Rhianna Benson
Elon Musk's obsession with technology reached unnatural levels back in 2022, when he reportedly told his then-girlfriend Grimes that she was likely 'a simulation'.
According to journalist Devin Gordon, 53-year-old Tesla CEO Musk was, at one point during his former relationship, convinced the Canadian musician was a 'perfect companion', but wasn't 'real'.
For those in need of a reminder, Musk and Grimes - real name Claire Elise Boucher - were first romantically linked back in 2018.
By 2021, however, the X (formerly Twitter) owner and chart-topper had parted ways, and in 2023, they became embroiled in a custody dispute in Texas in 2023 following their split, which has since been settled.
Advert
During their relationship, the unconventional couple went on to welcome three children together, the eldest of whom is four-year-old son X Æ A-12, often nicknamed X. The pair are also mother and father to three-year-old daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, and son, Techno Mechanicus, two.
Grimes and Musk were only photographed together a handful of times throughout their high-profile romance - most famously, at the 2018 Met Gala, which they attended as an official couple.
Behind the scenes of their relationship, however, one reporter alleged back in 2022, that Musk had some pretty unconventional perceptions about his other-half - including that she was a 'simulation' his mind had created.
In the BBC docu-series The Elon Musk Show, reporter Devin Gordon claimed 36-year-old Grimes had shared the news with him personally.
"She [Grimes] told me repeatedly that Musk has this theory of her that she’s not real," Gordon claimed at the time.
"That she’s a simulation who was created by him and exists in his cerebral cortex as sort of the perfect companion to him. Which sounds a little crazy and maybe even a little creepy, except, she agrees with it. She said she does feel like this simulation which was perfectly created for him."
Gordon continued: "Her interests are all the same as his and her music is very technologically oriented."
The writer added that the now-exes, at one point, 'both made a similar nerdy joke about a scary AI theory of the future'.
The same year the documentary was released, mum-of-three Grimes also shed some light on what prompted the breakdown of her relationship with Musk, telling Variety that there's 'no real word' for how they currently stood with one another.
"I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we’re very fluid," she told the publication at the time. "We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it."
More recently, the former couple are believed to have butted heads after their eldest son X made a controversial appearance in the White House with his father earlier this month.
Grimes subsequently took to social media to claim she had no idea Musk had plans to take their formerly-private son to the Oval Office.
"He should not be in public like this," she replied to an X user. "I did not see this, thank u for alerting me. But I'm glad he was polite. Sigh."
In the days that followed, the concerned mum also directed a public appeal towards her ex, imploring Musk to intervene in a medical emergency that one of their children was enduring.
"Plz respond about our child's medical crisis," Grimes wrote on Twitter, mentioning her ex specifically.
"I am sorry to do this publicly but it is no longer acceptable to ignore this situation. This requires immediate attention."