Notes

In spring 2018, amid emotional turmoil from his breakup with Amber Heard and the intense Model 3 production push, Musk meets and begins dating Grimes (Claire Boucher), a musician and performance artist drawn to sci-fi themes and complex ideas. Their relationship develops rapidly, characterized by intellectual engagement, shared late-night podcast listening, and elaborate dates, even as external drama—including an incident with rapper Azealia Banks—swirls around them.

Musk and Grimes meet through a Twitter exchange about Roko's basilisk in March 2018, though they had briefly encountered each other when Amber Heard was present. Musk invites Grimes to the Tesla factory in Fremont for what he considers a romantic outing; during the visit, he carves "EM+CB" on a restaurant wall and tests her Lord of the Rings knowledge. They bond over history podcasts and audiobooks, with Grimes staying at his house initially for a few weeks to support him through his emotional struggles, but remaining because "the storm just sort of never stopped." In May, they attend the Metropolitan Museum gala in New York, where Musk has the Tesla design team help create her medieval-punk outfit. In August, Grimes invites rapper Azealia Banks to stay at Musk's house, forgetting prior plans with him; Banks subsequently posts abusive Instagram content criticizing both Grimes and Musk, falsely claiming he used acid before his "take Tesla private" tweet. The scandal dies down after Banks apologizes, but Grimes later channels the experience into music. Grimes observes that Musk operates with multiple distinct personalities that shift rapidly, attributing his behavior to Asperger's; she identifies a "demon mode" where he retreats inward, which causes chaos but also drives accomplishment. Despite the intensity and drama surrounding their relationship, she recognizes that his restlessness and psychological makeup, while difficult, fuel his success.