Elon Musk, reputedly the world’s richest man, ‘semi-separates’ from partner

Elon Musk has ‘semi-separated’ from Claire Elise Boucher, the singer known as Grimes, with whom he has a one-year-old son. The Tesla and SpaceX founder blamed work.

SpaxeX founder Elon Musk and his ‘semi-separated’ partner, Canadian musician Grimes (Claire Boucher), in California. Picture: AFP

Elon Musk has “semi-separated” from Claire Elise Boucher, the Canadian singer known as Grimes, with whom he has a one-year-old son.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder, who is the world’s richest man with, according to Bloomberg, a net worth of $US204 billion ($281bn), blamed a busy work schedule.

“We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,” he told The New York Post.

“It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or travelling overseas and her work is primarily in LA. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.”

Mr Musk announced a move to Texas last year amid a quarrel with the state authorities in California over pandemic regulations at one of his Tesla factories.

In June he said he was selling the last of his homes, in San Francisco, to live without possessions.

He planned to spend some of his time at the SpaceX facility in Texas, where he hopes to create “the city of Starbase”, a hub for mankind’s exploration of the galaxy. There, in a former retirement community largely taken over by the company, he rents a small bungalow from SpaceX.

In this photo screengrab made from SpaceX's live webcast, the Starship SN15 prototype launches from the Starbase at Boca Chica, Texas, on May 5, 2021. Picture: AFP

Though Ms Boucher is said to have a home in Austin, Texas, she is shooting a show in California.

The couple’s son, who is named X AE A-XII, was born last year.

Ms Boucher, who is 33 and styles herself as a “goth alien witch princess”, wrote on Twitter at the time that the X referred to an unknown variable, AE was “my elvin spelling of Ai, (love &/or Artificial Intelligence)” and “A-12 = precursor to SR-17, (our favourite aircraft). No weapons, no defences, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent.”

The child’s surname was registered as Musk.

Mr Musk, 50, has five children with Justine Wilson, his first wife, and was married to Talulah Riley, a British actress.

Mr Musk and Ms Boucher, who started dating in 2018, were last seen together at the Met Gala in New York this month.

“I am hoping to die on Mars,” Ms Boucher told Vogue at the time. “That would be my goal. But I probably wouldn’t go into space until I’m 50, I think.”

The Times