Elon Musk chose the wrong time to correct Grimes’ explanation of their newborn’s name, but he did give her proper naming credit and ended a torturous few days of speculation by fans on the exact pronunciation.
The couple, who announced the birth of their baby boy on Tuesday, chose an unusual moniker for their son: X Æ A-12 Musk.
The Tesla co-founder shared in an interview on Thursday with podcaster Joe Rogan that his partner, the Vancouver-born musician Grimes, was “great at names” and mostly came up with X Æ A-12.
Of course, Rogan had to ask: “How do you say the name?
“It’s just X, the letter X,” Musk told the host. “And then the Æ is pronounced ‘ash.’”
“A-12 is my contribution,” he said.
Grimes said earlier in the week she thinks the name “sounds like the name of the main character in the story” and is hoping that “he vibes with that.”
She explained the name in a tweet Tuesday, saying that the X stood for “the unknown variable,” and that Æ was a reference to both love and artificial intelligence.
The singer shared that the A-12 is a “precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent.”
Unfortunately, she made a slight error in her tweet, which the SpaceX CEO was all too quick to point out.
“SR-71, but yes,” Musk said in a reply to his partner’s tweet, correcting where she’d referred to their favourite reconnaissance aircraft as the SR-17.
Grimes had a quick comeback that put Musk in his place.
“I am recovering from surgery and barely alive so may my typos b forgiven but, damnit,” she said. “That was meant to be profound.”
Musk quickly tried to correct himself with an emoji-laden compliment.
Grimes seemed to have forgiven his virtual slight, based on her short response.
Rogan’s episode with Musk also delved into the joys of babies, why he’s selling his properties, and gave kudos toX Æ A-12′s geek-approved birthday on May 4, a.k.a. Star Wars Day. It’s a happy coincidence the the original film is Musk’s favourite movie and Rogan aptly points out that “it’s perfect” for the future-loving Musk. We’d say that it’s perfect for his equally sci-fi enthusiastic partner too; Grimes once wrote a heart-warming love letter to the series.
But of course, the most important thing is that mom, dad and little X Æ A-12 are happy and healthy.
The child is the first for Grimes and the seventh for Musk. He has six sons with his ex-wife author Justine Wilson, including a baby named Nevada Alexander, who died in 2002 at just 10 weeks old.
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