Elon “You can’t spell ‘felon’ without Elon” Musk is often seen with a little boy, who sometimes rides on his shoulders (when cameras are about) and otherwise just pops up here and there; his life seems to be one big take-your-child-to-work-day. The kid has some stupid alphanumeric name (X Æ A-Xii) that’s usually shortened to X, ha ha, but for the sake of discussing him here let’s call him Bobby. Bobby Musk is maybe his 10th or 11th child of 12, born to his ex-girlfriend, an eccentric pop artist named Grimes.
This puts me in mind of the Nobel Prize sperm bank, which went by the name the Repository for Germinal Choice. Founded in 1979, it was supposed to give women who wanted a baby on their own the option of choosing from a selection of chronic masturbators who happened to have traveled to Oslo at least once in their career. It didn’t work out that way; the few laureates who seemed interested backed out when early publicity made it clear that racism was the foundation for the whole idea.
Slate had a deep dive on it a while back, but I’ve limited out on free articles, so here’s a pretty good aggregation of it, in Smithsonian magazine:
The Repository was opened in 1979 in Escondido, California, according to Lawrence Van Gelder for The New York Times. Among Graham’s donors were three Nobel laureates. In fact, “Nobel Prize sperm bank” was the nickname that the initiative quickly gained in the press, according to David Plotz, writing in Slate. Ironic, considering that Graham himself walked away with a 1991 Ig Nobel for the repository.
After Graham tried to sell the press on his idea in 1980, Plotz writes, two of the laureates quickly backed out. Many said—with reason—that Graham’s theories about to create “ideal” children seemed a lot like the eugenics movement of the early twentieth century that eventually shaped Nazism. All his donors were white and had to be married heterosexuals, among other criteria, and the bank would only supply sperm to women who were the same. In theory, Graham said, the bank would produce children that were all white, intelligent, neurotypical and physically conforming to one ideal aesthetic.
William B. Shockley, the inventor of the transistor and recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics, was the only one to publically admit to being in the Repository, although Plotz writes that he never donated again. Shockley’s longstanding reputation for racism and espousing evolutionary pseudo-theories that strayed far outside his area of expertise helped to discredit the bank.
Musk appears to believe he, too, has super sperm, and is very generous in offering it up to willing wombs. He has children with his ex-wife, with Grimes, and this latest batch from a Neuralink employee. Page Six — of course, Page Six — has a comprehensive list.
My point here isn’t to gossip about children who, after all, had no say in how or where they entered the world, nor to speculate on whether these women actually enjoyed laying with a doughy South African, but the truly repellent idea that some sperm — always emitting from a white man, funnily enough — is better than others. One of the greatest things about human beings is how we aren’t show dogs or race horses, and happy accidents of intelligence and talent happen all over.
My colleague Ron did a story years ago in Fort Wayne, about a boy who was getting a little squirrelly in his…I think it was fourth-grade classroom, maybe? Still in grade school, anyway. He was the son of two tattooed, working-class Hoosiers who didn’t play Baby Mozart tapes when he was in utero, probably didn’t care all that much about organic food, educational television, “enrichment” classes or any of that. But the kid’s teacher had him tested for something other than ADHD, and he turned out to have an IQ of something like 165, well into genius range. IQ tests are deeply suspect, true, but it was a startling result, and the story was about how his parents and school were trying to see that he lived up to the potential his brainpower offered.
I love stories like that. I hope that kid is doing great in life, and has his mom and dad to thank for it.
In other children news this week, we had a tragedy in Detroit. A family of six — mom and five children — were sleeping in their van in various casino parking garages, and two of the children froze to death a couple nights ago. It’s heartbreaking, because the mother had reached out for help three times in recent weeks, but had never been placed in a shelter, and there were even empty beds the very night the kids died.
When I heard the headline — children found dead in casino parking garage — I first thought it was a story about child neglect and compulsive gambling. But no. Casinos are open all night, and are good places to sneak into a washroom. No guard checks vehicles coming and going at odd hours. They say she was running the heater, but the van ran out of gas.
