Shivon Zilis confirms split with Elon Musk: Who is the Neuralink executive and business confidante of the Tesla boss?

The Neuralink executive, who shares four children with Musk, publicly confirmed their relationship had ended. Zilis said she hoped they could remain “great friends and coparents” and shared an emotional account of the breakup on X.

Shivon Zilis, the artificial intelligence executive at Elon Musk's Neuralink, has publicly confirmed that her relationship with the billionaire has ended, saying the split came “with no warning.”

Zilis, who shares four children with Musk, made the disclosure in a lengthy post on X on Friday. She described the breakup as an abrupt shift from being “in love” to being “let go” and said she hoped the two could continue to maintain a friendship and co-parent their children.

“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,” Zilis said in the post.

Shivon Zilis: ‘I feel happy that I got to show Elon’ stability

In the emotional statement, Zilis reflected on her relationship with Musk and the role she said she had played in his personal life.

“I feel happy that I got to show Elon how it feels to be deeply understood, nurtured, and peacefully loved with stability and gentleness,” she wrote.

Zilis also described herself and their children as a source of stability for Musk.

“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. I will miss him dearly,” she wrote.

Her comments offer a rare public account of a relationship that had largely remained outside the spotlight despite Zilis' professional links to Musk and the couple's growing family.

Zilis and Musk share four children

Zilis and Musk have four children together. They welcomed twins Strider and Azure in 2021, followed by daughter Arcadia in 2024 and son Seldon, whose birth was announced in early 2025, according to recent reports.

Zilis said the children remained central to her outlook following the breakup.

“There is a lot of loss,” she wrote, “but luckily, we created four beautiful little loves of my life.”

She added that she was grateful for their children and hoped that she and Musk could maintain a positive relationship as co-parents.

“I do hope and pray he and I can be great friends and coparents,” she wrote.

Zilis shares recent messages with Musk

Alongside her statement, Zilis also shared a screenshot of a recent text exchange with Musk.

According to the screenshot, Zilis told Musk on September 24: “It was really wonderful to see you for breakfast. Love you very much.”

Musk replied: “Love you too.”

The exchange came days before Zilis publicly disclosed the end of their relationship. Musk has not publicly responded to her announcement.

Who is Shivon Zilis?

Zilis is a technology executive whose career has focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and venture capital.

According to Business Insider, she joined OpenAI in 2016, a year after its founding. She was involved with the company during Musk's investment in OpenAI and his eventual 2018 split with CEO Sam Altman.

Zilis later moved into Musk's other technology ventures, including Tesla and xAI. She is now the director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, the Musk-founded startup developing computer chips designed to be implanted in the brain.

From IBM to venture capital

Zilis grew up in Markham, Ontario, Canada, and was a lifelong athlete, according to Business Insider.

She attended Yale University, where she played goalkeeper for the women's ice hockey team. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in economics and philosophy.

After Yale, Zilis joined IBM, where she spent three years working on financial technologies.

She later moved into venture capital and joined Bloomberg Beta, an early-stage venture fund. There, she led investment efforts focused on data and machine learning.

Her work at Bloomberg Beta earned her a place on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in the venture-capital category in 2015, Business Insider reported.

Zilis worked at Tesla

Zilis joined Tesla in 2017 and worked as a project director until 2019, according to Business Insider.

Her work included applying her AI expertise to Tesla's Autopilot and chip-design teams.

From Tesla, Zilis continued working across Musk's technology ecosystem, including his AI venture xAI.

Zilis’ role at Neuralink

Zilis is now the director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, according to Business Insider.

Neuralink is developing brain-computer interface technology involving implantable chips designed to allow computers to interact with signals from the brain.

Her career has therefore spanned several areas of the technology sector, from financial technology and venture capital to AI, autonomous driving and brain-computer interfaces.