Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive and mother of four of Elon Musk’s children, gave evidence on Wednesday in Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI. The trial, now in its second week, centres on Musk’s claim that OpenAI’s leadership breached a founding agreement by converting the company from a non-profit to a for-profit entity.
Zilis served on OpenAI’s board from 2020 to 2023 and has been portrayed by OpenAI’s legal team as a conduit for information to Musk after he left the company in 2018. Court filings include a 2018 text from Zilis to Musk asking: “Do you prefer I stay close and friendly to OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate?” Musk replied: “Close and friendly.”
During her testimony, Zilis acknowledged that she acted as a facilitator between Musk and OpenAI during what she called a “tricky half breakup”. She said: “They were kind of bad at speaking to each other. My role historically had been to facilitate communication between all of the major parties.” However, she denied “funnelling” information to Musk while on the board.
Zilis also revealed that her romantic relationship with Musk began around 2016, and she decided to have children with him in late 2020 after he offered to “make a donation”. The couple now has four children and lives together in Austin, Texas, where Musk stays when visiting. Musk referred to Zilis as the mother of his children during his own testimony last week.
OpenAI rejects all allegations, arguing that Musk supported the for-profit shift before leaving after a failed bid for control. The company seeks to prove that Musk is motivated by sour grapes over OpenAI’s success. Musk is seeking $134bn in damages and the removal of CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman.
