Become the world leader in electric cars, check. Transform the space industry, check. Remember your son’s name, che… ‘sorry?’ Elon Musk and Grimes made waves when they opted to name their son X Æ A-12 (pronounced X Ash A-12). Four months later it looks like ‘Electron’ or ‘Lithium-Ion’ might have been easier to remember.
At the start of 2020 my sheltered family of Johns, Georges, and Harrys thought they had seen the end of cringeworthy baby names. After all, the final season of Game of Thrones had ensured there would be no more children added to the 371 baby girls named Khaleesi since 2011.
We were naive, unable to predict that the child of the world’s most famous innovator would be named after elvish script and a type of plane.
It’s only human to forget your relatives’ names, my mum has been known to say my dog’s before saying mine. But then I’m not named after the precursor to my dad’s favourite plane, which you’d have thought would stick in the memory. Apparently not.
Reporter: ‘How’s X Æ A-12?’
Elon Musk: ‘Sorry?’
Rep: ‘How’s X Æ A-12?’
Musk: ‘Oh you mean my kid!’
Credit YouTube/Torque News
Musk laughed the situation off, saying that X Æ A-12 ‘sounds like a password’. The irony shouldn’t be lost here, comparing the name you’ve just forgotten to something you need to remember.
It’s enough to make you wonder whether they’ve chosen to adopt a slightly easier name for home, perhaps Spitfire or Legolas.
Musk ends the interview by saying his son is ‘great’ and that he might ‘bring him’ next time he comes to Giga Berlin, a massive Tesla factory under construction in Germany. I fear Elon may be underwhelmed by the infant’s interest in electric fuel cell technology.
And that’s the real sticking point. You’re called X Æ A-12, your dad is a crazy inventor, so what happens if you want to be a waiter or a milkman? What happens if you want to attend flat earth marches? Far more interesting than the question of whether Musk will make it to Mars is if X Æ A-12 can make it to being ‘Ashley’ of Amazon customer service. Check out the full interview below:
