Elon Musk’s son is named after this Indian Nobel genius: Who was Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

Elon Musk has shared a lesser-known and intriguing detail about his family during an interview with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath on his show People by WTF. The SpaceX CEO revealed that his partner Shivon Zilis has Indian heritage and that one of their sons carries the middle name Sekhar in tribute to the Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, highlighting Musk’s admiration for scientific pioneers and Indian contributions to science. Musk explained that Zilis, who leads operations and special projects at Neuralink, was adopted as a baby and raised in Canada. Although she has Indian roots, she has never visited India. Musk said he believed her biological father may have been an exchange student, but the full details of her early background remain largely private and unclear.

Who was Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: The Indian Nobel icon behind Elon Musk’s son’s name

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was born in Lahore on 19 October 1910 and displayed exceptional academic ability from a young age. He was part of a distinguished scientific family that included his uncle, CV Raman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. Chandrasekhar’s early education at Presidency College in Madras laid the foundation for a lifetime devoted to understanding the fundamental behaviour of stars.

How Chandrasekhar’s legacy inspires Elon Musk to name his children

Chandrasekhar’s work transformed modern astrophysics. In 1983 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theoretical studies on the structure and evolution of stars. His most notable contribution, the Chandrasekhar limit, determines the maximum mass of a white dwarf star before it collapses under its own gravity. This calculation became essential to our understanding of neutron stars and black holes.

His academic journey took him to the University of Cambridge and later to the University of Chicago, where he spent the bulk of his career. In Chicago, he conducted research at the Yerkes Observatory and served as the editor of The Astrophysical Journal from 1952 to 1971, shaping the direction of astronomical research for decades. Chandrasekhar married Lalitha Doraiswamy in 1936 and moved to the United States, becoming a naturalised citizen in 1953. Despite suffering a heart attack in 1975, he continued his research with remarkable dedication until he died in 1995 at the age of eighty-four. His wife Lalitha lived to the age of one hundred and two, passing away in 2013.

Today, Chandrasekhar’s legacy lives on through numerous honours, including NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which continues to reveal extraordinary insights into high-energy cosmic phenomena.

Why Elon Musk chose to honour Chandrasekhar

Musk’s fascination with space, physics and scientific history made Chandrasekhar a natural source of inspiration. Naming his son after the renowned astrophysicist reflects Musk’s admiration for thinkers who have expanded human understanding of the universe. It also connects the family to a figure whose work resonates deeply with Musk’s own ambitions in space exploration.

The name Sekhar stands as both a tribute and a symbol of Musk’s belief in scientific legacy. It also highlights the personal significance of Zilis’s heritage, bringing together strands of family history, scientific excellence and cultural connection.

How Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis chose meaningful names for their four children

Shivon Zilis and Elon Musk share four children. Their family includes twins Strider and Azure, a daughter named Arcadia, and their youngest child, Seldon Lycurgus. Seldon, born earlier this year, carries the middle name Sekhar, which Musk chose in honour of Chandrasekhar’s scientific legacy. The choice continues Musk’s pattern of selecting names inspired by literature, technology, and influential figures.