Elon Musk gave Grimes a ‘trivia test’ on Lord of the Rings when they first started dating

The SpaceX founder took the ‘Genesis’ singer to the Tesla factory in Fremont for one of their first dates

Elon Musk reportedly gave Grimes a “trivia test” on Lord of the Rings when they first started dating.

A forthcoming biography titled Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson – which will be released on 11 September – recounts the early days of the pair’s relationship when they first met in 2018.

Canadian musician Grimes, real name Claire Elise Boucher, met the SpaceX founder, 52, first met in 2018 following a Twitter exchange, before making their red carpet debut as a couple at the Met Gala later that year.

In an excerpt from the book shared by the author ahead of its official release, Musk is said to have invited Grimes to Fremont, California, to visit his Tesla factory for “his idea of a good date”.

Grimes told the author of the date: “We just walked the floor all night, and I watched him try to fix things.”

Then, according to Isaacson’s account, while driving Grimes to a restaurant the following night, Musk showed the singer how fast his car accelerated and then took his hands off the wheel, covered his eyes and let Autopilot control the car.

“I was like, oh s***, this guy is f***ing crazy,” Grimes told Isaacson. “The car was signalling and changing lanes by itself. It felt like a scene out of a Marvel movie.”

When they arrived at the restaurant, Grimes compared Musk’s powers to those of Gandalf, which prompted the Tesla CEO to give the “Oblivion” singer a trivia test on The Lord of the Rings.

“He wanted to see whether she was truly a faithful fan. She passed,” wrote Isaacson.

Elon Musk and Grimes at the Met Gala together in 2018 (Getty Images for Huffington Post)

Then, as a “gift”, Grimes allegedly gave Musk a box of “animal bones she had collected”.

In the evenings, Isaacson writes, the pair listened to Dan Carlin’s Hard Core History podcast and other historical audiobooks and podcast shows.

“The only way I could be in a serious relationship is if the person I’m dating can also listen to an hour of, like, war history before bed,” Grimes told the biographer.

Isaacson writes that while the pair were at the restaurant, Musk carved the pair’s initials “EM+CB” onto a wall.

The pair welcomed their first child together in 2020 and named their son X Æ A-12. This year, they changed their son’s name to X AE A-XII to comply with Californian laws.

In December 2021, they welcomed a second child via surrogate, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl.

While the pair share two children, the pair are no longer together. They have been in an on-again, off-again relationship since they met, but Grimes said they broke up after the birth of their daughter. She described Musk as “my best friend and the love of my life”.

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson – author of bestselling biographies on Steve Jobs and Leonardo Da Vinci – is expected to be released on 11 September.