Inside billionaire Elon Musk’s VERY complicated love life

Flame-haired Australian actress Natasha Bassett has become the latest in a long line of high profile women to adorn billionaire Elon Musk’s arm in a relationship history that includes three marriages and three divorces, including two of each with the same woman, and seven children from two long-term romances. 

The pair, who met through Musk’s mother, have been dating since late last year when the Tesla CEO split from long-time on and off girlfriend Canadian singer Grimes, with whom he shares two children X Æ A-Xii and Exa Dark Sideræl, who goes by Y. 

The news of the split  was only revealed in March 2022 when an interview Grimes had given to Vanity Fair before their break up was published. She had told the outlet she ‘would probably refer to Elon as her boyfriend’ but after publication took to Twitter to reveal that they had since broken up.   

It comes as it was revealed his son Xavier has filed court documents seeking to legally change their from male to female and lose their last name, stating: ‘I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.’ 

Xavier Musk, 18, filed the paperwork in Santa Monica, California, on April 18, seeking to be known as Vivian Jenna Wilson, taking the maiden name of his mother Justine Wilson, who was married to Musk from 2000 to 2008 and shares 18-year-old twins Xavier and Griffin and 16-year-old triplets Damian, Kai and Saxon.

The transgender teenage explained that they wish to take their mother’s last name to distance them from their dad but they have not commented on whether they receive financial support from their dad – whose $213 billion dollar fortune makes him the world’s richest man.

It is the latest in Musk’s complicated personal life after splitting from actress Talulah Riley twice between 2010 and 2016 and becoming estranged before being briefly linked to Amber Heard after she split from Johnny Depp in 2017. 

The Tesla billionaire is now dating flame-haired Australian actress Natasha Bassett, 30 (pictured together during a break at the Cheval Blanc Hotel in St Tropez)

The world's richest man also shares two children, X Æ A-Xii and Exa Dark Sideræl, who goes by Y, with Canadian singer Grimes (pictured together in May 2018)

The world’s richest man also shares two children, X Æ A-Xii and Exa Dark Sideræl, who goes by Y, with Canadian singer Grimes (pictured together in May 2018)

Elon and Justine Wilson, now 50, met while they were both attending Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and they tied the knot in 2000. The pair share five children but lost their firstborn, Nevada, in 2002 at just ten weeks old to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The five teenage boys have kept a fairly low profile, despite their father having joint custody after splitting from their mother in 2008.

After their divorce, she accused the entrepreneur – who has been called the wealthiest person in the world by Forbes – of treating her more like an ’employee’ than a ‘wife,’ while slamming him for not showing her ‘equality’ or ‘partnership.’

While discussing the day they first met, Justine described Elon as a ‘clean-cut, upper-class boy with a South African accent who appeared in front of her one afternoon as she was leaping up the steps to her dorm,’ during an essay for Marie Claire, which was written in 2010.

‘He said we’d met at a party I knew I hadn’t been to. (Years later, he would confess that he had noticed me from across the common room and decided he wanted to meet me.) He invited me out for ice cream. I said yes, but then blew him off with a note on my dorm-room door. 

‘Several hours later, my head bent over my Spanish text in an overheated room in the student center, I heard a polite cough behind me. Elon was smiling awkwardly, two chocolate-chip ice cream cones dripping down his hands. He’s not a man who takes no for an answer.’ 

Elon Musk shares Xavier with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, (pictured together) as well as four other children including Xavier's twin Griffin and 16-year-old triplets Damian, Kai and Saxon

Elon Musk shares Xavier with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, (pictured together) as well as four other children including Xavier’s twin Griffin and 16-year-old triplets Damian, Kai and Saxon

In her essay, Justine recalled feeling more like an ’employee’ than a ‘wife’ to Elon.

‘He had grown up in the male-dominated culture of South Africa, and the will to compete and dominate that made him so successful in business did not magically shut off when he came home,’ she explained. This, and the vast economic imbalance between us, meant that in the months following our wedding, a certain dynamic began to take hold. 

‘Elon’s judgment overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking. “I am your wife,” I told him repeatedly, “not your employee.” 

