Elon Musk celebrated his 55th trip around the sun on Sunday in what was perhaps the most on brand birthday celebration ever.
The billionaire marked the occasion with his mother, Maye Musk, and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, who is the mother to four of his children.
The celebration featured not one but two themed cakes: a SpaceX Starship rocket, complete with candles attached to the base to mimic engine ignition, and a miniature Moon base dotted with Lego astronauts standing in for the real humans Musk has long promised to send there.
Maye Musk led the birthday tributes on X:
Some X users quickly suggested that part of Maye Musk's photo of her son may be AI-generated, with the birthday banner and balloons appearing to have many of the hallmarks of an AI image.
Zilis also shared photos of Musk's celebrations, showing him looking at his birthday cake and posing with a large sword. No explanation accompanied the images. None, apparently, was required.
Zilis, who has become an increasingly visible presence alongside Musk in recent years, is an executive at Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company Musk co-founded.
The exact nature of their relationship is complex, though Zillis said during testimony at Musk's high-profile trial against Sam Altman in May that she and Musk are "romantically involved." The pair attended White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino's wedding at Mar-a-Lago together in February.
Musk's 55th birthday comes during another dramatic chapter in his career. Earlier this month, SpaceX's blockbuster IPO briefly pushed his net worth above the trillion-dollar mark, making him the first person ever to reach the milestone. A broader tech sell-off soon dragged his fortune back below the 13-figure mark, though he remains comfortably the world's richest person.
Scores of X users wished Musk a happy birthday, including investor Cathie Wood, and Blake Scholl, the CEO of Boom Supersonic, who told him to make a "good wish."
In response, Musk said he had wished for a "bright future for all mankind."
I wished for a bright future for all mankind
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2026
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Georgia is a fellow at Business Insider's London office.Before joining Business Insider, she worked at Japan's largest newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, and interned at the Financial Times. She is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with a degree in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham. You can contact her via email at [email protected]
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