Tau Techno Mechanicus And The Chaotic Musk Family Saga You Didn’t Know You Needed

Elon Musk’s and Grimes’ (Claire Boucher) secret child stunned the internet with his jaw-dropping legal name.

The Tesla CEO and controversial billionaire has made headlines for everything from unfulfilled pledges, like his $6 billion vow to end world hunger (per Euronews), to public antics, including what appeared to be a Nazi salute (via New York Times).

He’s also referred to his many children as his personal “legion” (per PEOPLE), and now, he’s raised eyebrows with the name of a previously undisclosed child.

Legally named Techno Mechanicus Musk and nicknamed “Tau,” the child’s existence came to light in a New York Times biography review of Walter Isaacson’s “Elon Musk.”

Readers were floored. “I am still wondering if this is even real,” one person wrote in a r/facepalm Reddit thread. Another added, “This is a joke right? What is wrong with rich people!!”

Tau is Musk’s third child with Canadian singer Grimes. His birth brought Musk’s known number of children to 11, before later reports claimed the family had grown to 14 (via PEOPLE).

A revealing 2023 biography by journalist Walter Isaacson disclosed that Elon Musk had a third child with ex-partner Grimes, which the couple had kept hidden from the public since his birth in mid-June 2022, during Father’s Day week (per Business Insider).

After the news spread, Musk confirmed the child’s existence on X, posting, “Tau Techno Mechanicus. Circumference/Diameter,” in response to a viral tweet listing his children’s names.

Grimes also acknowledged the news, sharing her intention to keep their son out of the limelight. “I wish I could show u how cute little Techno is [alien emoji],” she wrote in a post, adding, “but my priority rn is keeping my babies out of the public eye. Plz respect that at this time.”

Elon Musk and Grimes have long been known for choosing unconventional names for their children, like X Æ A-12, which also sparked public debates over its pronunciation (per Independent).

Following that tradition, Musk gave his newly revealed son another eccentric name. Techno Mechanicus is nicknamed Tau, a reference to the Greek letter symbolizing the irrational number that equals two times pi, according to the biography (per Los Angeles Times).

Interestingly, its value, 6.28, matches Musk’s June 28 birthday.

The name “Tau” drew plenty of mockery. One viral Reddit post joked, “Baby's name sounds like a Harry Potter spell.”

Others imagined how the name might play out in Tau’s dating life. “I just feel bad for any future girlfriends... ‘Oh Techno you're so... laughing sorry I just can’t’,” one user wrote.

Another added, “This kid is gonna get bullied so hard [crying emoji].”

The peculiar “Tau” moniker earned the little boy less than kind remarks. “Baby's name sounds like a Harry Potter spell,” a viral Reddit post read.

Others couldn’t help but think about Tau Techno’s future love life, “I just feel bad for any future girlfriends... ‘Oh Techno you're so... ***laughing*** sorry I just can’t’,” they wrote, while another speculated, “This kid is gonna get bullied so hard [crying emoji].”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elon Musk once said he aimed to reach “legion-level” fatherhood before the apocalypse.

His journey as a parent began in 2002 when his first son, Nevada Alexander, was born to his then-wife, Justine Wilson. Nevada tragically died at just 10 weeks old.

Musk and Wilson had five more children together: twins Vivian and Griffin, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian.

The Tesla CEO, now 53, later had four more children with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis: twins Strider and Azure, daughter Arcadia, and son Seldon Lycurgus (per PEOPLE).

More recently, author Ashley St. Clair revealed Musk fathered her son Romulus during a New Year’s trip to St. Barts.

She claimed Musk offered her over $15 million to keep the child out of the public eye (New York Post).

Musk, who is married to Canadian singer Grimes, has three children: son X Æ A-12 (later renamed X Æ A-Xii), daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, born via surrogate in December 2021, and son Techno Mechanicus, born in June 2022 (per PEOPLE).

X Æ A-Xii, known as “X,” is the first child of Elon Musk and musician Grimes. He was born in May 2020 after weeks of cryptic baby bump teasers on Instagram.

One commenter reacted to Grimes’ topless bump photo by saying, “This is so embarrassing.”

Grimes initially kept the father’s identity under wraps but later confirmed it was Musk.

“I do actually just really love my boyfriend,” Grimes said, explaining why she felt comfortable having a child with the billionaire. “So I was like, ‘You know, sure.’”

Despite choosing to carry Musk’s child, Grimes says she doesn’t connect with the concept of being a “mother.” According to her, X has never called her “mom” and instead uses her first name, Claire, because she doesn’t “identify” with the term.

Elon Musk and Grimes welcomed their daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, also known as “Y,” via surrogate in December 2021. They kept her existence private until March 2022, when Grimes hinted in an interview that Musk had fathered a “secret” baby girl.

Grimes later shared on X that Exa goes by “Y,” “Why?” or even just “?,” though she admitted, “the government won't recognize that."

Y’s upbringing has remained mostly under wraps, with the couple deliberately shielding her from public attention. Still, they have shared a few quirky details, like her love for techno music and German DJ Boris Brejcha.

“My daughter is dancing to techno over this copy of The Birth of Tragedy by Nietzsche, what a queen,” Grimes posted alongside a photo of 9-month-old Y.

Grimes has described her daughter as a “little engineer” like her brother X. While X is into rockets, Y reportedly prefers “industrial shipping” and is, as her mom put it, “a little strange."

Nicknamed “Tau,” Techno Mechanicus is the third and most recently revealed child of Elon Musk and Grimes. He was born in June 2022, but his existence remained secret until September 2023, when journalist Walter Isaacson disclosed it in his Elon Musk biography.

“Tau is so amazing. He came out with eyes that could just see so deeply into your soul, with so much knowledge. He looks like a little Spock. He's definitely a Vulcan,” Grimes said in the book.

Grimes has made it clear she plans to keep Tau’s life out of the spotlight, and few personal details have been shared.

Musk’s first child with Grimes, X Æ A-Xii, who once appeared at the White House (per PEOPLE), has a name even his parents pronounce differently.

Grimes once explained in an Instagram Q&A, “It’s just X, like the letter X. Then AI. Like how you said the letter A then I.” Musk offered a different take: “It’s just X, the letter X. Um, and then, the Æ is, like, pronounced ‘Ash’. And then A-12, A-12 is my contribution.”

Their daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl, also has layers of meaning in her name. “Exa” refers to exaFLOPS, a high-performance computing term. “Dark” points to dark matter. And “Sideræl,” pronounced “sigh-deer-ee-el,” is what Grimes called a “more elven” spelling of sidereal, meaning star or deep space time.

Elon Musk and Grimes began dating in May 2018, making their red carpet debut at the Met Gala (per Business Insider). The couple went on to have three children together before parting ways.

In September 2021, Musk revealed that he and Grimes were “semi-separated” but still loved each other and remained close. By 2022, the relationship had ended fully (per PEOPLE), shortly after Grimes described their connection as “very fluid” in a Vanity Fair interview.

Grimes later clarified the timeline, tweeting, “Me and E have broken up again since the writing of this [Vanity Fair] article haha, but he's my best friend and the love of my life... I think Devin wrote that part of the story rly well. Sique - peace out.”

After the breakup, she pushed back on the public narrative. “I didn’t ‘get dumped,’” she posted on X. “I bounced. My amazing baby is asleep in my bed beside me, I'm in love. No regrets. Life is as beautiful as u want it to be.”