Shivon Zilis, the mother of four of Elon Musk's children, took the stand in court on Wednesday to reveal personal details about her complicated and once-secret relationship with the tech billionaire. The testimony provided a rare glimpse into their private life during a high-profile legal battle over artificial intelligence.
Testimony in the OpenAI Lawsuit
Zilis, 40, who is also a longtime adviser to Musk, testified on the sixth day of his lawsuit against fellow OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Musk alleges that the executives abandoned OpenAI's original nonprofit mission in pursuit of profit and personal gain.
She revealed that after joining OpenAI in 2016, she had a romantic 'one-off' with Musk. However, she insisted that her personal relationship never influenced her judgment as an OpenAI board member, a position she held from 2020 to 2023.
'I had an allegiance to the best outcome, AI for humanity,' she testified during questioning by Musk attorney Jennifer Schubert.
Sperm Donor Arrangement
The court heard how Musk 'offered to make a donation' in a 'platonic sperm donor' arrangement after Zilis decided she wanted to become a single mother. This arrangement later developed into a romantic partnership.
Zilis admitted that she only disclosed her relationship with Musk to OpenAI's board after Business Insider informed her it planned to publish a story about it. She testified that she and Musk 'had agreed on complete confidentiality' regarding his sperm donation due to security concerns surrounding the billionaire.
'If he was indeed just a donor, it didn't seem fair to put that burden on them,' she said.
Previous Testimony by Greg Brockman
On Tuesday, Greg Brockman testified that Zilis told him in 2021 that she was pregnant with twins but did not initially identify Musk as the father. 'She said it was via IVF and that it was entirely platonic with Elon,' Brockman testified.
According to Brockman, several OpenAI board members later pushed to remove Zilis because of her relationship with Musk. 'We actually had a board vote and decided to let her stay. We trusted her to keep the Elon conflict under control,' Brockman said.
When asked whether it was her job 'to funnel information to Elon,' Zilis replied, 'Funnel? Absolutely not.'
Allegations of Deception
Schubert also questioned Zilis about a message she sent Musk saying the 'trust game is about to get tricky' in relation to other OpenAI board members. Zilis rejected the idea that she had been deceptive with Altman and Brockman. 'I would have preferred it if I'd written 'trust framework,'' rather than 'trust game,' she testified.
Zilis described OpenAI's leadership tensions in 2017 as a 'weird half-breakup,' adding, 'I think I wanted to figure out how to navigate, if I was still going to be a facilitation or a bridge.'
Background and Implications
Zilis left the OpenAI board in 2023 after Musk launched rival company xAI. She has also worked at Musk-led companies including Neuralink and Tesla. The ongoing trial in California holds significant implications for OpenAI, the company behind the widely adopted ChatGPT chatbot. OpenAI has raised billions from investors and is reportedly eyeing a potential trillion-dollar initial public offering. Musk is seeking fundamental changes to the company's governance and $150 billion in damages.
