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What's With All The Jokes About Elon Musk Using His Son As A 'Human Shield'? The Conspiracy Theory Explained
Elon Musk's contentious relationship with many of his seven other children is no secret, and his oldest child Vivian is one of his most vocal critics online, which is why his transformation into a seemingly doting dad these past few months has not gone unnoticed by his biggest critics.
Musk's insistence on bringing X Æ A-12, also known as X, to every public appearance in recent weeks has set off alarm bells for many internet users who are convinced that he's only spending time with his son to shield himself from harm in weeks following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The bizarre conspiracy theory has been steadily gaining traction in anti-Trump circles online, and the rumors are being fueled by X's presence at every media appearance Musk has made since December 2024, including an official press conference in the Oval Office itself.
Here's a recap of how the rumor got its legs and how X's mother Grimes feels about her son being in the spotlight lately.
Where Did The Rumor That Musk Is Using His Son As A 'Human Shield' Come From?
Starting in 2023, Elon Musk was photographed with his then-3-year-old son at various events, including the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix, the December Army-Navy Game, and the Super Bowl LVII.
In late 2024, Elon Musk and his ex-wife Grimes ended a protracted custody battle over their son X Grimes claimed that Musk was purposefully keeping her son away from her.
There was a brief gap after the custody battle ended where Grimes seemingly took over caring for little X, and kept him out of the limelight. But in December 2024, two days after the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Elon Musk was photographed with X once again, causing people who hadn't kept up with the billionaire to make some wild claims.
On December 6th, 2024, X user @InkMasterbator tweeted, "Elon never spends time with his kids but the day after a CEO gets shot in the streets he's father of the year hanging with his little human shield," gathering over 300,000 likes, and effectively kicking off the rumors about Musk's "human shield."
How Did The The Elon Musk's 'Human Shield' Theory Spread?
On December 6th, 2024, Redditor /u/MaximumFocus5205 posted about the "human shield son" theory to the subreddit /r/EnoughMuskSpam, while Twitter users further perpetuated the theory after seeing Musk appear with X at a Mar-a-Lago New Year event on December 31st.
Musk's supporters were not oblivious to the rumors, with the X / Twitter page @RedditLies reposting a number of inflammatory comments on Reddit in which people threatened bodily harm to Musk, even going so far as to assert that the presence of his child would not be a deterrent.
What Does Grimes Think About Musk Bringing His Son Along To Public Events?
On February 11th, 2025, Elon Musk brought his son along to a press conference in the Oval Office, prompting renewed human shield accusations and posts on Twitter and Reddit.
For example, X user @esjesjesj tweeted, "It’s been said before but the fact that he uses his child as a public relations tool and human shield is abusive," gathering over 120,000 likes in a day. Also on February 11th, 2025, Redditor /u/No_Lawyer5152 posted, "Leader of the free world uses human shield while answering questions to the press," to the subreddit /r/pics, gathering over 18,000 upvotes in a day.
For what it's worth, Grimes has been very vocal, and somewhat helpless, about her son being in the public eye.
In January 2025, she made a series of posts asking Instagram pages to take down or blue her son's face and replied to other Twitter users by describing her failed attempts to curtail her son's publicity as a "personal tragedy."
It's unclear if Grimes will be able to reign her ex-husband in and curtail her toddler's exposure to the public eye anytime soon, but in the meantime, it seems as though Musk is fine with the inadvertent comedy that ensues from having X around.
Elon Musk's son tells Trump, “You’re not the President and you need to go away” pic.twitter.com/z3e09vbXBL
— Right Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) February 13, 2025
For the full history of the Elon Musk Using His Son As A Human Shield Theory, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
