Singer Claire Elise “Grimes” Boucher and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk welcomed a son together on May 4, 2024, just two years after they started dating in May 2018. Musk has five other children, twins Griffin and Xavier and triplets Damian, Saxon, and Kai, from his previous marriage to Justine Musk.
Shortly after Musk confirmed that both Grimes and his son were in good health, he shared the little boy’s name: X Æ A-12 Musk. Don’t worry, we didn’t get it right away either.
As a result, the nickname is a nod to the couple’s favorite things, as the singer explained on Twitter. X represents the “unknown variable,” Æ stands for Grimes’s “elven spelling of Ai” and A-12 is the “precursor” of the couple’s “favorite plane,” which is “internally known as the Archangel,” according to Business Insider. Archangel is also the title of Grimes’ “favorite song”, as she added in her tweet.
But wait, that’s not it! Grimes concluded his announcement with the phrase “metal rat.” As Business Insider noted, “The Chinese zodiac includes animal signs and five elements (earth, wood, water, fire, and metal), and 2024 is the year of the metallic rat.”
Now that we’ve figured out the baby’s name for you (to be honest, we miss the days when Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple was the drama’s heyday), let’s tell you how Grimes reacted to Musk correcting her explanation.
Grimes expertly claps back at Elon Musk
Robyn Beck / Getty ImagesAs Grimes mentioned in the tweet about his son’s name, A-12 is the “precursor” of the couple’s “favorite plane”. But the singer called it SR-17 instead of its correct name, SR-71. Elon Musk didn’t miss a beat by clearing up the Vancouver native’s mistake, replying to her tweet, “SR-71, but yeah.”
Grimes, who was only one day postpartum when Musk sent his tweet, replied, “I’m recovering from surgery and barely alive, so my typos can be forgiven, but, damn. That had to be profound. Musk replied, “You are a mighty one” alongside a princess and a fairy emoji.
The “Oblivion” singer seemed to take it easy, tweeting, “Haha E” alongside a heart emoji.
Leaving Grimes and Musk aside, it’s important to mention that the child’s name cannot appear as X Æ A-12 Musk on the birth certificate, under California law. “In California, you can only use the ’26 characters’ of the English language in your baby’s name,” said attorney David Glass. Therefore, you cannot have numbers, Roman numerals, accents, umlauts, or other symbols or emojis. Although an apostrophe, for a name like ‘O’Connor’, is acceptable”.
Glass added: “They have an opportunity to appeal the denial of the birth certificate application, but it is unlikely to be granted because, again, California has been struggling with the use of symbols.”
Even if the X Æ A-12 birth certificate is denied, it probably won’t prevent parents from using the unique name at home.
Elon Musk explains how to pronounce X Æ A-12 Musk
Frederic J. Brown / Getty ImagesOnce the meaning of X Æ A-12 was revealed, some fans expressed curiosity about how the nickname is pronounced. Elon Musk clarified this during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, sharing, “It’s just X, the letter X. And then the Æ is, like, pronounced ‘ash.’ And then A-12 is my contribution … Archangel-12, the forerunner of the SR-71, the greatest aircraft of all time”. This translates to X Ash Archangel, which would legally comply with the California birth certificate requirements.
However, Musk’s pronunciation may differ from Grimes’ interpretation, as she told a fan something different. “It’s just X, like the letter X,” Grimes wrote on Instagram. “So AI, like you said the letter A and then me.”
As for who came up with the baby’s nickname? That honor went to Mom Grimes. “It’s great in names,” Musk told Rogan.
Now that the case of the pronunciation of X Æ A-12 has been solved (more or less), let’s change gear to another mystery: where Musk and Grimes will live with their little one. We are curious because a few days before the arrival of his baby, Musk stated that he was selling their houses. He stated on Twitter: “He will not own any house.”
Read Also: THE REAL REASON ELON MUSK STOPPED BUILDING HIS ‘IRON MAN’ HOUSE
The tech entrepreneur said of his decision, “I don’t need the cash. Dedicating myself to Mars and Earth. Possession just overwhelms you.” Grimes was not happy with Musk’s interesting mission, as he noted on Twitter. “My girlfriend @Grimezsz is mad at me” he joked.
