On Friday morning, Shivon Zilis, a senior executive at Neuralink and a key associate of Elon Musk, took to X to announce a sudden shift in her relationship with the billionaire. In her post, Zilis expressed the difficulty of transitioning from being in love to moving on in just a week without any prior notice. She shared a screenshot indicating that Musk had unfollowed her on the platform. Her message continued, reflecting on the joy of having shown Musk what it means to feel deeply understood, cared for, and loved, and she expressed hope that they might someday become great friends. This statement left some ambiguity regarding the nature of their relationship and whether she remains in her role as Director of Operations and Special Projects at Neuralink, although there is no indication that she has stepped down.
While this revelation about a personal matter was rather unusual, it is not surprising given Musk’s complicated family life. Thus far, the four women confirmed to have had children with him—Zilis, his ex-wife Justine Wilson, Claire Boucher (better known as Grimes), and Ashley St. Clair—have used X to share insights about their relationships with Musk or to counter his claims. Both Wilson and St. Clair feature in a new extensive documentary by filmmaker Alex Gibney, titled “Musk,” set to premiere in cinemas across the US on October 16 and to be screened at the WIRED World Fair in Miami next month. St. Clair, a former conservative influencer, claims she turned down a $40 million non-disclosure agreement that would have silenced her about her tumultuous relationship with Musk. Within a cadre of tech entrepreneurs, journalists, and Musk’s former employees, both women stand out as potentially critical voices in the film, shedding light on Musk’s rise in Silicon Valley and his shift towards MAGA extremism during the 2024 elections.
Exploring Musk’s Ambitious Ventures and Controversies
The documentary covers a vast array of topics, from Musk’s unrealistic ambitions of landing on Mars and the corporate colonisation of Texas to the fatal incidents involving autonomous Teslas and the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) early in Trump’s second term. The film references reports from WIRED and includes interviews with global editorial chief Katie Drummond and contributing editor Zoë Schiffer.
Alongside a thorough and engaging narrative of Musk’s career as a powerful and untouchable oligarch, his former partners provide crucial context about who he really is, painting a devastating portrait of a man capable of “unfollowing” his partner on social media. Wilson poignantly reflects on the loss of their firstborn due to a condition related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), contrasting this with a post from Musk in which he claimed to have held their dying child, to which Wilson responded, “No one else cares more than I do, as it was one of the most sacred and defining moments of my life, but I was the one holding him.”
In the film, she also discusses the pain caused by Musk’s repeated insistence that their transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, was “killed by the woke mindset”, labelling this comment inconceivable given the actual loss they experienced together. Musk tells Gibney that shortly after conveying that he would “always love” Wilson, he revoked their daughter’s health insurance and that he “never tried to fix things” with her.
Personal Insights and Revelations from Former Partners
“He kept pointing out all the ways I had failed,” Wilson recalls about their marriage, sharing that when she reminded Musk that she was his wife and not an employee, he retorted, “Exactly. If you were my employee, I would have fired you by now.” Summarising the overall dynamic of their relationship, she notes, “I learned the term gaslighting through my relationship with Elon.”
St. Clair, who has openly criticised Musk since revealing in early 2025 that she had a child with him, maintains that her intense relationship with the billionaire was a fleeting illusion of compatibility that ended in a complicated custody battle, which is still ongoing. Musk also faced a custody dispute with Grimes, which was eventually resolved under undisclosed terms. In the film, St. Clair claims Musk lost interest in her once she became pregnant, alleging that he attempted to have children with other women as well. Reports indicate that among these women was cryptocurrency influencer Tiffany Fong, to whom Musk allegedly sent a message proposing they have a child together.
The Complexities of Musk’s Relationships with Women
Musk did not respond to requests for comment on this matter. Fong declined to make public statements regarding the Journal’s report, stating only that she had requested not to be included in the outlet’s coverage.
In the film interviews, both St. Clair and Wilson express their discomfort with Musk’s views on birth rates and his ambition to father a “legion” of offspring, with Wilson asserting that he views the mothers of his children as interchangeable “breeders”. Furthermore, St. Clair revisits her accusation that Musk retaliated against her by reducing financial support for their son, Romulus. Her hesitance to answer certain questions from the filmmakers is also telling; when asked if she ever saw Musk consume illegal drugs, she cautiously replied, “I can’t say.”
Gibney’s extensive account of how Musk built a technological empire and a celebrity image through relentless self-mythologising, while shielding himself from governmental scrutiny with his support for Trump and growing influence within the administration, is compelling. However, much of this narrative may be familiar to those who have followed the headlines about Musk over the past decade.
What stands out most about Musk is how the women who once shared close relationships with him describe what they perceive as an almost boundless capacity for cruelty and narcissism. Whether Zilis will also step forward to share her intimate conversations and correspondence with Musk remains uncertain and likely depends on whether she has signed any legal documents similar to those presented to St. Clair. However, it is abundantly clear that despite his wealth, Musk cannot silence everyone he has encountered, and if anyone has the potential to shatter his aura of genius inventor and king, it may very well be the women he has allowed into his inner circle.