This is so discouraging. Exactly what shelters are supposed to prevent.
alex said on February 12, 2025 at 7:46 am
Speaking of people with inflated opinions of their own sperm, we can’t forget the hoosier fertility doctor who was so full of himself that he had to put some of himself into his clients:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Cline
232 chars
Dorothy said on February 12, 2025 at 8:34 am
I love how reliably the regulars here use such fun and descriptive sentences to share information with all! Good job, Alex!
My cousin has a son who is brilliant and finished college pretty young. But socially he is as awkward as they come. He just turned 44 last week. At least he changed his mind about Orangey Turd Face after he got married for the second time.
367 chars
Suzanne said on February 12, 2025 at 8:49 am
Ah, yes, Alex. The good doctor Cline. There is a Netflix documentary titled Our Father which gives all the details. He was a real creeper.
138 chars
Julie Robinson said on February 12, 2025 at 9:05 am
How is that child so passive and quiet? Seems unnatural, at least based on my own two. I read that Daddy Dearest has a compound, where he wants all the kids and their moms to live, each in their own house. Maybe he’s secretly Mormon.
233 chars
Jason T. said on February 12, 2025 at 9:49 am
Homeless children dying in a casino parking lot is one of the most quintessentially American stories of our times. If Dickens wrote something like that, his editor would have said, “that’s a little too on the nose, Charlie, tone it down.”
If only they’d also had an assault rifle, we could set the story to music and make it the national anthem.
Are we great again now? Gobbless
384 chars
Mark P said on February 12, 2025 at 10:19 am
Ah, yes, born in the USA. And frozen kids in a casino parking lot. Well, as MLK said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward fascism.” Maybe that’s only in shithole tinpot dictatorships.
213 chars
Deborah said on February 12, 2025 at 10:32 am
What a sad sad story.
I was fascinated with the photos of Musk and his son. How come he singles out that one kid as his toy or main photo op prop? He must be be the most photogenic or something, the cute one. Obviously Musk is using the kid to make himself seem human and caring. I wonder what Musk’s entourage is like? How many people does it entail? Probably a lot of beefy security guys, a couple of hair and make up people, a few goffers and when the kid is with him a nanny or two.
Speaking of makeup, Trump’s face is so smeared with bronzer nowadays it’s even more laughable. They (or he) never gets it near his hairline so his face has a white perimeter that accentuates its fakeness.
699 chars
nancy said on February 12, 2025 at 10:47 am
I’m so old — how old are you? — I’m so old I remember when conservatives had a shit fit when someone wore “disrespectful” clothing into the Oval Office. These outfits were always worn by Democrats or some other group Fox News disapproves of; I recall a dust-up when some women on a college championship team wore flip-flops with their dresses. But fElon shows up in jeans, a T-shirt, a MAGA hat and with a little kid, and they’re SO CHARMED. They flipped the fuck out when Amy Carter was allowed to attend state dinners, and she was at least 10 at the time. Now it’s like, “oh, cut him some slack, maybe the sitter cancelled last minute.”
640 chars
basset said on February 12, 2025 at 11:10 am
Musk’s higher than usual total puts me in mind of Bob Marley (11 with 7 women) and Ray Charles (12 with 10 women).
Completely different context, though.
155 chars
Jason T. said on February 12, 2025 at 11:13 am
A tan suit, Nancy. A TAN SUIT. They lost their entire collective shit for TWO WEEKS because Obama wore a TAN SUIT to a press conference.
They then pissed themselves with fury because he returned a salute from a Marine while holding a cup of coffee.
Pointing out their hypocrisy is ultimately useless, because they believe in nothing except “My Side Roolz, Your Side Droolz,” and their standards will shift as necessary to fit whatever narrative they need to sell at that particular moment.
As people often say, “life is junior high school.” We are currently being governed by the dumbest, meanest people in seventh grade.
624 chars
ROGirl said on February 12, 2025 at 11:17 am
Kid picked his nose in front of tubby in the oval. Make America great again
75 chars
Jason T. said on February 12, 2025 at 11:24 am
Well, like they always say, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your unelected billionaire Nazi sociopaths who are destroying 249 years of constitutional government.
