Get All Access for $5/mo

Jimmy Fallon Riffs on Elon Musk's Child in New Song That Musk Called 'Tragic' The comedian sang a new jingle about the latest Covid variant in a January 5 episode of "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon."

By Emily Rella

Elon Musk seems to have found himself a new enemy in comedian Jimmy Fallon after The Tonight Show host referenced the billionaire's children in a song about the newest Omicron sub-variant.

Fallon's ill-received jingle aired on a January 5 episode of his late-night talk show where he attempted to make light of the new subvariant called XBB.1.5, which on paper looks similar to the name of Musk's son X Æ A-Xii.

"It's a new strain, but it isn't the same," Fallon riffed. "Sounds more like Elon Musk's kid's name."

The video quickly made its rounds on Twitter where one version of the clip has been viewed over 3.2 million times.

The clip was retweeted by journalist Glenn Greenwald who called the song a "new low," pointing out that Fallon is encouraging viewers to use masks while indoors but is ironically filming in a studio where he and his crew are not.

It was this Tweet that gained Musk's attention, who replied to the sentiment with one simple word.

"Tragic," he bluntly wrote.

"Naming your kid took way more talent than whatever the hell that was," one user joked to Musk.

The same day that the song aired, Musk took to Twitter to poll his followers as to whether or not he should "stay out of politics" or "keep shooting his feet."

The latter won in a 57.2% win.

X Æ A-Xii (pronounced X Ash A Twelve) is Musk's son that he shares with his former partner, the musician Grimes.

They also share a daughter together, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk.

Emily Rella

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Transformed a Graphics Card Company Into an AI Giant: 'One of the Most Remarkable Business Pivots in History'

Here's how Nvidia pivoted its business to explore an emerging technology a decade in advance.

Business News

Want to Start a Business? Skip the MBA, Says Bestselling Author

Entrepreneur Josh Kaufman says that the average person with an idea can go from working a job to earning $10,000 a month running their own business — no MBA required.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says He Was an 'Awkward' Leader When Creating Facebook: 'Still Not My Best Thing'

Meta's CEO said being Facebook's founder and leader at age 19 required lots of "feedback loops."