged just the previous week
Zilis, the mother of four of Musk’s 14 children, appeared to indicate that the breakup came unexpectedly. The pair are pictured meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, DC, in February last year
During her testimony, Zilis said their relationship began with “a one-off” encounter at a corporate off-site event before developing into a friendship.
Zilis went on to work as a project director on Tesla’s Autopilot team from 2017 to 2019 before becoming director of operations and special projects at Neuralink.
She told the jury that when she decided to have children as a single mom, Musk ‘offered to make a donation’ as a platonic sperm donor.
Their twins, Strider and Azure, were born by IVF in November 2021. News of their third child, Arcadia, surfaced in June 2024. Their son, Seldon Lycurgus, followed in February 2025.
Our News Outlet has reached out to Zilis and Musk.
More to follow.
