Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has 11 living children with three different mothers, and he tragically lost his first son, Nevada, when he was just 12 weeks old
Elon Musk’s son stole the show as he appeared at a peculiar joint press conference from the Oval Office alongside his father and President Donald Trump.
While Musk was speaking to the journalists, his son, who stood in front of him, seemed to utter another remark, prompting Trump to reach out in an attempt to hush the child as his father talked. At one stage, the child, known as X Æ A-Xii but commonly referred to by Musk as X, also seemed to pick his nose as Trump looked on with disdain.
Musk and his then-girlfriend Grimes announced the birth of their baby boy in May 2020. Upon making the announcement, Elon was quizzed by fans over the name of their baby – X Æ A-12 Musk.
The mystery over how the name was pronounced appears to have finally been addressed by the doting parents – although it seems they’re at odds themselves. Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, addressed the question on her Instagram after she posted a stunning Vogue Italia cover shoot picture.
After being quizzed in the comments section about how to pronounce her child’s name, the first time mum finally gave fans what they were waiting for. “it’s just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I,” Grimes responded when asked how to pronounce the newborn’s name. This explanation led fans to believe that it is pronounced ‘xai,’ but others still weren’t sure.
Despite Grime’s written clarification, SpaceX billionaire Elon was asked to pronounce his son’s name while recording a podcast with Joe Rogan. During the show, he suggested that Grimes had mostly come up with the name and added: “Yeah, she’s great at names.”
He told the comedian that his son had been born on May 4 before breaking down the pronunciation. I mean it’s just X, the letter X, and the ‘Æ’ is pronounced, ‘Ash,'” Elon said. Unlike Grimes, who didn’t address the A-12 ending, Elon explained during the podcast that it was his idea. He said that A-12 meant “Archangel 12, the precursor to the SR-71, coolest plane ever.”
The former couple later welcomed daughter Exa Dark Sideræl with the help of a surrogate in December 2021. Another child, Techno Mechanicus, was also born to the pair in 2022, after Musk told The New York Post that they had ‘semi separated’.
Offering an insight into Musk’s parenting style in a 2023 interview with Wired, Grimes, 36, shared: “I think their life is gonna be pretty intense. Being Elon’s kid is not the same as being anyone’s kid. In my house, at least, I want it to be more of a crazy warehouse situation and a cool art space.”
The tech mogul has 11 living children with three different mothers and has reportedly splashed out on a 14,400 square ft compound in Texas to accommodate them all. Musk shares six children with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, from their marriage which lasted from 2000 to 2008. In a tragic turn of events, they lost their first son, Nevada Alexander, to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in 2002 when he was only 10 weeks old.
Justine shared her heartbreak in Marie Claire, revealing: “I buried my feelings … coping with Nevada’s death by making my first visit to an IVF clinic less than two months later. Elon and I planned to get pregnant again as swiftly as possible. Within the next five years, I gave birth to twins, then triplets.”
Elon and Justine’s family grew with the arrival of twins Vivian and Griffin via IVF in 2004, followed by triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian in 2006. Now 20 years old, Vivian, who legally updated her name and gender in 2022, expressed her disdain for her father’s acquaintance, President Donald Trump, whom Elon supported during the election.
Vivian, who is estranged from her father, aired her views on Threads, saying: “I’ve been considering this for some time, but yesterday made it clear. I don’t see my future in the United States. Even if he’s only in office for four years, even if the anti-trans regulations magically don’t happen, the people who willingly voted this in are not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Musk has expanded his brood as he and partner Shivon Zilis became parents to twins Strider and Azure, who arrived in 2021 just weeks before the birth of his and Grimes’ third child. Last year, Musk, and Neurolink executive Shivon, 38, quietly welcomed their third child.
The couple have chosen not to disclose the gender or the birth date of their new addition. Musk has previously made his thoughts clear on the topic of having large families. Taking to X back in May 2024, he warned followers: “Just have kids one way or another or humanity will die with a whimper in adult diapers!
“I’m doing my best to encourage more people to become parents and ideally have three or more kids, so humanity can grow.”
