Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk appeared in family court Friday in Austin in an ongoing custody dispute with the mother of three of his children.
Flanked by bodyguards, Musk arrived at the Travis County family courthouse about 45 minutes before the 9 a.m. hearing, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman. He remained secluded in the stairwell until moments before the hearing began.
Shortly after the hearing started, State District Judge Catherine Mauzy ordered a small group of spectators to leave the courtroom, the newspaper reported. Attorneys for Musk and Claire Boucher, a musician known professionally as Grimes, asked that the proceedings take place out of public view, citing security and privacy concerns.
This was a rare public appearance for Musk, who has relocated much of his tech empire from California to Texas in recent years. In 2021, Musk moved the Tesla headquarters to Texas. This summer, he announced he would move space exploration company SpaceX and X, the social media company he bought for $44 billion in 2022 , to Texas, as well.
Musk and Grimes have been battling over custody of their children in courts in both Texas and California.
The family dispute appeared to escalate last month when Grimes’ mother, Sandy Garossino, pleaded with Musk on X. She said she had no other way to reach him.
“It was nice seeing you on Father’s Day. I hope you got the card that I helped X make. He was so proud of it,” she wrote, referring to one of the children he shares with Grimes. “I’m writing here as the only way I have to reach you. As you know, my 93 year old mother is now at end-of-life palliative care.”
“Please Elon, I beg you. This is so painful for my mother, and concerning for the kids.”
“I am alarmed to learn that the children cannot come as you are withholding them and their needed passport documents from Claire,” Garossino wrote, using Grimes’ given name. “It was even more troubling to see you and X on television at the Olympics in Paris yesterday, after your DC trip earlier in the week.”
Musk has not responded publicly to Garossino.
Musk has at least 12 children with three different women. His most recent child is with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, with whom he also has twins. In the past, he has advocated for increasing the population as part of his vision for colonizing other planets.