From “meetings with foreign leaders to the control room of a SpaceX launch”, Elon Musk’s young children are his ever-present work sidekicks.
His four-year-old son, “Lil X” (full name X Æ A-Xii), is his most frequent companion, and Musk has referred to him an “emotional support human”, said the BBC. But following the youngster’s “unusual” cameo at a recent Oval Office press briefing, commentators are questioning why Musk’s children “tag along” on official business, and what messages the new head of the US Department of Government Efficiency is trying to convey.
‘Complementary accessory’
It may be a “somewhat of a cliché” but how would the public react if a “high-powered woman in the American government brought her kid to a press conference?” asked Stephanie McNeal in Glamour. X’s appearance alongside Musk and President Donald Trump have been a “zany viral moment”, but it is also a “pretty clear-cut example” that fathers aren’t judged in the same way as mothers. Being seen “with our child in our workplace” is “a risk we cannot take”; for Musk, a child is a “complementary accessory” .
Doing business with his offspring in tow sends a “message, intentional or otherwise” that Musk is not an “erratic share-tanking shit-poster” but a “cuddly dad who has it all”, said Irin Carmon in New York Magazine. And, given his known “personal commitment to staunching the population collapse“, Musk is also showing “how much skin he has in that doomerist game.”
‘Leading by example’
The “contempt and hostility” shown towards Musk for taking his child to work is overblown, said Bethany Mandel in the Washington Examiner. The “best way imaginable” to teach young minds “how the world works” is to immerse them in “incredible experiences”. And, if we are to reverse declining birth rates, we must normalise “the presence of children, putting their needs first”. On this, Musk “is leading by example”.
It’s clear Musk “revels in the company of his child”, said Pooja Pillai in the Indian Express, “proudly showing him off to the world and its leaders”. Coming over all “relatable” by being the “doting dad carrying his little tyke piggyback” may be a calculated move but anyone can see that X is genuinely “a source of great joy to him”.