This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Elon Musk Shares New Photo Of Son With Strange German Caption

And he captioned the new baby photo in German, for some reason.

Grimes and Elon Musk haven’t exactly followed the traditional parenting trajectory so far. They didn’t confirm the pregnancy until their baby was born, they gave their newborn son a very confusing name that they apparently both pronounce in different ways, and Musk got into a public feud with his mother-in-law two weeks after Baby X Æ A-Xii was born.

So naturally, they’re going to share baby updates in their characteristically weird way.

For instance: a sweet father-son photo with a German caption that translates to “The baby cannot yet use a spoon.”

For the record, it’s very normal that Little X, as they’ve apparently nicknamed him, hasn’t yet mastered spoons. He was born in early May. At three months old, he’s just around the age where he’s realized he has hands, and might use them to swipe at objects he wants, according to Parents. His aim will gradually improve, and by six months he’ll start trying to grab things — but probably won’t yet understand that he has to use his thumb.

Babies usually start figuring out spoons by about eight months, the outlet explains. By then they’ve mastered “anticipatory behaviour,” meaning they’ll understand how to rotate their wrists in order to get a spoon into their mouth. They usually start being able to use spoons on their own when they’re about 10 to 12 months old.

As for the caption being written in German, that one’s still a mystery. Perhaps it’s a screw-you to German courts, which ruled last week that Tesla can’t use terms like “autopilot” in its advertising.

Musk took issue with the semantic decision. “Tesla Autopilot was literally named after the term used in aviation,” Musk tweeted in response. “Also, what about Autobahn!?”

He grew up in South Africa, which does have a large German-speaking population. His mother, model Maye Musk, has said she’s not fluent but does speak “functional” German.

In his much-publicized and very weird podcast interview with Joe Rogan in May, Musk said human languages could be obsolete in “five to ten years.”

He explained that he’s working on a battery-powered brain implant that has the potential to heal brain injuries and allow people to “communicate very quickly and with far more precision.”

“I’m not sure what would happen to language. In a situation like this it would kind of be like ‘The Matrix,’” he said. “You wanna speak in a different language? No problem, just download the program.“

But if the sound of, for instance, the German language is very appealing to you, or if you simply like the act of speaking, Musk says we’ll still be able to. Phew.

“You wouldn’t need to talk,” he said. “We could still do it for sentimental reasons.”

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.