Grimes Claps Back At Elon Musk For Correcting Explanation Of Son's Name
Singer Claire Elise "Grimes" Boucher and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk welcomed a son together on May 4, 2020, just two years after they first started dating in May 2018. Musk has five other kids — twins Griffin and Xavier and triplets Damian, Saxon, and Kai — from his previous marriage to Justine Musk, according to CNN.
Shortly after Musk confirmed that both Grimes and their son were in good health, he shared the little guy's name — X Æ A-12 Musk. Don't worry, we didn't get it right away either.
As it turns out, the moniker is a nod to the couple's favorite things, as the singer relayed on Twitter. X stands for the "unknown variable," Æ stands for Grimes' "elven spelling of Ai," and A-12 is the "precursor" to the couple's "favorite aircraft," which is "internally known as Archangel," per Business Insider. Archangel also happens to be the title of Grimes' "favorite song," as she added in her tweet.
But wait — that's not all! Grimes concluded her announcement with the phrase, "metal rat." As Business Insider noted, "the Chinese zodiac includes both animal signs and five elements (earth, wood, water, fire, and metal), and 2020 is the year of the metal rat."
Now that we've caught you up on the baby's name (we miss the days when Gwyneth Paltrow naming her daughter Apple was the height of drama, to be honest), let's fill you in on how Grimes reacted to Musk correcting her announcement. Hint: She did not take it too well.
Grimes expertly clapped back at Elon Musk
As Grimes mentioned in the tweet about her son's name, A-12 is the "precursor" to the couple's "favorite aircraft." But the singer called it SR-17 instead of its correct name, SR-71. Elon Musk didn't miss a beat clarifying the Vancouver native's error, replying to her tweet, "SR-71, but yes." Eep.
Grimes, who was just one-day post-delivery when Musk sent out his tweet, clapped back, "I am recovering from surgery and barely alive so may my typos b forgiven but, damnit. That was meant to be profound." Musk replied, "U r a powerful" next to a princess and fairy emoji.
The "Oblivion" singer seemed to take it in stride, tweeting, "Haha E" alongside a heart emoji.
Grimes and Musk's back-and-forth aside, it's important to mention their son's name can't appear as X Æ A-12 Musk on the birth certificate, as per California law. "In California, you can only use the '26 characters' of the English language in your baby name," attorney David Glass told People. "Thus, you can't 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 rejection of the birth certificate application but it's unlikely that it will be granted because, again, California ... has been struggling with using symbols."
Even if X Æ A-12 is denied birth certificate-wise, it probably won't prevent the parents from using the unique name at home.
Elon Musk explains how to pronounce X Æ A-12 Musk
Once the meaning of X Æ A-12 was revealed, some fans expressed curiosity about how the moniker is pronounced. Elon Musk cleared this up 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 precursor to the SR-71, coolest plane ever." This translates to X Ash Archangel, which would legally meet the birth certificate requirements in California.
However, Musk's pronunciation might differ from Grimes' interpretation, as she told a fan something different. "It's just X, like the letter X," Grimes wrote on Instagram (via Complex). "Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I." Hmm.
As for who came up with the baby's moniker? That honor went to mama Grimes. "She's great at names," Musk gushed to Rogan.
Now that the case of X Æ A-12's pronunciation is settled (sort of), let's switch gears to another mystery — where Musk and Grimes will live with their little one. We're curious because a few days before their baby's arrival, Musk declared he's selling his houses. He declared on Twitter, "Will own no house." Say what?
The tech entrepreneur said of his decision, "Don't need the cash. Devoting myself to Mars and Earth. Possession just weighs you down." Grimes wasn't happy with Musk's interesting mission, as he noted on Twitter. "My gf @Grimezsz is mad at me," he quipped.