The Tragic Death Of Elon Musk's First Child Nevada Alexander

Elon Musk is, among other things, known for having many children. The Tesla CEO has 11 living children and one deceased son, Nevada Alexander Musk. Nevada, born during Elon's marriage to ex-wife Justine Musk, died as a baby. As the New York Times reported, Nevada succumbed to SIDS — sudden infant death syndrome — at only 10 weeks old. According to the Mayo Clinic, SIDS, which it defines as the "unexplained death of a baby," has no single known cause, but low birth weight, respiratory infections, and brain defects can increase the likelihood of its occurrence. Boys are more susceptible.

Elon hasn't spoken much about losing Nevada. However, in 2018, while emailing the father of a deceased teenager who was involved in a fatal car crash while driving a Tesla Model S, Elon brought up Nevada's death. "There is nothing worse than losing a child," he wrote (via Business Insider). Elon was writing to James Riley, who was suing Tesla. This exchange came to light amid another wrongful death lawsuit brought against Elon and the electric car company by the family of Edgar Monserratt, who died in the same accident. Elsewhere in the emails, Elon revealed the heartbreaking way he spent his last moments with Nevada. "My firstborn son died in my arms. I felt his heartbeat." 

Justine, however, remembers things happening differently.

Justine Musk says that Elon Musk didn't hold their son, Nevada, as he took his last breath. On X, formerly known as Twitter, Justine explained what led to Nevada's death and corrected Elon's version of events. "A SIDS-related incident that put him on life support. He was declared brain-dead," wrote Justine in November 2022. She continued, "And not that it matters to anyone except me, because it is one of the most sacred and defining moments of my life, but I was the one who was holding him." Justine's response came after Elon referenced Nevada when discussing his decision to enforce X's ban of Alex Jones, who spread conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. 

Elon never publicly responded to his first ex-wife. For what it's worth, however, she shared the same account with Marie Claire amid her divorce from Elon more than a decade earlier. "Nevada went down for a nap, placed on his back as always, and stopped breathing..." wrote Justine in a personal essay, published in September 2010. "By the time the paramedics resuscitated him, he had been deprived of oxygen for so long that he was brain-dead." After several days on life support, they made the joint decision to take him off. "I held him in my arms when he died," she continued. She also claimed that Elon refused to talk about their son's death and branded her as "emotionally manipulative" when she broached the topic.

Elon has since had more children, including several more with Justine.