Chapter 115

This chapter explores Musk's personal life in 2020, centered on the birth of his son X with Grimes and his relationships with his older children. It also covers Musk's decision to sell his luxury homes and move to Texas, and a reconciliation with his brother Kimbal during COVID quarantine.

In May 2020, Musk's son X is born to him and Grimes through IVF. The child's unusual name—X Æ A-12 (spelled A-Xii on the birth certificate)—combines Grimes's references to the unknown variable, artificial intelligence, and elven spelling with Musk's tribute to the Archangel spy plane. X becomes Musk's constant companion, accompanying him to meetings, factories, and conference calls. When Musk sends a photo of Grimes's C-section to family and friends, she is horrified; he attributes his insensitivity to his Asperger's.

Musk's older children visit to meet X. Saxon, his autistic son, loves babies. His identical twins Kai and Damian, though raised identically, develop different personalities and worldviews: Damian becomes a vegetarian classical prodigy concerned with carbon footprint, while Kai is more extroverted and athletically inclined. Griffin, their non-identical twin, is scientifically brilliant and gentle, often choosing his father's company over friends. However, Xavier, Musk's other non-identical twin (and the eldest of this sibling set), has become deeply estranged from his father due to radical left-wing beliefs. Around the time X is born, Xavier transitions and becomes Jenna, initially keeping this secret from Musk but eventually asking Grimes and Kimbal's wife Christiana for discretion. Musk later discovers this through his security detail.

Musk's relationship with Jenna deteriorates further as she embraces communist ideology, which he attributes partly to progressive indoctrination at her private school, Crossroads. He later tweets a dismissive cartoon about pronouns but deletes it after criticism. By 2023, he publicly opposes medical transition support for minors. Musk calls the rift with Jenna more painful than anything since the death of his firstborn Nevada, and states that she refuses to spend time with him.

Jenna's criticism of wealth influences Musk to reconsider his lavish lifestyle. In early 2020, he tweets that he is selling "almost all physical possessions" and will "own no house." He liquidates his $17 million Bel Air mansion and $32 million Silicon Valley estate, viewing possessions as burdensome and vulnerable attack vectors. He moves to Texas, initially renting Ken Howery's large lakeside Austin home before switching to a condo or Grimes's rental on a secluded cul-de-sac after the Wall Street Journal publicizes his location and security concerns arise.

In November 2020, after contracting COVID following Ken Howery's birthday party in Stockholm, Musk reconnects with Kimbal. Despite strain in their relationship, they spend time together in Boulder and Austin, watching SpaceX launches, playing the video game Polytopia, and binge-watching Cobra Kai. The show resonates with both brothers—its aging characters mirror their own struggles as fathers and with their own father figures. Kimbal had invited Elon to an Ayahuasca ceremony, believing it might help him process emotional trauma, but Elon declines, saying his emotions are too deeply buried. The week together proves cathartic, and Kimbal describes it as the best time they have shared in years.