‘”If you were my employee,” he said just as often, “I would fire you.”‘

She said that what ultimately led to their divorce in 2008 was a car accident, where her first thought was, ‘My husband is going to kill me.’

After one month of counseling, Elon filed for divorce. As of 2010 when the essay was written, Justine said she and Elon were ‘estranged,’ but that she did not regret their relationship.

‘Although I am estranged from Elon – when it comes to the children, I deal with his assistant – I don’t regret my marriage,’ she wrote. ‘I’ve worked through some anger, both at Elon for rendering me so disposable, and at myself for buying into a fairy tale when I should have known better.

‘But I will always respect the brilliant and visionary person that he is. I also can’t regret the divorce (our case was bifurcated, which means that even though the property issues aren’t settled, our marriage is legally dead). Elon and I share custody of the children, who are thriving. I feel grounded now, and deeply grateful for my life.’

The mogul has five other kids from his previous marriage to author Justine Wilson, whom he split from in 2008. He is pictured with his triplets, who were born in 2006

The mogul has five other kids from his previous marriage to author Justine Wilson, whom he split from in 2008. He is pictured with his triplets, who were born in 2006

Following his split from Justine, Elon began dating British star Talulah Riley, who is most known for her roles in Pride & Prejudice, St. Trinian’s, Fritton’s Gold, The Boat That Rocked, Inception, Westworld, and Bloodshot.

It was said that they met at a bar in London, with Ashlee Vance writing in her book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, that they 'hit it off immediately.' They are pictured in 2013

It was said that they met at a bar in London, with Ashlee Vance writing in her book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, that they ‘hit it off immediately.’ They are pictured in 2013

It was said that they met at a bar in London, with Ashlee Vance writing in her book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future that they ‘hit it off immediately.’

‘I remember thinking that this guy probably didn’t get to talk to young actresses a lot and that he seemed quite nervous,’ Talulah said of the night they met.

‘I decided to be really nice to him and give him a nice evening. Little did I know that he’d spoken to a lot of pretty girls in his life.’

Talulah first tied the knot with the Tesla architect in 2010. However, their first marriage ended in 2012, when she reportedly walked away with $16 million as part of a divorce settlement.

‘It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day,’ he tweeted at the time. 

By the following summer, they had remarried. But then, in December 2014, she filed for divorce a second time, only to withdraw her lawsuit the following year. 

In March 2016, Talulah requested a divorce a third time, and the pair split for good; the couple did not have any children together. 

Musk told Forbes at the time, ‘We took some time apart for several months to see if absence makes the heart grow fonder, and unfortunately it did not.

‘I still love her, but I’m not in love with her. And I can’t really give her what she wants.’

He also called her ‘a great woman’ and said he will ‘always be friends’ with her.

At the time, he said he had no interest in marrying again for a while, adding, ‘I think it would be extremely unwise for me to jump into a third marriage without spending considerable time figuring out if the third one will work.

‘It was never my intention to have a short marriage. Essentially I’d want to be super sure before getting married again, but I certainly would love to be in a relationship. For sure.’

Talulah, now 36, first tied the knot with Elon in 2010, but they split in 2012, when she walked away with $16 million as part of a divorce settlement. They are pictured in 2011

Talulah, now 36, first tied the knot with Elon in 2010, but they split in 2012, when she walked away with $16 million as part of a divorce settlement. They are pictured in 2011

By the next summer, they had remarried. But then, in December 2014, she filed for divorce a second time, only to withdraw her lawsuit the following year. They are pictured in 2014

In March 2016, Talulah requested a divorce a third time, and the pair split for good; the couple did not have any children together. They are pictured in 2015

They remarried the next summer. In March 2016, Talulah requested a divorce again, and the pair split for good. They are pictured in 2014 (left) and 2015 (right)

Their five children have largely managed to remain out of the spotlight. Twins Griffin and Xavier are pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah, in 2010

Their five children have largely managed to remain out of the spotlight. Twins Griffin and Xavier are pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah, in 2010

They welcomed twins Griffin and Xavier (pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah Riley, in 2010), in 2004, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, in 2006

They welcomed twins Griffin and Xavier (pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah Riley, in 2010), in 2004, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, in 2006

Twins Griffin and Xavier are pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah, in 2015

Twins Griffin and Xavier are pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah, in 2015 

Although she knew her child was a 'genius', Maye (seen at the 2022 Met Gala with Musk) said she never could have predicted that he would go on to become the world's richest man

Although she knew her child was a ‘genius’, Maye (seen at the 2022 Met Gala with Musk) said she never could have predicted that he would go on to become the world’s richest man

Elon dated actress Amber Heard, 35, for several months in late 2016 and early 2017, after he reportedly pursued her for many years.

