Fact Check: Did Elon Musk really claim C-sections allow babies to have larger brains?

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Elon Musk, tech billionaire and occasional purveyor of eyebrow-raising comments, is back making headlines. This time it is over a supposed claim involving cesarean sections (C-sections) and brain size of babies.

It all started in January last year, when an X (formerly Twitter) user shared graphs suggesting babies of newer generations have bigger brains than older ones.

Fact Check: Elon Musk did claim C-sections allow babies to have larger brains

The post made by the X user, @cremieuxrecueil, read, "This is pretty incredible. More recent birth cohorts have greater cranial volumes, more gray matter, and larger hippocampuses. Newer generations have bigger brains!" 

Replying to the post, Elon Musk conjectured, "There are certainly other factors at play, but heavy use of c-sections allows for a larger brain, as brain size has historically been limited by birth canal diameter." 

This bold claim, which has once again gained attention, sparked a wave of reactions. Pediatricians and skeptics called it out as inaccurate, with one pediatrician recently labeling Musk’s statement a "fabricated lie."

As of now, Musk’s response remains live on X and Snopes confirmed its authenticity. 

Is there any truth to Elon Musk’s claim about C-sections allowing babies to have larger brains?

The scientific foundation of Elon Musk’s claim statement is shaky at best.

His comment loosely aligns with a 2016 study published in the journal, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)." The paper speculated that an increase in C-section births might lead to humans with larger heads over time. However, the study’s conclusions were more hypothesis than fact, with limited evidence to back up its predictions.

Notably, the study mentioned head size, not brain size—a distinction that renders Musk’s interpretation scientifically dubious. Furthermore, doctors have pointed out that C-sections are performed for various reasons, and connecting the procedure to evolutionary changes in brain size is an oversimplification.

Elon Musk's family drama: C-sections, photos, and secret children

It's worth noting Elon Musk’s history with the medical procedure also includes a controversial personal anecdote. In September 2023, it was revealed that the Tesla CEO sent a photo of his former partner, Grimes, undergoing a C-section to friends and family—without her consent.

The story — detailed in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk — notes that the recipients of the photo included Grimes’ father and brothers. Understandably, the musician was upset. "He was just clueless about why I’d be upset," Grimes told Isaacson, according to People.

Musk and Grimes first went public as a couple at the 2018 Met Gala and have three children together: X Æ A-Xii, born in 2020, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (nicknamed Y) born via surrogacy in December 2021, and Techno Mechanicus (nicknamed Tau), whose existence was kept secret until Isaacson’s biography revealed it.

The pair's on-again, off-again relationship reportedly ended in September 2021.

The biography also unveiled another bombshell: Musk fathered twins with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his company Neuralink, in 2021—while Grimes was pregnant with their second child. The singer-songwriter claimed she wasn’t informed about the twins and hadn’t even seen a photo of them until Isaacson’s revelations.

After Isaacson confirmed the twins’ existence, Grimes took to X and wrote in a since-deleted post, "Tell Shivon to unblock me and tell Elon to let me see my son or plz respond to my lawyer."

However, Grimes later clarified that she and Zilis had spoken at length and resolved their differences.

"Hey, I wud prefer to not breathe any more life into this current press cycle but I want to de-escalate the narrative atm. I spoke with Shivon at length finally, which was long overdue. This wasn't her fault, plz don't be angry at her! We respect each other a lot and we're excited to become friends and have the kids grow up together," she wrote in a tweet.

The mother of three added, "I truly apologize for responding to Walter like that. As u can imagine, that was a very gut level reaction to a thing that has been very hard for me. Communication about the twins wasn't handled super well in the past, but I now totally understand what happened and totally forgive the situation."

"Women are so often pitted against each other. Speaking with Shivon, it's very evident she's an amazing human and we both just want what's best for our kids," Grimes expressed.

She concluded, writing, "I wish I could show u how cute little Techno is but my priority rn is keeping my babies out of the public eye, Plz respect that at this time." 

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