In a new documentary by filmmaker and investigative journalist Alex Gibney, Elon Musk’s first wife, Justine Musk, revealed that the billionaire likes to refer to the mothers of his kids as “breeders” who are “interchangeable.”
Musk has had 14 known children with four different women — that we know of — over the last two decades, in what seems to be a quest to impregnate as many partners as possible.
Now he’s moving on from his latest longtime girlfriend and former employee, Shivon Zilis, who has had four of his children over the last five years, and once served as a board member of Musk’s brain computer interface startup Neuralink.
The reason we know about the breakup is a genuinely baffling statement Zilis posted on Musk’s social media network X.
“It’s hard to go from in love to let go in a week with no warning, but that’s just how it is sometimes,” she wrote, seemingly referring to her breakup in a way one would talk about getting fired. “I feel happy that I got to show Elon how it feels to be deeply understood, nurtured, and peacefully loved with stability and gentleness.”
The unnervingly subservient statement reads like an attempt to avoid burning bridges with the world’s richest man. It’s the kind of writing style you’d expect from a lawyer who’s protecting a client amidst a PR crisis, rather than the heartfelt goodbye letter somebody would actually write their former partner of five years.
“I loved being that counterbalancing place of safety, sense of calm, and love — and delighted in bringing a smile back to his face when he was down,” Zilis wrote. “I will miss him dearly.”
Even more puzzlingly, Zilis appended a screenshot of a recent message exchange with “E” in which he who told her that he would’ve — but ultimately didn’t — take her to a dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Musk attended a lavish state dinner at the White House in honor of Xi last week.
“I didn’t realize that this Xi dinner included a significant other (Beijing one did not) or I would have invited you,” Musk wrote her.
“Aw that means so much to me,” Zilis responded. “Thank you.”
Zilis posted her statement after an automated X account revealed that Musk’s official X account was no longer following her, a bizarre 21st-century indicator of the status of a high-profile relationship.
A mere three days before Musk attended the state dinner, Zilis cryptically posted a tweet that read “new day, new life,” possibly indicating that her ties with Musk were already unraveling.
While we don’t know the true motivations for Zilis’ 300-word statement, there’s something certainly unsettling about the power dynamics at play. That’s especially true given Musk’s broad disdain towards women, allegations of sexual harassment, and a brutal custody battle with ex Claire “Grimes” Boucher. That’s not to mention a far messier breakup with American conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair, who also has a child with him.
In other words, while we can’t rule out Zilis was coerced into posting her oddly fawning statement, chances are she’s trying to disentangle her life with Musk in the least turbulent way possible — and without incurring the wrath of a man well known for being vengeful.
More on Zilis: Experts Say Elon Musk Messed Up by Having Secret Children With His Employee
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