What's The Deal With 'Techno Mechanicus,' The Name Of Elon Musk And Grimes' Hitherto Secret Third Child?

As is what is improbably becoming a yearly occurrence, a journalist has revealed yet another secret child of Elon Musk and Grimes. This time, The New York Times reviewed a biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson, which revealed that the pair had a third child, hitherto unknown to the public, named "Techno Mechanicus" with the nickname "Tau."

While "Techno Mechanicus" may somehow be the most normal-sounding of the Musk-Grimes children names yet (a low bar to clear when the competition is X Æ A-12 and Exa Dark Sideræl Musk), it also is arguably the nerdiest of the three, as it is believed by many to be a reference to a franchise of futuristic tech and robot games.

What Does "Techno Mechanicus" Mean?

While it hasn't been confirmed by either Grimes or Musk why their third kid is named as such, many on social media are convinced that "Techno Mechanicus" is a reference to an iconic faction in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise. Specifically, they believe it's a reference to the Adeptus Mechanicus, a faction in the futuristic sci-fi franchise that is largely responsible for maintaining and acquiring mankind's technology. It's also speculated that "Tau" is a reference to a race in Warhammer as well (which coincidentally is the most advanced technologically).

Redditor thesirblondie summarized the theory thusly:

"It's all from Warhammer 40,000. The Adeptus Mechanicus are a faction within the Imperium of Man. Some of them are Tech Priests. Tau is one of the xenos races within the setting."

However, others suspect that the nickname "Tau" may have a more narcissistic meaning. "Tau" is a Greek word representing "2π." Written numerically, "2π" is 6.28. June 28th is Elon Musk's birthday.

While again, neither Musk nor Grimes have confirmed the connections between "Techno Mechanicus" and Warhammer, the two have been very particular with their naming conventions in the past, making the Warhammer connection the leading theory of the name's meaning at the moment.

What Was Grimes' Deleted Tweet About?

An intriguing wrinkle to the sudden reveal of a third Musk-Grimes baby was Grimes' own behavior on social media prior to September 10th (when the New York Times broke the news).

Last week on September 6th, Grimes responded to a tweet by Musk biographer Walter Isaacson that included a picture of Musk with his employee, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, and their two kids. Unbeknownst to Grimes, Musk donated his sperm to Zilis while Grimes was pregnant with Exa Dark Sideræl. The tweet found Grimes begging Isaacson to get her in contact with Musk, saying she had never seen "these children" and was not being allowed to see "her son."

However, after the news broke, Grimes said she and Zilis had spoken and apparently quashed whatever bad blood there may have been between them. Grimes also said she wished she could share photos of Techno, but she wants to keep him from the public eye. The tweet suggests she has custody of Techno, so it is unclear what she was referring to when she said she was not allowed to see her son.

How Has The Internet Responded?

As with the previous two oddly named Musk-Grimes babies, the internet had a field day creating memes and joking about "Techno Mechanicus," although they acknowledged it was the most "normal" name of the three. As Musk has become a more divisive political figure since taking over Twitter/X, the jokes skewed towards Musk often complaining about wokeness but continuing to give his children bizarre names.

The Warhammer fandom has been particularly active with jokes about the names, as meme subcommunities for the franchise have been focusing on jokes connecting Musk/Grimes children to the universe.

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For more information, check out Techno Mechanicus on Know Your Meme.