By now you ’ve probably seen that SpaceX founding father Elon Musk and partner musician Grimes have welcomed a babywith an unusual name , but have you heard it ?

conjecture about how to articulate jounce babe X Æ A-12 has been plethoric , as has themeaning behind it – and whether it ’s even legal as a soubriquet . Now , Musk and Grimes have expose the pronunciation of the name and exonerate it all up – sort of . OK , no not really at all . It appears , even they do n’t agree on how to say the name .

Grimesexplained on Twitteron May 6 the meaning behind the name , which , to the casual observer is just a caboodle of letter and number , but evidently has significance for the newfangled parents .

" X , the unknown variable ,   Æ , my elven spelling of Ai ( love & /or Artificial intelligence ) , A-12 = predecessor to SR-17 ( our favorite aircraft ) . No weapons , no demurrer , just pep pill . Great in battle , but non - violent , " she wrote .

Musk confirmed this while compensate the new mom , write : " SR-71 , but yes " .

So , we have the meaning , but how do wesayit ?

Well , Grimes has in reality straighten out that up , too . Responding to   questions about the orthoepy of the unusual soubriquet on Instagram on Thursday , sheexplained :   " It ’s just X , like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I. "

No mention of the A-12 , though .

That ’s where Musk comes in   – and obnubilate thing .

speak on an episode of Joe Rogan ’s podcastThe Joe Rogan Experience , also released on Thursday , Musk offered a slightly different articulatio .

Musk answered that it was mostly Grimes who arrive up with the name , though he did make a donation .

" I signify it ’s just X , the letter X , " Musk said . " And then the AE is like say ' ash ' … yeah … and then A-12 is my contribution . "

Why A-12 ?

According to Musk , it was in honor of the Archangel 12 carpenter’s plane , the harbinger to the SR-71 , which the Tesla Chief Executive described as " the cool plane ever . " TheArchangel 12was a CIA supersonic reconnaissance aircraft built by the Lockheed Corporation . The SR-71 , or " Blackbird " , was Lockheed ’s espouse - up farsighted - range , high - elevation   reconnaissance mission aircraft operate by both the United States Air Force and NASA . It was retired in 1998 .

Unfortunately , Musk did n’t go so far as to say the name aloud , though . His version hint " X - ash - A - twelve " , but Grimes ' explanation that   Æ is pronounced like AI , and the omission of A-12 ( sorry Elon ) would make it " X - AI " .

But , is all this moot anyway ? According toCalifornia law , where the new parents populate and it ’s thought little X Æ A-12 was born , names on nativity certificates are only permitted to have   “ the 26 alphabetic characters of the English language ” .

So perhaps Musk and Grimes are trolling us and their child has a perfectly de jure satisfactory moniker after all . Either style , the brace are at liberty to call their offspring whatever they wish , and while the ecumenical public spends 60 minutes dissecting it , they ’re hardly one to judge . In 2017,141 child , and then in 2018another 109 , were named Tesla .