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Elon Musk responds to racism allegations, says his partner is Indian and son is named after Chandrasekhar

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 25 Jul 2026 25 Jul 2026

New Delhi: Elon Musk has pushed back against accusations of racism, saying his personal life and the diversity within his companies contradict such claims. The billionaire told The Economist in an interview that he is often misunderstood when it comes to immigration and demographics.

Musk cited his relationship with an Indian-American through his mother, Shivon Zilis, who is a member of the board at Neuralink, saying they have four children together. He also announced that one of their sons was called ‘Sekhar’, the name of which was chosen in honour of Indian astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who won the Nobel Prize.

Musk cites family while rejecting racism claims

During the interview with The Economist, Musk was asked why many people consider some of his public comments to be racist. He rejected the charge, saying, “My partner is half-Indian, and I have four children with her, one of whom was named after a famous Indian scientist, so I would say I’m not racist.”

Musk is talking about Canadian tech executive Shivon Zilis of Neuralink. Zilis hails from Punjabi Indian heritage and has been collaborating with Musk since 2017 at the brain-computer interface company.

Tribute to Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

The middle name of his son, “Sekhar”, is named after another Indian-born astrophysicist, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics, according to Musk. Chandrasekhar is also credited with the “Chandrasekhar limit”, a discovery that led to modern knowledge about white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.

Musk has also justified his leadership through a wide range of people at Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and xAI, as reported by The Economist. He explained that the companies have leaders from various racial and ethnic groups, which is a sign of inclusiveness at the workplace. Musk said that his main concern with immigration is not race or ethnicity but rather public safety and integration/democratic values.

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