Grimes has educated her fans on how to pronounce the name of her firstborn child.
The Oblivion singer, 32, was rather terse in explaining the unusual moniker in her response to a question asking ‘how do you pronounce the baby’s name?’ on Instagram.
‘It’s just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I,’ said the Canadian songstress.
New mother: Grimes explained how to pronounce her baby X Æ A-12’s name when responding to a confused fan on social media on Thursday
An explanation: Fans have been wondering how to say the baby’s name and Grimes, who has been engaging with people on social media, was happy to help
However things weren’t so simple according to babydaddy Elon Musk, who told Joe Rogan’s podcast on Thursday that the X in the name is spoken ‘like the letter’ while ‘the ‘Æ’ is pronounced like “ash”‘
Musk, 48, announced the birth of his sixth son – his first with singer Grimes – on Tuesday. He shared a photo of himself holding the newborn in his arms, telling fans the baby is called X Æ A-12.
In a two hour long chat released Thursday the billionaire broke down the name before doubling down on his pledge to sell his possessions, telling Rogan he will rent a home. He said: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’
Elon Musk appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast Thursday, days after the birth of his sixth son
But Musk told Rogan: ‘First of all, my partner is the one that, actually, mostly, came up with the name. Yeah, she’s great at names.
When asked to explain the choice Musk replied: ‘I mean it’s just X, the letter X. And then, the Æ is, like, pronounced ‘Ash’.
‘And then, A-12, A-12 is my contribution. Archangel 12, the precursor to the SR-71, is the coolest plane ever’, he added.
Musk has five sons – Griffin, Xavier, Kai, Saxon and Damian – from his previous marriage to Canadian author Justine Wilson.
He has still not explained exactly how to pronounce the name, but added: ‘Actually I think it’s better being older and having a kid. I appreciate it more. Babies are awesome.’
Probed on his tweet announcing he will sell all of his possessions Musk said the term billionaire has become a way to target someone. He added: ‘I have a bunch of houses, but I don’t spend a lot of time in most of them.
‘That doesn’t seem like a good use of assets. Somebody could probably be enjoying those houses and get better use of them than me.’
Special: The singer explained the meaning behind each component of her son’s name on social media on Thursday
He confirmed he would rent a property, rather than own one.
The tech entrepreneur, who according to Forbes is worth more than $38 billion, tweeted that he intends to sell ‘almost all physical possessions.’
‘Will own no house,’ Musk tweeted. He then remarked: ‘Just one stipulation on sale: I own Gene Wilder’s old house. It cannot be torn down or lose any its soul.’
Musk also waded into the coronavirus lockdown debate, telling Rogan ‘we should treasure’ freedom and democracy and ‘not give up our liberties too easily’. He added: ‘I think we probably did that.’
‘My opinion is, if somebody wants to stay home, they should stay home, and if somebody does not want to stay home, they should not be compelled to stay home.
Musk, 48, announced the birth of his son with singer Grimes on Tuesday. He shared this photo of himself holding the newborn in his arms, telling fans the baby is called X Æ A-12
‘That’s my opinion. And if somebody doesn’t like that, well, that’s my opinion’, he added.
And he discussed work with brain function via his company, Neuralink, telling Rogan: ‘We would basically take out a chunk of your skill and put the Neuralink device in there.
‘You insert the electrode threads very carefully in the brain and then you stitch it. It would interface anywhere in the brain and it could restore your eyesight and limb functionalities.
‘If you have severe epilepsy, it could detect it in real-time and stop it from occurring. There are a whole list of injuries — for example, if a person has a stroke, that could also be fixed if you lose muscle control.’
Neither Grimes nor Musk have revealed how to actually pronounce their son’s name
Neither Grimes – whose real name is Claire Boucher – nor Musk have revealed how to actually pronounce their son’s name. The couple are pictured
WHAT MAKES THE SR-71 SO GREAT?
- It still holds the world record from 1976 for being the fastest manned jet-powered aircraft ever flown reaching a staggering 2,193 mph (Mach 3.3)
- The aircraft’s speed meant it could simply accelerate away from missiles during the Cold War
- The SR stands for strategic reconnaissance and the plane was nicknamed the Blackbird because of its black paint job, designed to dissipate heat
- It was made of titanium so it could withstand high temperatures while flying at such high speeds – at full speed its surface heated up to 500+ degrees Fahrenheit
- It could fly at an altitude of 85,069 feet – higher than anti-aircraft fire could reach
- The CIA created several fake companies under which it could then buy titanium from the Soviet Union to make the Blackbirds
- The SR-71’s spy equipment allowed it to survey 100,000 square miles per hour
- It was barely visible to radar, meaning the US could enter Soviet airspace without detection
In November 2013, Musk purchased a three-quarter-acre Bel Air home for $6.75 million. That property once belonged to Wilder, the late Willy Wonka actor who died in 2016. Musk has since turned the property into a private school.
