Elon Musk has revealed how he recently had a third baby with 38-year-old Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, who is part of his brain implant company.
Musk, 52, was accused of keeping the birth of the child - his 12th overall - a secret, after news of the birth was made public through media reports.
The billionaire businessman says there was never any intention to keep it under wraps, but that putting out a press release would also have been 'bizarre', although the baby's name and gender have not been revealed.
'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 said to Page Six, about the birth
The baby, believed to have been born earlier this year, was mentioned for the first time in a report by Bloomberg entitled 'Elon Wants You to Have More Babies'.
Musk and Zilis quietly welcomed baby number three in early 2024
The baby is believed to have been born earlier this year
Musk said there was never any intention to keep the birth of his 12th child a secret but to send out a press release would also have been 'bizarre'. Pictured, Musk welcoming his son X in 2020
The article discusses the X and Tesla owner's previously shared concerns over declining population rates.
'A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far,' he has tweeted in the past.
Musk is a fanatic when it comes to a possibly ‘population collapse’ which he believes is a bigger risk to the world than global warming.
This was apparent in a recent exchange on X between Musk and the Netherlands’ hard-Right leader, Geert Wilders, in which the Dutch politician warned of a collapse of Western values in his country thanks to open borders, a stance shared by other EU populists.
‘Agreed,’ responded Musk. ‘But if the birth rate stays as low as it is [1.6] your Dutch nation will die out by its own hand.’
'Many countries are already well below the replacement rate, and the trend indicates that almost all will be. This is simply a fact, not a 'debunked theory,' Musk has said previously.
Musk is also the father of twins Strider and Azure that he shares with Zilis
Musk has said he wants to be present for his children and sometimes takes them to work
'2.1 kids is the replacement rate, and it's clear that globally we will soon fall below that point,' Musk said.
In a 2023 interview with Tucker Carlson, Musk shared similar views.
'Once you have birth control and abortions and whatnot, now you can still satisfy the limbic instinct but not procreate. Will civilization end with a bang or a whimper? Well, it’s currently trying to end with a whimper in adult diapers, which is depressing as hell,' he said.
The U.S. Census Bureau disagrees with such views noting that the world’s population is not in decline.
100 years ago there were 2 billion people alive with the number topping 8 billion last year.
Data from the United Nations projects the figure will continue rising to 10 billion by the year 2100 - and even there is unlikely to be any collapse.
Four-year-old X often joins his father at public events
Zilis works as Neuralink Corp.’s director of special projects. Neuralink is Musk's brain implant company
Musk and Zilis, who works as Neuralink Corp.’s director of special projects, already share two-and-a-half-year-old twins Strider and Azure who were born in November 2021. The pair have featured in several of Zilis' social media posts.
Aside from his three children with Zilis, also shares three with musician Grimes.
Grimes is currently in a legal battle with Musk and is suing him over parental rights to their three kids.
Nevertheless, Musk has been seen with his four-year-old son, X (born X Æ A-12), at various events, including the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
Musk also shares twins Griffin and Vivian, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian with his ex-wife, Justine Wilson.
Their eldest child, Nevada, tragically passed away aged just 10 weeks from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).