203 chars
Deborah said on February 12, 2025 at 11:31 am
Jason for the thread win.
25 chars
Sherri said on February 12, 2025 at 11:51 am
X is the first of Elon’s second batch of kids. He had six with his first wife, one of which died in infancy. They’re all old enough to decide on their own whether to have anything to do with Musk, and his trans daughter changed her last name to her mothers because she didn’t.
So X is the chosen one, the one who is going to learn at Elon’s knee. Elon is also in a custody dispute with X’s mother, so that might have something to do with it. Yes, there is a nanny and a security detail, but at Twitter, Musk would bring the kid into meetings, where the kid would talk and occasionally swear, according to “Character Limit”.
640 chars
Deborah said on February 12, 2025 at 12:18 pm
Musk had a second wife after he divorced the first one who had 5 kids (in 2 batches, IVF for both). The second one was an actress and they got divorced, then they remarried, then divorced again. They didn’t have any children as far as I know. In fact they may not have been officially married, maybe just engaged twice. Who knows, it’s gossip obviously. He had 3 kids with Grimes, one of the last of those was by surrogate. He’s had a few children with others. Except for Grimes the kids seem to have come in multiples, so probably IVF.
536 chars
Heather said on February 12, 2025 at 12:22 pm
People on Bluesky who know more about drugs than me say it’s obvious Musk was high on amphetamines or something in that presser.
I don’t know what is going to happen but I don’t think the current course is sustainable.
219 chars
Michael said on February 12, 2025 at 12:24 pm
I think most of Musk’s children have been conceived in vitro, so the women are not required to tolerate his lovemaking prowess.
127 chars
Jeff Borden said on February 12, 2025 at 12:29 pm
When Frank Zappa named his kids Dweezil and Moon Unit, I knew he was being a smartypants artist, but wondered how the kids would feel as they grew. Well, Moon Unit is now 57 and is a musician, author and occasional actress. Dweezil, 55, is an accomplished guitarist. Both still use those names.
The images of the Oval Office yesterday were striking to me. tRump, old, befuddled and very weak looking, sitting at the Resolute Desk and completely overshadowed by his sugar daddy. For someone as obsessed by image as tRump, it was a pathetic scenario. Musk is clearly running things while MAGAts heroic Orange Idol does stupid shit as a distraction.
Hey! Inflation is up 3% over last February. Consumer confidence is tumbling. Our largest trading partners are gearing up for the utterly unnecessary trade war ginned up by tRump. And the U.S. is boycotting the G20 conference in South Africa as a protest on behalf of white Afrikaaners. Gosh, wonder where Elmo is from?
971 chars
Julie Robinson said on February 12, 2025 at 1:02 pm
And you can’t buy eggs for love or money. Yesterday both Costco and Publix were out. So much winning.
Plus those kids dying in their van. That hurts my momma heart.
167 chars
Dexter Friend said on February 12, 2025 at 2:22 pm
Lawrence O.D. really laid into Drumph for having Musk come into The Oval with a wardrobe borrowed from Professor Irwin Corey’s closet. Then when Little X edged towards Drumph, Drumph went all W.C. Fields and turned his head in disgust.
The capper, of course, was Little X mining buggers! Kimmel had a ball with that, and I laughed too. All the while, Musk was rambling nonsense into a dead mic. Huzzah.
406 chars
Brandon said on February 12, 2025 at 2:34 pm
About the slippers at the White House:
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8670164
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flip-flop-scandal-at-white-house/
146 chars
Brandon said on February 12, 2025 at 2:58 pm
As for Amy Carter, the “scandal” was that she read a book between the courses of a state dinner for Pierre Trudeau.
https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,918772,00.html
That bookworm Amy Carter was at it again. For the second week in a row, the First Child, decked out in her best long party dress, turned up as her parents’ guest at a state dinner with something to read while she ate. At last week’s party for Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, she pored over The Story of the Gettysburg Address and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Her dinner partner, Senator Edmund Muskie, gently interrupted her reading to coax her to eat her spinach timbale. Later, with a flourish, Amy gave Muskie a souvenir—her place card, on which she had inscribed EAT YOUR SPINACH. Perhaps Amy will start a trend. Asked Washington Post Columnist Judith Martin: “If the book was better than the table conversation, which is certainly possible on state occasions, why can’t everyone bring one?”
