Elon Musk Reveals Partner Shivon Zilis’s Indian Heritage, Son’s Middle Name ‘Sekhar’
In a candid conversation on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, Elon Musk shared personal details about his family, revealing his partner’s Indian roots and the meaningful middle name of one of his sons.
Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk’s partner, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, is of half-Indian heritage.
- One of Musk and Zilis’s twin sons has the middle name ‘Sekhar’, a tribute to Nobel-winning astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
- Musk disclosed these details during an appearance on Nikhil Kamath’s ‘People by WTF’ podcast.
Musk’s Personal Revelation on Podcast
Speaking to entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO confirmed the family connection to India. “My partner Shivon is half Indian, and one of my son’s middle name is ‘sekhar’ after the Indian physicist, Professor S. Chandrasekhar,” Musk stated.
Shivon Zilis’s Background
Musk explained that Zilis, who was adopted as a baby and grew up in Canada, is “half Indian.” Her biological father is believed to have been a university exchange student, though Musk admitted he does not know the full details of her family history.
Zilis joined Musk’s neurotechnology company, Neuralink, in 2017. She currently serves as the Director of Operations and Special Projects and is an economics and philosophy graduate from Yale University.
A Tribute to a Scientific Legend
The choice of the middle name ‘Sekhar’ honors Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the pioneering Indian-American astrophysicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his work on the evolution of stars. This nod reflects Musk’s well-documented admiration for scientists and innovators.



