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Elon Musk spoke to Nikhil Kamath about the Indian origin of his partner Shivon, and said that their son has the middle name Sekhar.
Elon Musk spoke with Nikhil Kamath about the Indian origin of his partner Shivon.
Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, has released the much-awaited episode of his podcast series ‘WTF is’, featuring tech mogul Elon Musk, where the latter held wide-ranging discussions on technology, entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence, along with rare personal insights from the billionaire.
During the conversation, the Tesla CEO said that his partner, Neuralink CEO Shivon Zilis, is “half-Indian,” adding that the middle name of one of his children with Zilis is Sekhar, named after Indian-American physicist and Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
“I’m not sure if you know this, but my partner Shivon is half-Indian,” Musk said, adding: “One of my sons with her, his middle name is Sekhar after Chandrasekhar.”
Musk also revealed some details of Zelis’s ancestry when Kamath asked her about where she grew up. He said Zillis was given up for adoption as a child.
“She grew up in Canada. She was given up for adoption when she was a baby. I think her father was like a university exchange student or something,” Musk said, noting that he did not know the full details of her early family history.
The revelation of Zelis’ origin sparked widespread curiosity online, especially in light of Musk’s comments about the influence of Indian-origin talent in global technology and science. Kamath, who seemed surprised during the conversation, said he had no idea about Zelis’s Indian roots until Musk brought it up.
During the conversation, Kamath also pointed out that many Indians refer to the migration of skilled professionals to the United States as a “brain drain.” Musk responded by praising Indian-origin talent, saying: “The United States has benefited greatly from the talented Indian people that have come over the years.”
The conversation then turned to the perception of anti-immigration sentiment in the United States. Kamath asked why the narrative around immigration seems to have changed. Musk explained that opinions on the issue are divided, saying that under the Biden administration, there has been what he described as “a complete free-for-all with no border controls.”
Who is Chiffon Zillis?
Shivon Zillis (38), mostly known for her leadership role at Neuralink, has a distinguished professional background. She joined Musk’s AI company in 2017 and currently serves as Director of Operations and Special Projects. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy from Yale University.
Before joining Neuralink in 2017, she worked with OpenAI as a board member and advisor and worked as a project manager at Tesla. She has also contributed to organizations such as the Alberta Institute for Machine Intelligence and the Vector Institute.
Zilis was featured in Forbes’s 30 Under 30 (2015) list of venture capitalists and was later named to LinkedIn’s 35 Under 35 list, reflecting her growing influence in the world of technology.
Zelis has four children with Mask, twins, Strider and Azure, daughter Arcadia and son Seldon Lycurgus.
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers Indian and international news. He is interested in India’s day-to-day political affairs and geopolitics. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism (with honors) from the University of Ben… Read more
30 November 2025 at 11:24 PM IST
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