Who Is Shivon Zilis? Punjabi-Origin Executive, Mother To Elon Musk’s Children And Key Witness In OpenAI Trial

In a moment that drew chuckles in court, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk paused for a second when asked under oath who Shivon Zilis is.

“She is my chief of staff, uh, yeah”, Musk said. Well, Shivon is not Musk’s “chief of staff”, of course. A day later, as testimony in his case against Sam Altman and OpenAI continued, the Tesla boss was more candid.

“We live together. And she’s the mother of four of my children”, he said.

But the question is: Why Shivon Zilis has emerged as a relevant figure in the high-stakes trial in which Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman, OpenAI and Microsoft, allegedly for changing the character of OpenAI from a non-profit to for profit company.

Who Is Shivon Zilis?

Shivon Zilis was born in Markhan, Ontario, to a Hindu Punjabi Indian mother, Sharda

Zilis and a Canadian father, Richard Zilis.

She grew up in Canada, and attended Unionville High School. After graduating in 2008, she started her career with IBM’s cognitive computing division.

Later, she went on to become a founding member of Bloomberg Beta. In 2015, she was named in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, the year before she began working with OpenAI as an adviser.

Until 2023, Zilis served on the non-profit board of OpenAI. Around the same time, she reportedly entered a relationship with Musk.

Musk and Zilis are parents to four children — twins who were born in 2021, followed by a daughter in 2023 and a son in 2024.

Why Zilis Is Relevant In Trial

Zilis’s relevance in the trial lies in not only her personal relationship with Elon Musk, but also her proximity with OpenAI.

According to court documents and messages presented during the trial, Zilis remained in contact with OpenAI leadership even after Musk resigned from its board in 2018.

In one message cited in the court, she reportedly asked Musk whether she should maintain friendly ties with OpenAI “to keep info flowing” or distance herself from the firm.

At the heart of the case lies Zilis’s unique position — her close relationship with Musk while also being in touch with the OpenAI leadership — which makes her a key witness.