Tesla CEO and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, stunned the internet when he appeared on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath‘s podcast, “WTF is?”, and revealed surprising details about his personal life – including a very close Indian connection.
The billionaire disclosed that, not only did he have a son whose middle name was Shekhar, after Indian Nobel Laureate S Chandrashekhar, but that his current partner and mother to four of his children, Shivon Zilis had Indian roots.
Who is Shivon Zilis?
Born to a Punjabi Hindu mother and a White Canadian father, Shivon Zilis is a corporate professional who is currently Director of Operations and Special Projects at Musk-owned NeuraLink. A Yale graduate, the 39-year-old is mother to twins Strider and Azure, daughter Aracadia and son Seldon Lycurgus. She boasts an impressive CV, sprinkled with some of the biggest names in tech and finance such as OpenAI, Bloomberg LP, IBM, Tesla and others. Zilis graduated in 2008 with a degree in Economics and Philosophy.
She began her career at IBM, New York, going on to become a founding investor at Bloomberg Beta from 2012 – 2018. This cast the spotlight on her, as she earned a spot on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2015. She then served as a Project Director for Tesla’s AutoPilot Program from 2017 – 2018. In the meantime, she also served on several different Boards of Directors across companies such as Open AI and Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute), and Vector Institute as per her LinkedIn profile.
Zilis is enthusiastic about Artificial Intelligence, developing an interest in the field at the age of 12 or 13 according to Business Insider. “I’ve basically spent pretty much all of the last decade focused in and around AI unfolding in the world in the best way possible,” she said. And it was AI that connected her and Elon Musk. She met him in 2016 while working for OpenAI and developed a bond based on their shared interests in technology and the potential of Artificial Intelligence.
She was given up for adoption at birth
When asked about her ancestry and where she grew up Musk said, “She grew up in Canada. She was given up for adoption when she was a baby. I think her father was like an exchange student at the university or something like that.
“I’m not sure about the exact details, but you know it was kind of thing where I don’t know, she was given up for adoption. But she grew up in Canada,” he added.
On the podcast, Musk also spoke about how America has benefitted from talented and hardworking Indians. “America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India, but that seems to be changing now,” he said.
