Elon Musk and his son X Æ A-XII appeared at a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while he was on a trip to the US.

At the beginning of the meeting, X Æ A-XII (often called X) was given a gift by Mr. Erdogan, a soccer ball, but the boy turned his head and refused to accept it. The Turkish president then put the American billionaire in an awkward situation when asked about his wife.

“Where is your wife?” Mr. Erdogan quietly asked Musk.

Looking surprised, Musk then replied: “Oh, she is in San Francisco. We are separated. I mainly take care of the boy.”

Both then sat at the negotiating table. During the meeting, X sat quietly in Musk’s lap, not crying or looking uncomfortable.

Elon Musk and his son (center) during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Reuters

X was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in May 2020, the first of three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren he had with his ex-girlfriend, artist Grimes. The remaining two are Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (also known as Y) 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 2021 and more recently Techno Mechanicus (common name Tau). The couple announced their separation earlier this year, saying they had been “separated” since 2021 but still had 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren together afterward.

Musk has repeatedly brought X to his events. At the end of 2021, he appeared with his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren at a conference held online by the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM). At that time, X sat with Musk for about two minutes. After the video was posted, many people expressed interest in the boy’s appearance, but others judged the South African billionaire unprofessional for letting family matters affect his work.

Mr. Erdogan is currently in the US to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly. The meeting between him and Musk took place near the United Nations building in New York. The two mainly discussed the fact that SpaceX will provide Starlink satellite Internet service in Turkey, as well as Tesla’s plan to build a car factory in the country.