As one of this year's biggest plot twists, Elon Musk and Grimes confirmed their relationship on the red carpet of the 2018 Met Gala.
Rumors about the relationship started swirling a few hours ago when a source told tabloid Page Six that the musician and the billionaire have been dating secretly. The report was confirmed when the new celebrity couple made their first public appearance together at this year's Met Gala Monday night.
How They Met
According to insiders, Grimes and Musk met a little over a month ago by way of social media. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO reportedly wanted to make a joke, poking a fun at artificial intelligence and upon research, he found that the Canadian singer-songwriter already made a similar pun. Musk reached out to Grimes and as they say, the rest is history.
"Elon was researching the idea of joking about Rococo Basilisk, and when he saw Grimes had already joked about it, he reached out to her," shared the source. "Grimes said this was the first time in three years that anyone understood the joke. They were both poking fun at AI."
Roko Basilisk is the grim thought experiment hypothesizing what if a malevolent artificial intelligence takes over the world and punishes everyone who did not help it come into existence. The readers are then given a choice of whether to help the powerful and evil AI come into existence or be condemned to a life of suffering under the new overlord.
The thought experiment first appeared on the discussion board LessWrong years ago but until today, even prominent scientists and the tech magnate fear that something similar might happen in the future.
Going back to Musk and Grimes's internet meet-cute, the South African billionaire wanted to combine Roko Basilisk with Rococo, the 18th-century European baroque style.
Page Six pointed out that Grimes already thought of the pun three years ago when she created a character called "Rococo Basilisk" for the music video of the song "Flesh Without Blood." She revealed in an interview back then that the character is doomed to be tortured by an AI, but was also a bit like Marie Antoinette.
People noted that Musk and Grimes have been giving fans a hint at their romance on Twitter. Last month, the celebrity couple raised some eyebrows when they had a brief but flirty interaction on the social media platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2018
Musk also tweeted a link to Grimes's music video for "Venus Fly" and declared it the best he has seen in a while.
Best music video art I’ve seen in a while https://t.co/F2E4zDZMyM — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 31, 2018
Date Night
For their first official appearance as a couple, 46-year-old Musk wore a white tux with a white shirt underneath, black slacks, and a white rose on his lapel. Meanwhile, Grimes donned a high-low dress, knee-high platform boots, a white ombre corset, and a Tesla choker.
Grimes wearing a Tesla choker at the #MetGala for Elon Musk is the modern version of Angelina Jolie wearing Billy Bob Thornton's blood in a vial around her neck pic.twitter.com/MFryNhv2xX — Shira Tarlo (@shiratarlo) May 8, 2018
The event was also graced by Musk's ex-girlfriend, Amber Heard. The two broke up last August and briefly reunited earlier this year, only to part ways again shortly after.
