Elon Musk, the billionaire maverick known for his groundbreaking ventures, has made headlines once again, but this time for a more personal reason.
He confirmed he recently welcomed his twelfth child, this time with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.
The news, which leaked through media reports, has set the rumor mill spinning, accusing Musk of keeping the birth a secret.
“There was never any intention to keep it under wraps,” Musk defended, noting that issuing a press release would have been “bizarre.”
 Although the child’s name and gender remain undisclosed, Musk emphasized that all their friends and family knew about the baby.
“Failure to issue a press release does not mean ‘secret,'” Musk told Page Six.
The baby, believed to have been born earlier this year, was first mentioned in a Bloomberg report titled “Elon Wants You to Have More Babies.”
This ties into Musk’s longstanding concerns over declining population rates.
 “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far,” he has tweeted numerous times.
Musk’s views on population decline are well-known and controversial.
 He argues that low birth rates pose a greater threat to humanity than global warming.
His opinions have sparked debate, especially in light of his recent comments on social media.
 In a Twitter exchange with Geert Wilders, Musk warned that the Dutch nation’s low birth rate of 1.6 could lead to its own demise.
“Many countries are already well below the replacement rate,” Musk stated.
He noted that the global trend indicates a continuing decline in birth rates.
Musk has consistently pushed the narrative that the replacement rate of 2.1 kids is essential to sustain population levels.
In a 2023 interview with Tucker Carlson, he reiterated his bleak outlook.
“Will civilization end with a bang or a whimper? It’s currently trying to end with a whimper in adult diapers, which is depressing as hell,” Musk said.
However, these views are contested by experts like the U.S. Census Bureau.
 The world’s population, currently at 8 billion, is projected to rise to 10 billion by 2100 according to United Nations data.
Now, let’s rewind to how this all started. Shivon Zilis, born in Ontario, Canada, met Musk through OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research nonprofit he co-founded in 2015.
 Zilis, a standout in the tech world, was on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the venture-capital category in 2015.
She joined Neuralink as the director of operations and special projects in 2017, where she became an integral part of Musk’s vision for brain-computer interfaces.
 Her background is impressive; she studied economics and philosophy at Yale and even played goalie on the women’s ice hockey team.
Zilis has been described as Musk’s intellectual companion on AI since the inception of OpenAI.
The pair’s relationship evolved, and in April 2022, they filed a petition to change the names of their twins, Strider and Azure, to include Musk’s surname.
 Strider and Azure, now two-and-a-half years old, have been featured in several of Zilis’ social media posts.
 Musk’s personal life is nothing short of complex.
 He has been married three times and divorced three times, including two marriages and divorces with the same woman.
He has eight other children from previous relationships, adding to the intrigue.
 Among these are three children with musician Grimes, who is currently in a legal battle with Musk over parental rights.
 Last September, a public feud broke out with Grimes accusing Musk of preventing her from seeing their son.
The conflict involved Zilis as well, but recent updates suggest that Grimes and Zilis have mended fences.
Grimes tweeted that she was excited to become friends with Zilis and have their kids grow up together.
“Women are so often pitted against each other,” Grimes wrote on Twitter.
 Zilis responded by calling Grimes a “badass” and noted their conversation was “insanely overdue.”
Musk’s relationship with Grimes began in April 2018, capturing headlines when they appeared together at the Met Gala.
They have a four-year-old son, X Æ A-12, known simply as X, who has been spotted with Musk at various events.
Their second child, Exa Dark Sideræl, called Y, was born via surrogate in December 2021.
Musk also shares five children with his first ex-wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson.
Their eldest child, Nevada, tragically died at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in 2002.
Among their surviving children are twins Griffin and Vivian, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian.
 Vivian, who transitioned genders, has legally changed her name and distanced herself from Musk.
Musk’s private life often reads like a soap opera, filled with drama and unexpected twists.
As the public continues to speculate about his latest addition, one thing is certain: Elon Musk’s life remains as fascinating and controversial as ever.