1004 chars
Jeff Gill said on February 12, 2025 at 3:34 pm
We just had a review meeting with volunteers who’ve served one of the thirteen nights our “emergency warming center” has been open this winter, our seventh season of operations. We did six nights in a row last round, and next week looks brutal, with our threshold at 10 degrees or lower causing us to mobilize.
There are cities in Ohio which have shut down similar operations due to fire code violations. Our community is officially ignoring us; we have no official support, but the local hospital is helping immensely, as is our transit board. Otherwise it’s a bunch of church people. There’ve been questions “why don’t more churches do this” — I just finished a meeting with a minister who wanted to help and use their building (so we could alternate sites between activations, which keeps neighbors from getting uneasy about the increased number of people walking around looking homeless, since they are). They were told simply to open up and do a supervised, daytime only “shower ministry” would mean an immediate $8,000 a year increase in premiums; overnight hosting? Don’t even ask, they said. Our current location is an ELCA church and their property insurance is a group thing with the denomination, and their bishop is supportive, so it’s a go. Just thought you’d all find that interesting.
The county EMA guy & I have talked to a dozen churches since 2020, all wanting to help, but two have closed since, the other ten were told by insurance carriers they could not do it . . . have overnight homeless guests on subzero nights, that is. A tough decision.
1575 chars
Lou Gravity said on February 12, 2025 at 4:31 pm
There’s no need to miss out on any of Slate’s wonderful offerings. When you hit the limit, close out. Delete browsing data. Reopen. (Works with Chrome, not so much with Firefox.) Also, you won’t get the smarmy advice sections. For them Slate wants the big money – currently $5 a month
284 chars
alex said on February 12, 2025 at 4:43 pm
Jeff, you’re fortunate that your county is lenient. In Williams County, over our way, they’re punitive as all get out. I’ve been following this story for a couple of years now: https://www.hometownstations.com/news/ohio-pastor-convicted-in-dispute-over-sheltering-homeless-vows-to-continue-his-mission/article_fbcf3d66-a38c-5053-b677-110d52c9f833.html
351 chars
Sherri said on February 12, 2025 at 4:51 pm
Pope Francis says, contra noted Catholic JD Vance, that
“Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.”
Republican Christians keep wanting to redefine “love” and “neighbor” so that they can remake Christ in their image (or in the image of a rich orange man.)
342 chars
David C said on February 12, 2025 at 7:23 pm
Shady Vance doesn’t care. Dead Antonin Scalia is his pope.
58 chars
Sherri said on February 12, 2025 at 8:07 pm
I remember back in March of 2020 reading news and my timeline and being able to tell who understood what “exponential” meant by who was regarding Covid as a hair on fire emergency vs those who acted like it was all going to just blow over (BTW, that noted genius Elon Musk thought there would be maybe 35,000 cases in the US. Cases, not even deaths.)
I feel the same today with those who understand how democracies fail vs those who act like Trump won’t go that far. Like, have you learned nothing from the last 8 years? We’ve just installed a SecDef who is so disliked that the students of GIs overseas staged a walkout when he visited their middle school. We just installed a DNI who is basically a Russian plant, who has amplified Russian disinformation in the past. The director of OMB, the self-described Christian Nationalist, wants to traumatize federal workers.
My daughter kept her job all during the pandemic, but she works for a non-profit funded in large part by government grants. Will her job survive the Trump disaster?
1048 chars
Jim G said on February 12, 2025 at 8:18 pm
Well, thanks, Jason. Your comment about 249 years of constitutional government reminded me that the semiquincentennial (or sestercentennial, or whatever) is next year, and Orange Hitler is going to be in charge of whatever national celebrations happen. Great. Something else to look forward to, if we survive until then.
