Elon Musk, currently the richest man in the world and the entrepreneur behind SpaceX and Tesla Inc., has a history of multiple marriages and costly divorces. He even married and divorced his second wife, actress Tallulah Riley, twice.
His relationship with Riley began in 2008 when they met in a London bar, leading to a rapid courtship and marriage in 2010. The first marriage ended in divorce in 2012, with Musk expressing his sentiments on X, posting, “It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day.”
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Musk and Riley remarried in July 2013, but the reunion was also short-lived, culminating in a second divorce in 2016. Riley, reflecting on their decision to remarry, acknowledged the oddity of their choice in an interview with The Independent, saying, "I suppose the reason to get remarried was just because it felt silly to be together unmarried after having been married. … We were saying, ‘This is my husband.' ‘This is my wife.' ‘Oh, wait, no, we're not that anymore. We better be that again.'" She also described Musk as "the perfect ex-husband."
Riley filed for the couple’s second divorce in Los Angeles, with both parties reportedly agreeing to end the marriage amicably. Musk had previously filed for divorce in December 2014 but withdrew the petition several months later.
Despite their marital ups and downs, Musk and Riley have remained on good terms, occasionally seeing each other as friends. It was also noted that the couple had been living separately for six months before the final divorce filing. During divorce proceedings, she was asked whether she would marry him a third time, to which she responded, "I mean, never say never."
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Despite the end of their marriage, Riley maintains a positive outlook on their relationship, affirming a “very deep love and connection." According to a 2022 article from The Independent, she said, "He's a great friend. He looks out for me. We are in a happy place now, where we're good to each other, which is really nice. I have the utmost love for him."
The divorce between Elon Musk and his first wife, Justine Musk, involved significant financial settlements and arrangements. Justine Musk received a substantial divorce settlement, which included $6 million in cash, 10% of Musk’s stock in SpaceX and a $200,000 Tesla Roadster car. Initially, Justine Musk asked for $80,000 monthly in alimony and $2 million in cash. Musk first offered an $80 million settlement, which Justine turned down, insisting on part ownership of his companies Tesla and SpaceX. This was during a failed court appeal.
In the end, the settlement included $20 million. He also covered Justine Musk’s legal fees during the case. Elon Musk was reported to have been paying $20,000 per month for his ex-wife's expenses, including clothing and shoes. This was on top of an unspecified alimony amount. The couple also shared custody of their five children, and Elon Musk took up the bill for their nannies’ payrolls. He also reportedly sends his ex-wife about $20,000 every month for clothes and other discretionary items.
The divorce settlement was one of the most expensive of its time, and it was notable for the ongoing financial commitments Musk made to Justine, particularly in the form of monthly payments for personal expenses and legal fees.
Musk reportedly gave Riley more than $20 million across their two divorces. In the first divorce in 2012, Riley received a settlement of $4.2 million. After their second marriage and subsequent divorce, Musk agreed to a settlement of $16 million.
More recently, Musk has been embroiled in a custody battle with singer Grimes over their children. Grimes filed legal cases against Musk, including a suit in California seeking physical custody of their kids and a restraining order against Musk to prevent the children from being taken out of California. This follows Musk’s filing of a custody suit in Texas, which Grimes is seeking to dismiss, arguing that Texas has no jurisdiction over the custody battle as she and the children had moved to California.
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