Why does Grimes' pronunciation of X Æ A-12 differ from Elon Musk? Fans say they 'hear nothing' in their heads
Ever since Elon Musk and Grimes gave birth to a baby boy, there has been much chatter about the little one. The couple broke all grounds and named their newborn son X Æ A-12.
No sooner did they announce it on Twitter, fans posted a string of tweets, expressing their confusion about what it means and how to pronounce it.
Grimes took to Twitter to reveal the real meaning behind it. "X, the unknown variable, Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence), A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent, + (A=Archangel, my favorite song) (metal rat)," she wrote.
However, fans still wondered how to pronounce it right. Replying to a fan, Grimes recently posted on Instagram, "It's just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I." Even then many couldn't quite decipher it.
Moreover, her pronunciation version differed from the one Musk told podcast host Joe Rogan. "First of all, my partner is the one that, actually, mostly, came up with the name," the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said.
"Yeah, she's great at names." When asked how to pronounce, he said, "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."
Nevertheless, fans are still confused and can't stop cracking memes. "I look at X Æ A-12 and hear nothing in my head," one viral tweet read. One fan went on to post, "Enough people have said the baby's name is Kyle. I still hear a scream. Imma start blocking."
One said, "I just hear an empty scream," and another said, "Literally my brain just pauses until the next word."
Breaking down the pronunciation, one fan wrote, "A E I O U and sometimes 12," while another said, "I don’t know why but I call it XJ-19."
Another user posted, "I just say X A E A 12 in my head." Calling it "dumb," one wrote, "X Eye Ee A 12” in my head it's so dumb." Only time will tell how the celebrity couple really say their son's name.