Inside Elon Musk’s relationship with his ‘protégé’ son, X Æ A-12: the Tesla billionaire is a father to nine kids but has a special bond with his mini-me, rocket-loving toddler, according to mum Grimes

Sep 7 , 2022

Elon Musk and son X Æ A-12, pictured on stage at the Time Person of the Year event in December 2021, in New York City, appear to have a special bond. Photo: Getty Images

At just two years old, Musk’s son X Æ A-12 is already showing similar traits to his SpaceX CEO dad – Grimes tweeted that X was upset when his toy rocket failed to ‘reach orbit’

The Canadian singer and Musk’s baby mama also said that the richest man in the world takes X everywhere with him, and the duo once sported matching Vikings haircuts, too

Elon Musk is a keen advocate for higher child birth rates, once telling The New York Times that “babies are super cool” and “if people don’t have enough babies, humanity will disappear”.

Now a father to nine children, it seems that it’s his son X Æ A-12, age two, that he appears to have a special bond with. He famously brought the toddler with him to the Time Person of the Year event in 2021 when baby X was just 18 months old.

Later, his son was sitting on his lap for a SpaceX video presentation with the billionaire. Musk kept laughing as X repeated “hi, hi, hi” into the camera.

Elon Musk and son X Æ A-12 on stage at the Time Person of the Year event in December 2021, in New York City. Photo: Getty Images

Today, the bond between father and son is becoming even more evident. Musk’s baby mama, Grimes, spoke about the depth of their relationship to Vanity Fair earlier this year, too.

Here’s how we know Musk and X are close …

X Æ A-12 loves rockets

Elon Musk, rocket scientist, Tesla and SpaceX founder and the man who inspired Tony Stark’s character in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man stands beside a rocket in 2004, in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Getty Images

The couple’s son had an early introduction to technology and, according to his mum, has developed a fascination for rockets. In September, Grimes tweeted that their son gets frustrated when playing with toy rockets. She quoted him as saying, “f***n rocket is too f***n heavy.” Grimes said X Æ A-12 made the comment after the toy rocket failed to “reach orbit”.

Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX, speaks at a news conference after the Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket launched successfully from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in February 2018. Photo: AP

When she was asked by a follower why she didn’t just buy her son a new toy, the Canadian singer replied that he destroys all the rockets because he doesn’t understand that they aren’t real and rips off parts of the toys, expecting them to launch. She added that he even accuses his mum of “trickery for giving him fake rockets”.

She later added that X says “rocket landing” all the time and described it as “very heart-warming”.