Elon Musk reveals how to pronounce name of newborn son, X Æ A-122

People were left scratching their heads when Elon Musk revealed the name of the baby boy he and musician Grimes welcomed earlier this week. Well, now the businessman is explaining just how to say X Æ A-12.

Musk told "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast Thursday the name is pronounced "X Ash A Twelve."

"First of all, my partner's the one that mostly came up with the name," said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, 48. "It's just X, the letter X, and then the 'Æ' is pronounced, 'Ash,' and then, 'A-12' is my contribution."

Musk, who has six sons from a previous marriage (one of whom died as an infant), said the "A-12" is an homage to the "Archangel 12, the precursor to the SR-71, coolest plane ever. It's true."

One day after welcoming the baby, Grimes, 32, tweeted out her own explanation of the name.

"X, the unknown variable Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence) A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent (A=Archangel, my favorite song)," she wrote.

Musk has also tweeted a few photos of X Æ A-12, including one where he used a filter to make the newborn appear to have facial tattoos.

While their little bundle of joy's moniker is unique, it could potentially run into some issues making it onto an official birth certificate in California.

"A name like 'X Æ A-12' would not be allowed," Matt Conens, a spokesman for the Office of Public Affairs of the California Department of Public Health, wrote in an email to USA TODAY.

"Vital records must be completed with the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language and appropriate punctuation such as hyphens, apostrophes, periods and commas."