Nevada Alexander Musk Lived Only 10 Weeks - The Causes & Impact of His Death

What began as a fairytale love story between Nevada Alexander Musk's parents ended sourly. Nevada was Elon and Justine's first child, but his fate was tragic at only ten weeks old, and his passing marked a momentous year in his parents' lives.

Nevada Alexander Musk was the first of Elon and Justine Musk's sons, whose life was tragically cut short as an infant. While Justine openly mourned Nevada's passing, Elon dealt with the loss differently, bottling his grief inside.

The Twitter CEO didn't speak publicly about Nevada for several years and made it clear to Justine that he didn't wish to after his death. That was until last November when he revealed why he wouldn't allow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones back on the online platform.

As he explained his reasons, Elon revealed that Nevada died in his arms, adding that he felt the late youngster's last heartbeat. However, this didn't land well with Justine, who quickly clarified that Nevada was in her arms when he took his last breath.

Nevada's passing undeniably had a significant impact on his parents' lives. They wanted more children and almost immediately started preparing to try and expand their family again. It also marked a momentous turnaround in Elon's career.

Nevada Was Born in an Important Year for Elon Musk's Career

Nevada drew his first breath sometime in 2002, the year his father sold PayPal to eBay and founded the spacecraft manufacturing company SpaceX. His parents had met while attending Queen's University in Ontario, Canada.

In July 2021, Justine detailed her and Elon's love story with Marie Claire before delving into how their relationship fell apart. While the men she often went for were "poetic," "rebellious," and "tortured," she noted that Elon didn't quite fit those descriptions.

When he first approached Justine, he said they had met at a party (they both knew it wasn't true) and invited her for ice cream. Justine initially agreed but "blew him off" with a note on her dorm-room door.

She described Elon as a man who did not take "No" for an answer when she recalled him appearing behind her with two dripping ice cream cones at a student center where she was studying.

Elon was a year ahead of Justine, and when he transferred to another school, he frequently sent her roses. She was an aspiring writer and hoped to be a successful author someday. When Justine shared those ambitions, Elon praised her for them and told her she had a fire in her soul.

He also said he saw himself in her. They separated briefly following Justine's graduation, and she taught ESL in Japan for a year. Afterward, she took a bartending job in Canada and started working on her novel.

Elon moved to Silicon Valley after his graduation, where he worked on his first internet enterprise Zip2. He and Justine rekindled their romance in the late 90s, and by 2000, they were married and living lavishly. Still, things were yet to take a turn for the worst.

Doctors Could Not Save the Life of Nevada Alexander Musk

Nevada had lived for only ten weeks when he died. His mother recounted the day he took his last nap, lying on his back in his crib, and stopped breathing. The medical diagnosis was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Paramedics attempted to resuscitate Nevada, but after being deprived of oxygen for so long, he was declared brain dead. His parents kept him on life-support for three days before making the heart-wrenching decision to pull the plug on their first child.

Years after Justine separated from Elon, she said she saw the sale of PayPal, which boosted Elon's net worth to $100 million, and Nevada's death as the beginning of the end of their union. However, it would be years before they made it official.

The Impact of Nevada Alexander's Death on His Parents

Justine's visible grief left Elon baffled, as he had made it clear to her that he didn't want to talk about his son's passing. He described her choice to openly mourn Nevada as "emotionally manipulative."

The remark also left Justine confused, but she bottled her heartbreak and visited an IVF clinic less than two months after Nevada's passing. She and Elon prepared to expand their brood; within five years, they were parents of five.

Justine had also achieved her dream of being an author within those years, having sold three novels to the publishing giants Penguin and Simon and Schuster. Still, she struggled with Nevada's absence and spiraled into depression.

One of her nannies noticed and recommended a therapist, which made a positive difference. Speaking about how Elon dealt with his grief in 2012, Justine noted that he struggled when it came to being in "dark places," as she explained:

"He was very much in the mode of stiff-upper-lip, the-show-must-go-on, let's-get-it-over-with. He doesn't do well in the dark places. He's forward-moving, and I think that's a survival thing for him."

In November 2022, Elon explained why he wouldn't allow Alex Jones back on Twitter because he allegedly used the deaths of Sandy Hook's children "for gain, politics or fame" in his conspiracy theory.

When Justine corrected him after he said Nevada died in his arms, she remarked that it only mattered to her that the world knew she held her baby when he died. She called it "the most sacred" and "defining moment" of her life.

All of Nevada's Full Siblings Were Born by IVF

Nevada's parents welcomed twins Griffin and Vivian Musk, who previously went by Xavier, in April 2004. Two years later, they had triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian. In an op-ed about his marriage with Justine on Business Insider, Elon called his children the love of his life.

After he and Justine divorced in 2008, they received evenly split custody of all five of their children. Justine revealed in 2017 that they were all conceived via IVF. Her ex-husband later married and divorced actress Talulah Riley twice, once in 2012 and again in 2016.

He moved on to musician Grimes, and the pair had a son, X Æ A-Xii. The former couple had another baby in December 2021, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk. Finally, Elon welcomed twins with Neuralink director Shivon Zilis.