It is one of six that Musk bought within walking distance of each other.
Musk also purchased a seventh home near Tesla headquarters in Northern California.
In total, he has spent more than $100million for seven properties since 2012, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Musk appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast in September 2018 and smoked what appeared to be marijuana.
While he didn’t break any laws since weed is legal in California, where the podcast was taped, the episode fueled perceptions that Musk was too wild and out of control for a chief executive of a major corporation.
The 48-year-old billionaire accepted a joint from the host, Rogan, after a rambling conversation that also took in the dangers of AI and the possibility China is spying on US citizens through their phones.
This time around he discussed how ‘too many smart people go into finance and law’, adding: ‘In recent years, billionaire has become a pejorative, like that’s become a bad thing, which I don’t think makes a lot of sense in most cases.
‘We should have fewer people doing law and fewer people doing finance and more people making stuff.’
On Wednesday Musk publicly corrected Grimes for getting the name wrong of the spy plane their baby is named after.
The singer tweeted that the inspiration behind part of their son’s name, X Æ A-12, is the ‘A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft)’.
But the Tesla boss replied to her and pointed out that in fact the plane is called an SR-71. He followed it up with another Tweet simply writing ‘Archangel-12’ alongside a photo of the A-12 aircraft.
Grimes, who gave birth Monday, brushed off the mistake, pointing out she had just given birth and was recovering from surgery.
‘I’m recovering from surgery and barely alive so may my typos b forgiven but, damnit. That was meant to be profound,’ she replied to her boyfriend.
The jokey spat came after the 32-year-old singer took to Twitter Tuesday to explain the reasons behind the unusual combination of characters making up the name X Æ A-12.
Grimes explained that each of the characters in the baby’s bizarre name represents something special to the couple.
‘X [represents] the unknown variable,’ Grimes wrote, referring to the first letter of X Æ A-12’s name.
She then went on to explain that the next symbol in her son’s name was inspired by fantastical elves.
‘Æ is the the Elven spelling of of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence),’ she stated.
The final symbol in the name, Grimes explained, is a reference to the A-12 aircraft.
‘A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent,’ she wrote.
She also added that A additionally stands for ‘Archangel’, ‘her favorite song’.
Grimes then ended her odd tweet by sharing emojis of crossed swords and a mouse – writing ‘Metal rat’.
Musk appeared on Rogan’s podcast in 2018 and smoked what appeared to be marijuana
The tech entrepreneur, who according to Forbes is worth more than $38 billion, tweeted that he intends to sell ‘almost all physical possessions.’ ‘Will own no house,’ Musk tweeted
Musk has spent more than $100million for seven properties since 2012
The mansions he intends to sell are all within walking distance of one another
After the couple announced the birth of X Æ A-12, many Twitter users sent out tweets poking fun of the unusual name.
‘That’s going to be tough on the teacher,’ one joked.
‘It’s pronounced “Rachel”‘, another deadpanned.
Meanwhile another wrote about X Æ A-12’s name: ‘That awkward moment when all names are taken, so you smash all the keys on the keyboard.’
Musk, who has a reported net worth of $37 billion, began dating Grimes in 2018 after they met at that year’s Met Gala.
The Canadian singer said in February that she wants to let their baby choose their own gender identity.
Earlier this month Musk went on a bizarre Twitter rant which sent stocks of the electric car company in a freefall, wiping $14 billion from the company’s market capitalization and $3 billion from Musk’s net worth.
‘Tesla stock price is too high imo,’ Musk tweeted on Friday, before going on to vow to sell off his physical possessions and recite part of the national anthem.
Markets reacted quickly, sending the company’s stock plunging more than 10 percent for the session.
Musk’s tweet about Tesla’s valuation was only the beginning of an erratic stream of tweets on Friday that included misquoted lyrics of The Star Spangled Banner as well as a strange pledge to sell his possessions.
Musk also tweeted: ‘Now give people back their FREEDOM.’
That tweet is likely a reference to Musk’s controversial comments slamming the coronavirus lockdown, which he called ‘fascist’ on Wednesday.