The Moment
Grimes, the art-pop musician and longtime on-off partner of Elon Musk, just gave a surprisingly candid peek into life with their three children – and somehow, yes, there are crows involved.
In a series of posts on X (the platform owned by Musk), Grimes talked about their kids – sons X A-Xii, 5, and Techno Mechanicus, 3, and daughter Exa Dark Siderl, 4. She normally keeps them off the internet, but this time she let herself gush a little.
She wrote that she tries not to talk about or show her children because they “deserve the right to anonymity,” but added that their “pure aura is unmatched.” Then she casually dropped that one of them “inexplicably commanded a flock of crows for [a] while.” Just another Thursday in the Musk-Grimes household, apparently.
When a fan chimed in about not showing kids’ faces online and called out parents who use children for clout, Grimes agreed. She doubled down on her stance that privacy comes first, even as she clearly loves sharing how “unusual” her little crew is.
In another reply, she said there’s a “huge debate” between her and the “other parent” (Musk) over screen time. She says it’s “fairly avoided” with the kids, and if they do watch anything, they focus on “great art” and slower content like Ghibli-style animation – think gentle, dreamy Japanese films rather than hyper-edited kids’ YouTube chaos.
The Take
I have to hand it to Grimes: only she could describe her child as a crow whisperer and have it sound kind of believable.
Underneath the witchy anecdote, though, there’s something very normal going on here: two exes trying to raise kids in a world that never, ever stops staring at them. Yes, the dad is one of the richest, most polarizing men on the planet. Yes, the mom names babies like they’re limited-edition synth plug-ins. But the fights? Screens vs. no screens. Privacy vs. posting. That’s textbook 2026 parenting.
What jumps out to me is the contradiction Grimes is clearly wrestling with. On one hand, she’s adamant about protecting her kids’ anonymity. On the other, she’s telling millions of people that one of them has paranormal-level crow powers and that their “aura” is special. It’s like saying, “I don’t want them recognized” while handing the internet a character description from a fantasy novel.
Do I think she’s doing it maliciously? No. This reads like a very online parent oversharing in a way that feels harmless in the moment. But when your kids already have unusual names, a famous dad, and a pending custody file with their initials on it, those “little” details add up. Privacy isn’t just about not posting their faces; it’s about how we frame their stories before they’re old enough to log in.
Still, compared to plenty of celebrity parents who monetize every milestone, Grimes is at least trying to draw a line. She agrees that using kids for clout is “s–tty” and mostly sticks to vibes instead of visuals. In the influencer-parent spectrum, she’s more “mystical mom who occasionally overshares” than “family YouTube channel.” And frankly, that’s… progress?
The screen-time debate with Musk is also telling. He’s a tech titan who literally builds the stuff; she wants slower, art-first media with as little frenetic brain-zapping as possible. It’s like watching the App Store argue with an analog record player. And in that matchup, I’m not mad at the record player winning a few rounds.
Receipts
- Confirmed: Grimes posted on X that she avoids talking about or showing her kids because they “deserve the right to anonymity,” while praising their “pure aura” and saying one child “inexplicably commanded a flock of crows for [a] while.”
- Confirmed: In replies to fans, she agreed that using kids for clout on social media is wrong and shared that there’s a “huge debate” with the “other parent” about screen time.
- Confirmed: Grimes said screen time is “fairly avoided” and, if it happens, they focus on “great art” and slower content like Ghibli-style animation instead of fast-cut media.
- Reported: Their relationship ran on-and-off from 2018 to 2022 and has since involved a contentious custody dispute, according to publicly reported legal filings.
- Claimed by Grimes: She has previously said that Musk blocked her on X after first following her again, framing it as part of the broader tension between them.
Grimes makes rare comment about co-parenting with Elon Musk https://t.co/NrJ27IQNd6 pic.twitter.com/6M0PtVP8e4
— Page Six (@PageSix) January 23, 2026
Sources: Grimes posts on X (@Grimezsz), Jan. 2026; entertainment-news reporting on Grimes and Elon Musk’s co-parenting and custody disputes, published Jan. 23, 2026.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you haven’t been tracking this saga since the Met Gala cape era, here’s the short version. Grimes, born Claire Boucher, is a Canadian musician known for her experimental, electronic pop. Elon Musk is the billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX. They started dating around 2018, appeared together at high-profile events, and quickly became the internet’s favorite “what is happening here?” couple.
They share three children, all with very distinctive names: X A-Xii (often just called X), Exa Dark Siderl (nicknamed Y), and Techno Mechanicus (nicknamed Tau). Their romantic relationship ended (at least publicly) by 2022, but the co-parenting and legal questions kept going. There have been reports of custody disputes, and Grimes has previously accused Musk of keeping her from one of the kids, which he has not publicly walked us through in detail.
On top of that, both parents live very online lives, especially Musk, whose platform X is essentially his public diary, company-wide memo board, and debate club all rolled into one. That makes any tiny comment about their children feel bigger than it might for a regular family – everything is amplified.
What’s Next
Will this new openness from Grimes become a pattern, or was this just a one-night-only venting session on the app formerly known as Twitter? That’s the real question.
On the parenting front, it sounds like the screen-time debate isn’t fully settled. If she keeps posting, we may hear more about how she and Musk split parenting philosophies: tech-maximalist dad vs. art-and-crows mom. Given their public profiles, even small details about their choices will keep sparking bigger conversations about how much digital culture any kid – let alone a Musk kid – should have in their life.
Legally, the larger custody issues will play out in courtrooms and filings, not on X, but moments like this give us a glimpse of the emotional weather behind the paperwork. Any future public statements from either of them about custody, blocking/unblocking, or schooling and lifestyle choices are going to be read with this context in mind.
For now, though, it’s pretty simple: Grimes says she wants anonymity, less screen time, and a slower, more artistic childhood for her kids. Whether that’s truly possible when your dad owns the platform you’re posting on is another story entirely.
Your turn: Where do you draw the line – is talking about kids’ quirks (even the crow-summoning kind) okay in public, as long as their faces stay hidden, or is that still one step too far into their future privacy?
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