323 chars
alex said on February 12, 2025 at 8:26 pm
Maybe he’ll get the parade he wanted for his first inauguration with tanks and goose-stepping soldiers.
103 chars
Deborah said on February 12, 2025 at 9:21 pm
My husband had a conversation today with the stockbrokers who deal with the funds in the family foundation in which he serves as a trustee. The guy said basically that they are cautiously not paying attention to the crazy man behind the curtain, that much of what Trump is doing is performative for his base. He said if you read the fine print of Trumps executive orders it’s a bunch of bunk only meant to dupe his base into thinking stuff is happening when it is not in any meaningful way. According to Krugmann this Wall Street thinking is all working in Trump’s favor, because the market stays stable instead of going haywire because of all the chaos which usually sends the market into a downward spiral. The stable market makes Trump look good to his base.
I am skeptical because I don’t trust Trump one bit, but it’s an interesting perspective.
855 chars
Sherri said on February 12, 2025 at 9:35 pm
It’s just performative, the leopard won’t eat my face, you’ll see.
72 chars
Jim G said on February 12, 2025 at 9:47 pm
If only that were true, Deborah. Yes, many of the EOs are blatantly illegal, and with any luck the courts will overturn them. But in the meantime, Inspectors General were actually fired, USAID and the CFPB have actually been shut down, and…well, I can’t bring myself to list the whole litany of fuckery that’s going on. But the gist is that it doesn’t matter if the EOs are illegal if people in power treat them as if they were legal. The damage will be done. And that’s what’s happening.
In short, it’s not performative: he really is that hateful and vindictive.
573 chars
Mark P said on February 12, 2025 at 10:46 pm
The EOs will be taken to court, and among the many, some will make it to the Supreme Court, which will give Trump the ok to violate the Constitution. Then it’s really dictator time.
183 chars
Dave said on February 13, 2025 at 9:11 am
Those stockbrokers are whistling past the graveyard, only looking at the unqualified people he has put in his cabinet should be sending a message to them that regardless of what his executive orders say, he’s going to try his very hardest to overrun everything.
261 chars
Deborah said on February 13, 2025 at 10:59 am
Thank you for confirming my suspicion that the broker probably wasn’t being honest. My husband has a monthly chat with them and this time he was concerned about Trump pouncing on US Treasury bonds as being fraudulent in an attempt to extend and even further bring down the cost of the tax breaks for the wealthy. I don’t really understand, but it sounded like Trump was suggesting because of fraud, debt from the Treasury bonds wouldn’t need to be paid back. This concerned my husband because the foundation invests in Treasury bonds (not exclusively of course) because they are usually thought to be a safe bet, with long term yields. The foundation would have fewer funds to use for projects if the Treasury bonds become worthless. It’s all way more complicated than I’m making it sound here. Anyway, the broker was probably just trying to calm my husband down so they can keep the foundation as a client.
But it is true that Wall Street seems to be ignoring Trump for some reason, which keeps the markets stable and gives Trump an advantage with his base.
1061 chars
Mark P said on February 13, 2025 at 11:24 am
Even now, no one is paying attention, or they aren’t believing what’s right before their eyes. This is from Reuters:
It could be Treasury payments … which is not directly linked to Treasury bonds,” said Prashant Bhayani, chief investment officer for Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management. “I would be very surprised if they ever stopped a payment of Treasury bonds to a holder, it would be like shooting yourself in the foot,” he said.
Musk and his co-president Trump have been doing everything they can to destroy the government. Why does anyone think he won’t do more, including refusing to pay government debt? As I have said before, everyone knows Trump is a pathological liar, even his supporters, so he can hide terrible truths in what he says and no one believes it. He said he would become a dictator on Day 1, and everyone thought he was not being serious. He was deadly serious. If he suggests the federal government might rethink debt payments, you better damn well believe that’s just what he means.
These people are not hiding what they’re doing. It’s happening in the open, right before our eyes. They are destroying the regulatory and administrative government and replacing it with a dictatorship. “It can’t happen here.” Right.
