Alex Gibney Documentary Examines Elon Musk's Tech Empire and Personal Conduct Through Former Partners

Shivon Zilis, director of operations and special projects at brain-chip interface company Neuralink, publicly acknowledged an abrupt shift in her personal relationship with chief executive Elon Musk on social media platform X. Zilis, who is the mother of four of the 14 children Musk is known to have fathered, posted the statement after automated tracking account @BigTechAlert noted that Musk had unfollowed her profile. In her remarks, Zilis expressed gratitude for their relationship, voiced hope that they could remain friends and co-parents, and left ambiguity regarding whether her executive role at Neuralink would change, though she does not appear to have left the position.

The disclosure comes as several women who have had children with Musk increasingly speak on the record regarding their experiences. Four women confirmed to have had children with the technology executive—Zilis, author Justine Wilson, musician Claire Boucher (Grimes), and former conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair—have used social media or documentary interviews to detail their relationships and address his public claims, according to reporting by Wired (https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musks-exes-are-the-most-damning-part-of-a-massive-new-documentary/).

Both Wilson and St. Clair participated in filmmaker Alex Gibney's upcoming documentary titled 'Musk', scheduled for nationwide theatrical release on Oct. 16 and set to screen at the WIRED World Fair in Miami. The nearly four-hour film features interviews with tech entrepreneurs, journalists, former Musk employees, and his former romantic partners. In the documentary, St. Clair claims that she turned down a $40 million non-disclosure agreement intended to prevent her from discussing her relationship with Musk.

The film covers the breadth of Musk's career, including his stated goal of landing on Mars, corporate expansion in Texas, fatal collisions involving Tesla vehicles, and his political trajectory. It also examines his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the start of Donald Trump's second presidential term, including actions affecting the U.S. Agency for International Development. WIRED global editorial director Katie Drummond and contributing editor Zoë Schiffer appear as commentators in the documentary.

Testimony from Wilson provides accounts of Musk's private conduct during their marriage. Wilson reflects on the death of their firstborn child from a condition related to sudden infant death syndrome, clarifying that she was holding their son when he died, contradicting an earlier post by Musk claiming he had held the infant. Wilson also discusses Musk's public assertion that their transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, was 'killed by the woke mind virus.' In an interview with Gibney, Musk stated that after communicating that he would always love Wilson, he cut off their daughter's health insurance and has never attempted reconciliation.

Wilson also recounts that Musk frequently criticized her during their marriage, stating that he once told her, 'If you were my employee, I would fire you,' and noted that the relationship introduced her to the term gaslighting. Both Wilson and St. Clair express discomfort in the film with Musk's stated ambition to father a large number of children, with Wilson alleging that he views mothers of his offspring as replaceable.

St. Clair details an ongoing custody dispute regarding their son, Romulus, alleging that Musk lost interest in their relationship once she became pregnant and sought to father children with other women. The documentary cites reporting from The Wall Street Journal stating Musk sent messages to cryptocurrency influencer Tiffany Fong offering to father a child with her; Fong declined to comment on the Journal's report beyond noting she had asked not to be included. St. Clair also claims Musk retaliated against her by lowering financial support for their child, and responded 'I'm not at liberty to say' when asked if she had observed Musk using illegal drugs.

Gibney's documentary details how Musk built his technology businesses and public standing through consistent self-mythologizing, using political alignment to buffer his companies from regulatory oversight. While many corporate milestones in the film have been widely documented, the testimony from women in his personal life provides a detailed examination of his private conduct alongside his position across the tech sector.