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BILLIONAIRE businessman Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet.

The number of children the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX actually has has been a subject of some debate — here's everything you need to know.

 Elon Musk is the father of a large brood of children
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Elon Musk is the father of a large brood of childrenCredit: Reuters

How many kids does Elon Musk have?

Elon Musk is among countless celebrities who have welcomed several children with different women.

Many were under the impression that he had 10 children altogether, but a 2022 biography by Walter Isaacson claimed that he actually had 11.

In June 2024, according to a report from Bloomberg, Elon secretly welcomed another child earlier that year, making him a father of 12.

And since then that number has risen to 13 — here's everything you need to know...

Who are Elon Musk's children?

Nevada Alexander Musk

Elon's first child was Nevada Alexander Musk.

He was born in 2002, two years after he married Canadian author, Justine Wilson.

Sadly, Nevada died at just 10 weeks old of sudden infant death syndrome.

Griffin and Xavier Musk

In 2004, Elon and then-wife Justine welcomed twin boys Griffin and Xavier via IVF.

In June 2022, Xavier filed a petition to change their name and gender  — she wanted to be unrelated to her biological dad.

Xavier filed the paperwork in California on April 18 to change her name.

The petition revealed that she wanted to be known as Vivian Jenna Wilson, TMZ reported.

Elon Musk shares rare photo with lookalike son X Æ A-12 and they have matching haircuts

She said she's changing her name because she "no longer lives with or wish to be related" to her biological father "in any way, shape or form."

The former couple's triplets, Kai, Saxon, and Damian Musk, were born in 2006.

They too were conceived through IVF and custody is shared between the two parents after they divorced in 2008.

Elon has never spoken publicly about his life with his sons.

In a previous interview, Justine said: "Almost all of my non-work waking hours are spent with my boys, and they are the love of my life."

X Æ A-12

In May 2020, Elon and his former partner, Grimes, announced the arrival of their little boy.

He was born on May 4, 2020.

The pair initially named their newborn child X Æ A-12.

The name appeared to be partially inspired by one of the songs from Grimes' last album, 4ÆM.

Unfortunately for the couple, the name was not in accordance with Californian state law, as the law prohibits Indo-Arabic numerals in names.

Elon and Grimes had to change it to X AE A-12 to remove the Æ and 12 so that his birth certificate would comply with California law.

In an interview for Joe Rogan's podcast at the time, Musk revealed the pronunciation of his son's name.

He told Rogan that it is pronounced X-Ash-A-Twelve.<

Who is Elon Musk?

Here's what you need to know...

Controversial billionaire Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971.

As a 12-year-old child he taught himself computer programming and sold the code of a video game to a PC magazine for $500 (£300).

At 17, he moved to Canada to study, before gaining two degrees in physics and business at the University of Pennsylvania.

At the age of 24 he moved to California to start a Ph.D. in applied physics and material science at Stanford University - but left the programme after just two days to pursue other projects.

Now 50, he is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, co-founder, CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors, co-founder and chairman of SolarCity, co-chairman of Opan AI, co-founder of Zip2 and founder of X.com, which merged with PayPal.

He's also working on a human brain chip project called Neuralink.

Musk's stated aim is to reduce global warming and save humans from extinction by setting up a colony on Mars.

The billionaire inventor is also working on the world's largest lithium-ion battery to store renewable energy.

Exa Dark Sideræl Musk

In March 2022, Musk welcomed his second child with the pop star Grimes.

She accidentally announced the couple's baby news in an interview with .

Grimes attempted to hide her daughter's birth from the public, but the secret was revealed when a baby was heard crying upstairs during the interview.

Exa Dark Sideræl is known as Y and joins older brother X Æ A-12, who is similarly referred to as X.

Grimes and Musk named their daughter Exa Dark Sideræl because Exa comes from the computing term exaFlops.

The middle part of the name, Dark, refers to the beautiful unknown mystery of dark matter in the universe.<

And Sideræl, pronounced "sigh-deer-ee-el" is a "more elven" take on the word sidereal which means star or deep space time, an alternative to earth time.<

Grimes explained that the name means: "The true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time."

 Elon pictured with his son X Æ A-Xii
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Elon pictured with his son X Æ A-XiiCredit: Rex

Tau Techno Mechanicus

A review published by The New York Times on September 9, 2023, claims that Musk and Grimes secretly welcomed a third child together, a son by the name of Techno Mechanicus.

The baby boy was born in mid-June 2022, during the week of Father's Day.

Musk later confirmed that the baby boy is called "Tau" for short, after the Greek letter for the number equal to two time pi.

The number, which is roughly 6.28, may reference Musk's own birthday, June 28.

Strider and Azure

In July 2022, The Daily Mail reported that Musk had quietly welcomed twins weeks before the birth of his second child with Grimes.

Musk and Shivon Zilis welcomed twins together in November 2021, the outlet reports.

Zilis is one of Musk's top executives at his company Neuralink, according to Insider.

Both of the parents filed petitions to change the twins' names so that they could have the Musk last name.

Elon Musk leaving a meeting with three children.
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Elon Musk pictured with three of his kidsCredit: Rex

They also filed a petition to have the mother's last name be their middle name, The Daily Mail reports.

In September 2023, Musk revealed the twins' names and genders.

Strider Zilis Musk, a baby girl, and Azure Zilis Musk, a baby boy, were photographed sitting on their parents' laps.

Arcadia Musk

In February 2024, the couple added a daughter named Arcadia to the brood. On her first birthday Shivon posted on social media: “Happy 1st birthday, my Arcadia. Mommy loves you with her heart”.

Seldon Lycurgus Musk

Musk and Shivon's son Seldon Lycurgus was announced via X on February 28, 2025.

The latter posted: “Built like a juggernaut, with a heart of gold.”

What is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby under the age of 12 months where no cause is found.

Around 89 per cent of deaths happen when the tot is under six months old.

It is relatively rare, with 182 babies dying from SIDS in the UK in 2021.

While doctors don't know exactly what triggers it, there are ways to significantly reduce the chances of SIDS occurring:

  • Put your baby on their back for all sleeps - day and night
  • Share a room with your baby for the first six months
  • Place your baby on their own, clear, flat sleep surface (e.g. cot or Moses basket)
  • Keep your baby smoke-free during pregnancy and after birth
  • Never sleep on a sofa or armchair
  • Do not co-sleep if you or anyone in the bed has been drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking drugs or medication that makes you drowsy

These things are especially important for babies who were born prematurely or of a low birth weight, as they are typically at higher risk of SIDS.

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