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Tesla chief Elon Musk reveals partner Shivon Zilis is 'half-Indian', says their son carries 'Shekhar' as middle name

by Trans World Features | @twfindia 01 Dec 2025, 06:31 am

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed that his partner, Shivon Zilis, is “half-Indian” and that one of their twin sons has “Shekhar” as his middle name — a tribute to renowned physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, according to media reports.

Musk made the revelation during a conversation with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on his podcast ‘WTF is’.

“I’m not sure if you know this, but my partner Shivon is half-Indian,” Musk said. “One of my sons with her, his middle name is Sekhar after Chandrasekhar.”

When asked about her ancestry, Musk said Zilis grew up in Canada and was adopted as a baby. “I think her father was an exchange student at the university or something like that… I’m not sure of the exact details,” he added.

Musk also spoke about the U.S. tightening its visa rules, saying America has long benefited from Indian talent but may now be moving in the opposite direction.

“America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India, but that seems to be changing now,” he said.

Kamath’s podcast has hosted several high-profile names including Bill Gates, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Nandan Nilekani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Ranbir Kapoor, Vinod Khosla and Aravind Srinivas.

Its most prominent guest so far has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who appeared in an episode released on January 10, discussing India’s tech ambitions and leadership.

With Musk now joining the lineup, ‘WTF is’ is set for one of its biggest episodes yet, with fans eagerly awaiting what is expected to be a headline-making conversation.