Amber’s ex-husband Johnny later accused Amber of cheating on him with Elon while they were still married, but both of Elon and Amber denied the affair. 

They split in the summer of 2017, and afterwards, he told Rolling Stone in November 2017 that he was ‘really in love’ with Amber and that their breakup ‘hurt bad.’

‘She broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think,’ he told the outlet at the time.

‘I’ve been in severe emotional pain for the last few weeks. Severe. It took every ounce of will to be able to do the Model 3 event and not look like the most depressed guy around. For most of that day, I was morbid.’

He continued, ‘If I’m not in love, if I’m not with a long-term companion, I cannot be happy.

‘I will never be happy without having someone. Going to sleep alone kills me. It’s not like I don’t know what that feels like: Being in a big empty house, and the footsteps echoing through the hallway, no one there – and no one on the pillow next to you. F**k. How do you make yourself happy in a situation like that?’

Amber's ex-husband Johnny Depp later accused Amber of cheating on him with Elon while they were still married, but both of Elon and Amber denied the affair. They are pictured in 2017

Amber’s ex-husband Johnny Depp later accused Amber of cheating on him with Elon while they were still married, but both of Elon and Amber denied the affair. They are pictured in 2017

Elon dated Amber Heard (pictured in 2017) for several months in late 2016 and early 2017. After they split, he said he was 'really in love' with Amber and that their breakup 'hurt bad'

Elon dated Amber Heard (pictured in 2017) for several months in late 2016 and early 2017. After they split, he said he was ‘really in love’ with Amber and that their breakup ‘hurt bad’

Elon and Grimes began dating in April 2018, a month before they made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala.

A source told Page Six at the time that they met online ‘through a joke about artificial intelligence that Musk had planned to tweet, but discovered Grimes had already made.’

Rumors started to swirl that they had split by that fall, after the pair unfollowed each other on Twitter, however, Grimes insisted that they were still together during a March 2019 interview with Wall Street Journal.

Then, in January 2020, she announced that she was pregnant with their first child via Instagram, when she shared a pic of her baby bump, with no caption. They then welcomed their son in May of the same year, who is now 22-month old.

After his birth, the couple was forced to change the spelling of their son’s name in order to comply with California law, which prohibits the use of any numbers of symbols in a name.

Instead of X Æ A-12, they revealed just a few weeks after the baby was born that his birth certificate would be registered under the name X AE A-Xii – using the Roman numeral version of the number ’12’ and changing the character æ to AE.  

Describing her role in her son’s life, Grimes told Vanity Fair that she has taken responsibility for ‘handling his creative stuff,’ while she notes that Elon ‘really sees [X] as a protégé.’

More than a year after welcoming their son – in September 2021 – Elon told Page Six that they were ‘semi-separated.’

‘We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,’ he said. ‘ It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in LA. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.’

Grimes relocated in December from her home in Los Angeles to a property in Austin, Texas, where she is currently residing in a ‘sleepy neighborhood cul-de-sac’ that is located ‘a short drive’ away from Tesla’s factory.

They then welcomed their second child via surrogate that same month. 

According to the singer, the newborn’s quirky first name, Exa, was inspired by the supercomputing term exaFLOPS, which is ‘the ability to perform one quintillion floating-point operations per second,’ while her second name Dark, is a nod to dark matter and ‘the unknown.’

‘People fear it but truly it’s the absence of photons. Dark matter is the beautiful mystery of our universe,’ she told the magazine. 

Finally, Sideræl, which is pronounced sigh-deer-ee-el, is a ‘more elven spelling’ of sidereal, which Grimes described as ‘the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time.’ 

Their daughter’s third name is also a reference to Grimes’ favorite Lord of the Rings character, the elf Galadriel.

