Elon Musk Makes Rare Outing with Shivon Zilis, Mother of 3 of His Kids, as He Joins Trump in D.C.

Mar. 15, 2025

From left: Elon Musk talks to guests including Lauren Sánchez, Jeff Bezos and Shivon Zilis at the National Building Museum on Sunday, Jan. 19.Photo:Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Elon Musk talks to guests including Jeff Bezos and his Lauren Sanchez, third from right, and Shivon Zillis, before President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a dinner at the Building Museum, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington

Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Elon Muskmade a rare public outing withShivon Zilis, the mother of three of his children, as the pair attended a pre-inauguration event forPresident Donald Trumpin Washington, D.C.

Musk was a major backer of Trump’s election campaign and is expected to be a prominent adviser to his administration.

He was also in attendance as Trump was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, Jan. 20, alongside Bezos, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and others.

Since Trump’s election victory in November, a number of leading figures from Silicon Valley and other parts of the business world have publicly reached out to him, including traveling down to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago in Florida. That’s also drawn criticism from Trump opponents who argue the moguls are cozying up to him.

Musk himself spent a notable amount of time at the club, sourcespreviously told PEOPLE.

But Zilis, who gave birth to her third child with Musk in 2024, has not spent as much time in the Washington spotlight. (The day before the inauguration, shedid post on Xabout Musk playing video games.)

From left: Elon Musk talks with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner as well as Jeff Bezos and Shivon Zilis at a dinner at the National Building Museum on Sunday, Jan. 19.Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Elon Musk talks with Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Jeff Bezos, and Shivon Zillis, right, before President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a dinner at the Building Museum, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington

A longtime member of the tech industry, Zilis has worked at various Musk companies, including Tesla and, most recently, Neuralink.

Though some details of Zilis' relationship with Musk remain private — source says they were “acting romantic” on Sunday — she said in the biographyElon Muskthat he offered to help her have kids.

“He really wants smart people to have kids, so he encouraged me to do this,” she said. “I can’t possibly think of genes I would prefer for my children.”

Musk, who believes there is a looming “underpopulation crisis,”has 12 children.

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The musician Grimes has three children with him as well and has had asomewhat up-and-down relationship with Zilis, according to social media

More recently, however, they both spoke of wanting to blend their families.

“We respect each other a lot and we’re excited to become friends and have the kids grow up together,” Grimes wrote on X in 2023, to which Zilis responded, “At the end of the day it all ended up for the best! Thank you for taking the time to really connect and understand each other.”

Elizabeth Rosner

source: people.com