Former OpenAI Director Shivon Zilis Details Elon Musk Sperm Donation, Corporate Control Bid
Former OpenAI director Shivon Zilis provided extensive testimony in a federal courtroom in Oakland, California, detailing her personal and professional entanglements with Elon Musk. Her appearance was central to Musk's lawsuit seeking to reverse OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity.
Zilis explained that in 2020, Musk offered to donate sperm, stating, "I still really wanted to be a mum and Elon made the offer around that time and I accepted." She clarified that Musk was "encouraging everyone around him at that time to have kids" and had noted her desire to become a mother.
Musk's Ambitions for OpenAI Control
Beyond her personal relationship, Zilis's testimony focused on her involvement in early discussions concerning OpenAI's corporate restructuring. OpenAI lawyers have suggested Zilis funnelled information to Musk after his 2018 departure from the AI company, which he co-founded and supported financially in its early stages.
Court exhibits, including emails and text messages, revealed that changing OpenAI's corporate structure was deemed necessary as early as 2017 to secure substantial investor funding. Zilis’s communications indicated Musk's desire for greater control, proposing additional board seats and even suggesting OpenAI become a B Corp subsidiary of Tesla. Zilis noted such a move would "solves the funding issue immediately."
Ultimately, OpenAI's leadership, including Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, rejected Musk's proposals, reportedly adamant that Musk "not have control" of the company's operations.
Paternity and Confidentiality Agreement
Zilis, who worked as an advisor to OpenAI from 2016 and served as a director from 2020 to 2023, also disclosed that she and Musk initially agreed to keep his paternity of their first two children "strictly confidential." This agreement, she stated, was why she did not inform OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman that Musk had fathered the twins she bore in 2021, only disclosing it the following year when a media report on the matter was imminent. Zilis departed the OpenAI board in March 2023, coinciding with Musk's launch of xAI, an AI competitor to OpenAI.
