Elon Musk’s children have experienced places most people will never see. From attending meetings with world leaders to stepping inside the control room of a SpaceX launch, Musk’s children have frequently been by his side in his ventures across technology, business, and now, politics.
They have become regular figures in Washington, D.C., particularly since President Donald Trump appointed the billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO to head the newly-established Department of Government Efficiency.
On Wednesday, Musk’s four-year-old son, “Lil X,” was seen perched on the edge of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, dressed in a tan pea coat and collared shirt.
The following day, X and two of his siblings were present during an exchange of gifts with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while their father engaged in discussions on technology and innovation with the foreign leader.
Even before his involvement in Washington, Musk was often seen in public with his children—whether at a meeting with Turkey’s president, a memorial ceremony at Auschwitz, or Time magazine’s event honoring him as the 2021 Person of the Year.
Why do Musk’s children accompany him?
“The inclusion of the kids in many public appearances is very much a politician move or a political move to make him seem a bit more personable (and) take a human approach to how the public views him,” says Kurt Braddock, an American University professor of public communication.
The decision to bring his children
Despite Musk frequently bringing his children to public events, Mr. Braddock found it unusual that his preschool-aged son accompanied him to the Oval Office.
During the 30-minute press briefing, X appeared uninterested, mimicking his father, sitting on the floor, and occasionally glancing around the room. At one point, he seemingly told someone to “shush.”
Mr. Braddock believes the presence of Musk’s children serves a purpose—acting as a distraction that benefits both Musk and Trump.
“I do think that there is a bit of a strategy here trying to draw attention to some things while diverting attention to other things,” he explained.
Elon Musk and Lil XJon Haber, a strategic communication consultant with experience in five presidential campaigns and a lecturer at Harvard, suggested that Musk’s children making frequent public appearances—and the viral moments they create—work in Trump’s favor.
“For Trump, the more chaos, the more he floods the zone, the less anybody can really focus on. Chaos works for him,” Mr. Haber stated.
Musk’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of X, Grimes, criticized her son’s presence in the Oval Office. “He should not be in public like this,” she posted on X. “I did not see this… but I’m glad he was polite. Sigh.”
In a 2022 Vanity Fair article, she expressed her disapproval of her son being in the public eye.
“Whatever is going on with family stuff, I just feel like kids need to stay out of it, and X is just out there. I mean, I think E is really seeing him as a protégé and bringing him to everything and stuff.… X is out there. His situation is like that. But, yeah, I don’t know.”
Musk and his children
Long before his political involvement, Musk regularly brought his children along to events.
A decade ago, when he was still building his reputation and attracting attention to Tesla, it was common to see them present.
At a Tesla event in Silicon Valley in 2015, as analysts and reporters waited for an unveiling, Musk’s five children could be seen running through the halls, laughing and chasing each other.
Despite attendees having to wait for hours, the presence of Musk’s children created a relaxed and even cheerful atmosphere.
It was a stark contrast to the typically rigid and formal events hosted by other companies, where the presence of an executive’s young children would have been unexpected.
Getty Images: Elon Musk and his children meet with Indian Prime Minister Modi. Two sit on the ground with books while another is held by a woman. Musk and Modi are seated, smiling at the kids.
Musk is the father of 12 children from three different relationships. His most well-known son, X Æ A-12, often called “Lil X,” shares the same letter Musk used when rebranding Twitter after acquiring the social media platform.
Musk himself has referred to the four-year-old as an “emotional support human.”
Walter Isaacson, Musk’s biographer, described him as “deeply committed” to his children and “almost obsessed by them.
“With his own children, his lovers, his wives, there is the same intensity that is baked into everything he does,” Mr. Isaacson remarked.
“He always likes having some of his children around him. He always likes having a companion, but that doesn’t mean that he likes calmness.”