Elon Musk’s Vision for Fatherhood: Insights on His Expanding Family and Dreams of a Martian Legacy

Elon Musk has fathered 14 children over the years and has expressed his thoughts on expanding his family further.

The Tesla CEO shares six children with his ex-wife Justine Wilson, including their son Nevada Alexander, who sadly passed away at 10 weeks old. More than two decades later, he had three children with singer Grimes, with whom he had a long-term relationship.

Additionally, Musk has four children with Shivon Zilis, an executive at Neuralink, and one son with author Ashley St. Clair. Allegedly, Musk offered St. Clair a one-time payment of $15 million and ongoing support of $100,000 per month to keep their child’s existence private.

While Musk has generally kept the details of his family life under wraps, he has made notable remarks regarding his role in addressing the “underpopulation crisis.”

In July 2022, he tweeted, “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far.”

Below are some of the comments Musk has made about his growing family.

Musk referred to himself as an “autumn chicken” after having his 10th child in 2022

In an October 2022 interview with Financial Times—shortly after it was reported that he welcomed twins with Zilis—Musk discussed the experience of being a father of 10 and humorously labeled himself an “autumn chicken.”

At age 51, Musk expressed that he was “pretty sure there are no other babies looming,” yet remained open to the idea of having more children in the future, provided he could be a responsible father.

He believes his relationship with his daughter Vivian is strained due to “full-on communism”

In June 2022, Musk’s estranged daughter Vivian legally changed her surname to Wilson, stating she no longer wished to be linked to her father “in any way, shape, or form.”

During the Financial Times interview, Musk suggested that Vivian’s disassociation from him was influenced by the perceived infiltration of elite educational institutions by neo-Marxists.

He remarked, “It’s full-on communism … and a general sentiment that if you’re rich, you’re evil.”

Musk claimed to maintain “very good relationships” with his other children despite acknowledging the strained dynamic with Vivian, stating, “Can’t win them all.”

Musk warned civilization will “crumble” without increased birth rates

Over the years, Musk has been an outspoken advocate for having more children to counteract declining birth rates.

At the Wall Street Journal CEO Council in December 2021, he predicted dire consequences for civilization if people did not have larger families.

Musk declared, “I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birth rate and the rapidly declining birthrate. Please look at the numbers—if people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words.”

He reiterated his encouragement for families to grow, expressing, “I hope you have big families, and congrats to those who already do!” in July 2022.

Musk once asserted, “Mars needs people,” following the birth of one of his children

During a July 2022 episode of the Full Send podcast, billionaire Mark Cuban recalled a conversation he had with Musk where the Tesla CEO jokingly mentioned his ambition to populate Mars.

“I know Elon a tiny bit. He’s a different dude,” Cuban said, reminiscing about congratulating Musk on the arrival of another child.

Cuban recounted his response to Musk’s latest child: “‘Dude, congratulations, how many are you going to have?’ He texts back, ‘Mars needs people.'”

Musk reportedly desires a “legion-level” of children “before the apocalypse”

Following Musk’s acknowledgment of being the father of St. Clair’s infant in February 2025, she sought sole legal custody. Her paternity petition included text exchanges where Musk allegedly expressed a desire to create a “legion of kids.”

According to a report, Musk imagines his children forming a “legion,” akin to a historical military unit consisting of thousands of soldiers.

The outlet further revealed Musk’s expressed intention to achieve “legion-level before the apocalypse” through surrogacy.

Additionally, Musk reportedly utilized social media to seek women willing to bear his children. On the same day the report emerged, he responded with a social media post, writing, “TMZ >> WSJ.”