Contrary to popular belief, Elon Musk is not technically the ‘father’ or founder of Tesla. That distinction goes to Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. The tech mogul made a large investment in the company and is the CEO, hence the reason for the misconception. However, the 52-year-old is an actual father who recently welcomed his 12th child into the world.

Elon Musk’s 12th Child

Elon Musk has fathered numerous children, ensuring they stay out of the spotlight when possible. As such, many were stunned to learn that he quietly welcomed his 12th child earlier this year. However, the child’s gender and name remain unknown to the public.

Elon Musk Keeps Children Out of the Public

Despite his reputation for keeping his personal life private, Elon Musk has denied any intentional secrecy. “As for ‘secretly fathered,’ that is also false,” Elon Musk commented. “All our friends and family know. Failure to issue a press release, which would be bizarre, does not mean ‘secret.’” 

Elon Musk and Nueralink Employee

The child’s mother is Shivon Zilis, the director of special projects at Neuralink Corp. Although Musk isn’t the founder of Tesla, he did launch Neuralink Corp. on June 21, 2016. The neurotechnology company is developing “implantable brain-computer interfaces” and implanted the first “neural chip” earlier this year. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful, and the company still has some things to work through.

Elon Musk’s Journey into Fatherhood

In the meantime, Musk enjoys a quiet life outside of the public eye with his children. His journey to fatherhood began in 2002. Sadly, his first son, Nevada Alexander, passed away from SIDS at ten weeks old. Although he and his now ex-wife Justine Wilson suffered a significant loss, they welcomed twins two years later and later fathered children with Canadian musician Claire Elise Boucher, better known by her stage name, GRIMES.

Making Headlines Again

In 2021, Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis had twins Azure and Strider. Meanwhile, several of his children have been the product of IVF and surrogacy. Interestingly, he’s made numerous headlines for his bizarre obsession with letters instead of names, his overwhelming desire to seemingly play with money, and more recently, taking on an “advisor” role for Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the public speculated whether or not he’s competing with Nick Cannon for Fathering the Most Children.