'That Doesn't Mean Anything:' Elon Musk Claims He's Not Racist as Trillionaire Is Torn Apart for 'Ridiculous' Reasoning
Elon Musk is claiming he's not racist by using head-scratching reasoning.
July 23 2026, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Elon Musk has defended himself after being accused of being racist, RadarOnline.com can reveal, but the world's richest man's reasoning has left critics seething.
The trillionaire sat down with The Economist in an interview published on Thursday, July 23, and was asked about allegations he's racist, something Musk was quick to shut down, using one of his baby mamas as proof he would not discriminate.
Elon Musk's Reasoning: 'My Partner Is Half-Indian'
Musk declared his partner, Shivon Zilis, is 'half Indian,' so he can't possibly be racist.
"My partner is half Indian, and I have four children with her. One of them was named after a famous Indian physicist. So I would say I'm not racist," Musk reasoned, referring to Shivon Zilis. One of his sons with Zilis, Strider Sekhar Sirius, is named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, an Indian-American physicist.
He continued, "And also, if you look at the people that are employed at my companies, we have senior executives of all races. I don't think there's any racism there."
However, his reasoning of not being racist was deemed "ridiculous" on X, as one person responded, "That actually doesn't mean anything. You can be married to a half Indian and still be spectacularly racist."
Another noted, "This is basically the: 'I got a black friend, how can I be racist' trope."
Elon Musk's Race Talks
The world's richest man has been open about his fear of white people becoming a minority.
"You can be all that or do all that and still be a racist; for someone to bring up their relationships like that only proves they are, in fact, racist," a user suggested.
A commentator claimed, "That's his reasoning? Oh yeah. Elon is racist..." The 55-year-old has been vocal when it comes to race, recently claiming, "Whites are a rapidly dying minority," after a poll showed the white population has decreased in several major cities.
Musk has also claimed that civil war in Britain was "inevitable," and was even accused of stoking June's race-related riots in Belfast. When previously asked if he was anti-Muslim, the Tesla founder responded, "If people are coming to a country with antithetical views, I am against that.
"I'm against rape and murder, I'm against the imposition of rules and laws that are contrary to what we've come to accept in the West."
Musk has also accused 'the media' of being racist against white people.
Earlier this year, Musk accused "the media" and "elite colleges and high schools" of being "racist" against white and Asian people.
He went off at the time on X, "For a very long time, US media was racist against non-white people; now they're racist against whites & Asians. Same thing happened with elite colleges & high schools in America. Maybe they can try not being racist."
And in 2025, Musk commented on white birthrates and complained, "If current trends continue, Whites will go from being a small minority of world population today to virtually extinct!" and has appeared to agree with the wild theory that immigrants are being “imported” by liberals to displace White Americans.
As for Zilis, the 39-year-old worked at OpenAI, the company Musk co-founded, in 2016. She also served on its board of directors, allowing her to have several interactions with Musk.
Elon Musk's Odd Offer to Sharon Zilis
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Musk has four kids with Zilis.
Zilis had previously revealed that after she decided to have kids as a single mother, Musk "offered to make a donation" as a sperm donor.
"I still really wanted to be a mom, and Elon made the offer around that time, and I accepted," she recalled. "He was encouraging everyone around him at that time to have kids, and he'd noticed I did not. He offered to make a donation."
In 2025, Zilis, who left OpenAI in 2023, announced that she and Musk had welcomed a fourth child.