1274 chars
Heather said on February 13, 2025 at 11:36 am
RFK Jr. has been confirmed. Not a surprise, but God help us.
McConnell was the one R who voted no. Too bad he located a spine when it was too late.
150 chars
Suzanne said on February 13, 2025 at 11:41 am
I believe that McConnell’s recent No votes are simply a grand FU to the country. It’s his way of telling us that he knew Trump was a snake all along and he didn’t care. He knows his vote doesn’t matter anymore so he is letting it all hang out. “FU America! I am now going to ride off into a well funded retirement thanks to the millions I made screwing you all over! Enjoy the crumbling empire, suckers!”
416 chars
Icarus said on February 13, 2025 at 2:27 pm
I’m no political expert but I suspect that every CongressCreature knows how their party will vote. They probably know how the other side will vote as well and probably still make backroom deals even with all the projected division.
This gives a Dem/Rep congressman cover to vote against something popular that will pass anyway so they can say they are tough on X.
This gives a Dem/Rep congressman cover to vote for something that won’t pass anyway so they can claim they were willing to compromise.
#Politics 101
540 chars
Kath said on February 13, 2025 at 4:20 pm
The only thing that could make the story of the children in the casino parking lot more tragic would be if they charged the mother with neglect. But I don’t want to give anyone any ideas.
190 chars
Sherri said on February 13, 2025 at 4:26 pm
My husband and I were talking last night, trying to understand exactly what had us so upset. I mean, yes, everything is falling apart, but are we personally worried about our health, well-being, survival? Not really, and we recognize that’s an immense privilege. We do worry about friends; my husband works with people who came here from all over the world, with a variety of immigration statuses, and he’s been checking in with them to see how they’re doing.
Those discussions have been illuminating. One friend grew up in Lebanon during the civil war there, and yes, he does see parallels. His view is that the quality of life here will degrade for everyone, but less so if you have money and resources. Another is from China, not eager to move back, not sure staying here is tenable.
But what we realized in our discussion last night that what we were really doing was grieving. Grieving the country we thought we grew up in, flawed as it was. Grieving the country we thought we were building towards. Grieving the shared ideal that we thought Americans had.
I’m not naive. I’ve spent a lot of time, money, and sweat trying to work towards a better America. I know not everyone shared that view. I have a lot of grief that so many are so willing to throw it away so quickly, so gleefully, for nothing, empty promises that will never be met.
When the leopard comes for you, Donald Trump and Elon Musk won’t protect you. They won’t even notice you.
1478 chars
annie said on February 13, 2025 at 4:40 pm
RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hailed By National Alliance of Funeral Directors
(from the Borowitz report)
103 chars
Sherri said on February 13, 2025 at 5:31 pm
Trump’s having trouble finding someone in the Southern District of NY US Attorney’s office willing to drop the charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. To recap, Adams is being charged with some pretty blatant corruption; Trump wants to drop the changes in exchange for Adams cooperation with deportation.
The acting US Attorney in SDNY is one Danielle Sassoon, Federalist Society Member in good standing, clerked for Antonin Scalia. She resigned rather than drop the charges. They moved the case to the Public Integrity Division, but the acting head there also resigned. Another move, another resignation by the acting head. Remember, these acting heads are selected by the Trump people, not just foisted on them, and this level of open transactional corruption is too much for them.
Maybe it helps that the ABA has reminded members that they, as lawyers, are compelled to follow the rule of law.
905 chars
Sherri said on February 13, 2025 at 7:24 pm
Mitch McConnell’s legacy will not be these meaningless token votes against Trump’s appointees. His legacy will be that he knew exactly who and what Trump was, was in the best position to stop him more than once, and chose to retain power for himself and his party rather than do the right thing for his country. He knew exactly what he was trading off, and he’d do it again, given the chance to do it again.
There are many people who share blame form the demise of American democracy, but he’s right up there at the top of the list. If there is an afterlife, he and Henry Kissinger can sit together and discuss what destroying democracy is like.
656 chars