The couple will call their baby daughter ‘Y’ for short, following the trend they started with the arrival of their first-born child, son X Æ A-12, who Grimes gave birth to in May 2020, and whom she and Elon call ‘X.’ 

She noted that her son 'out there' because Elon has been 'bringing him to everything,' however she doesn't want her daughter to have the same attention. Elon and X are pictured in December 2021

She noted that her son ‘out there’ because Elon has been ‘bringing him to everything,’ however she doesn’t want her daughter to have the same attention. Elon and X are pictured in December 2021

Then, in January 2020, she announced that she was pregnant with their first child via Instagram. They then welcomed their son, whom they call X, in May of the same year

Then, in January 2020, she announced that she was pregnant with their first child via Instagram. They then welcomed their son, whom they call X, in May of the same year

During the time of the Vanity Fair interview, Grimes said she 'would probably refer to Elon as her boyfriend.' However, after it came out, she took to Twitter to reveal they had broken up

During the time of the Vanity Fair interview, Grimes said she ‘would probably refer to Elon as her boyfriend.’ However, after it came out, she took to Twitter to reveal they had broken up

During the time of the Vanity Fair interview, Grimes said she ‘would probably refer to Elon as her boyfriend,’ adding that the relationship was ‘very fluid.’

She said: ‘We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time…. We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it. This is the best it’s ever been…. We just need to be free.’ 

However, after it came out, she took to Twitter to reveal that they had since broken up.

‘Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article,’ she wrote on Thursday. ‘But he’s my best friend and the love of my life.’   

Both Grimes and Elon noted to Vanity Fair that their current separate living situation is the best for both of them, explaining that they each have very different needs and likes when it comes to creating a home. 

While Elon likes things to be ‘reasonably neat,’ Grimes is described as taking a more creative, artistic approach to her home. She also enjoys Japanese art and anime, which the Tesla founder explained he ‘doesn’t like.’ 

While chatting with the mag, the singer admitted that she took issue with the Tesla founder’s penny-pinching lifestyle, recalling a time when they were living together in Los Angeles when he refused to buy a new mattress, despite her telling him that her side of the bed had a hole in it.   

She added that Elon’s decision to live in an ‘insecure’ house where their neighbors were able to film them and where they had no security was not something that she felt comfortable with.

‘Bro does not live like a billionaire,’ she said. ‘Bro lives at times below the poverty line. To the point where I was like, can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house?’

Although the singer did not explain exactly why she and Elon chose to welcome their second child via surrogate, she revealed that she struggled with some severe health issues in the final month of her pregnancy with X, explaining that she was left unable to walk because her unborn son was ‘pressing on her nerves,’ which caused her to keep collapsing.

She also suffered from a ‘scary’ hemorrhage during his birth, which was so severe, the singer believed she was going to die.

Now, Grimes is determined to keep her daughter’s life as private as possible – unlike her son X who has been featured numerous times on his father’s social media accounts, and has been seen out in public with his parents on several occasions.

She noted that her son ‘is just out there,’ largely because Elon has been ‘bringing him to everything,’ however she is eager to ensure that her daughter will not have to face the same public scrutiny, even stating that ‘the best situation’ for the parents would be for ‘her to train the girl’ and for ‘him to train the boy.’ 

‘Didn’t mean for them to find out about my daughter so please respect her privacy as I’d love her to be able to live as private of a life as possible,’ she added on Twitter, while discussing the article.

‘This is the last time I’ll do any traditional press [cause] I’m a pretty private person. Haven’t done press in a long time [cause] my personal life is so mad and I think it’s hard to foreground my work but also maybe it’s all intertwined at this point.’

Both Grimes and Elon (pictured with X) said that their separate living situation is the best for both of them, explaining that they each have different needs when it comes to creating a home

Both Grimes and Elon (pictured with X) said that their separate living situation is the best for both of them, explaining that they each have different needs when it comes to creating a home

While chatting with the mag, the singer admitted that she took issue with the Tesla founder's penny-pinching lifestyle. They are pictured together in May 2021

While chatting with the mag, the singer admitted that she took issue with the Tesla founder’s penny-pinching lifestyle. They are pictured together in May 2021 

 

 

 

 

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