Elon Musk Spilled The Bizarre Name Of His Youngest Child With Grimes
Third time's the charm? In September 2023, journalist and author Walter Isaacson released his authorized biography "Elon Musk" and revealed that tech titan and billionaire Elon Musk and musician Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher, had welcomed a third child named Techno Mechanicus and had taken to calling him "Tau" for short. In true fashion, Musk subsequently confirmed the baby news and name on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
As you may recall, Grimes and Musk welcomed their first child, named X Æ A-Xii, or "X" for short, in May 2020. "Mom & baby all good," Musk announced in a tweet following the birth. But for babies number two and three, it appears they wanted to keep the news top secret. Alas, Grimes had no choice but to let the cat out of the bag regarding the second baby during a 2022 in-home interview with Vanity Fair. The story goes that the journalist heard a baby crying somewhere in the expansive Austin, Texas home. At first, Grimes gave the cliché "I'm not at liberty to speak on these things" line. But after some gentle coaxing, she gave up the charade and revealed some completely unexpected news. "She's a little colicky too," Grimes confessed. "I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking," she lamented about her decision to bring a journalist into her private home with a secret wailing baby. Grimes later revealed that the baby girl's full name was Exa Dark Sideræl Musk — no doubt a name just as bizarre as her siblings.
People have strong opinions about the name
So, what's the story behind a name like Tau Techno Mechanicus anyway? In the famous tweet wherein Elon Musk confirmed that he and Grimes had indeed procreated a third time, he also gave up some information regarding the baby's name. "Circumference/Diameter," he penned just a line below the child's moniker, perhaps alluding to the meaning behind the child's name. Meanwhile, according to the Los Angeles Times, Walter Isaacson's biography cited that Tau is "the Greek letter representing the irrational number that is equal to two times pi." But that's not all. Apparently, Tau is nearly equal in value to 6.28, which just so happens to be Musk's birthday, June 28. Is that the same as plain ol' common folk bestowing their child with the suffix Jr. or II? Just a little food for thought.
Alas, not everyone is into the name. "Sky News Australia" contributor Joe Hildebrand jokingly said he believed Musk dubbed his child with the moniker "Tau Techno Mechanicus" in an effort to provide him with just one disadvantage in an otherwise seriously charmed and privileged life. "Elon being the forward-thinking visionary he is, has decided to give the kid at least one thing that is going to completely screw up his existence from day dot," Hildebrand theorized. "A cross to bear, if you like."
Grimes said Tau Techno Mechanicus came out of the womb 'with so much knowledge'
It appears, however, that little Tau Techno Mechanicus' mother might have had a different line of thinking when she signed off on the birth certificate bearing that kind of name. "Tau is so amazing. He came out with eyes that could just see so deeply into your soul, with so much knowledge," Grimes divulged in a no-holds-barred interview with Walter Isaacson in preparation for the "Elon Musk" biography. "He looks like a little Spock. He's definitely a Vulcan."
But make no mistake — unlike her eldest child, she has no intention of giving anyone a glimpse of Tau anytime soon. "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," she tweeted in September 2023. Still, that's not the first time she's discussed her wish to keep her children out of the spotlight. During her 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, she openly discussed their decision to show their eldest child, X, off in public. "Whatever is going on with family stuff, I just feel like kids need to stay out of it, and X is just out there. I mean, I think E is really seeing him as a protégé and bringing him to everything and stuff ... X is out there. His situation is like that. But, yeah, I don't know," she trailed off.