Whoopi Goldberg reacts to Elon Musk’s son’s unique name on The View

Whoopi Goldberg introduced the story of Musk bringing his 4-year-old son to a White House press conference with Donald Trump, but cohost Joy Behar was immediately taken aback by the child's unique name.

"So, yesterday, Elon Musk took his son X..." Goldberg began, only for Behar to interject, "X?" with a puzzled expression.

As the audience erupted in laughter, Goldberg clarified, "I did not name the child. I don’t want to hear any more mess about our names, okay?" The remark drew a smile from Sunny Hostin, whose own name has often been a topic of discussion—her given name is Asunción, though she professionally goes by Sunny.

Goldberg continued, "Anyway, he took little X," only for Behar to joke again, "And little Instagram!" Goldberg quickly corrected, "He doesn’t own Instagram. He just took little X with him to a press conference in the Oval Office to defend himself against critics who say he should not have the power to gut a federal agency."

While Behar later described X as “adorable,” the panel had strong opinions about Musk’s growing influence, especially in connection to Trump.

Following X’s birth in 2020, Musk’s former partner, singer Grimes, explained the meaning behind their son’s name. According to her, "X" represents an unknown variable, "Æ" is her way of spelling AI (artificial intelligence) or love, and "A-12" is a reference to the couple’s favorite aircraft.

Interestingly, The View's cohosts aren’t strangers to unique names themselves. Whoopi Goldberg, born Caryn Elaine Johnson, took her stage name from a whoopee cushion, while Joy Behar—whose full name is Josephine Victoria Occhiuto—was named after her Italian grandmother, who had a rather dramatic past.

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC.