Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive and mother of four children with technology mogul Elon Musk, has ignited a wave of amusement online by sharing an innocent remark from their eldest son regarding one of Tesla’s most notorious, yet whimsical, features: the Boombox function.
A Son’s Pride
Zilis took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the sweet, albeit slightly crude, moment of pride from their son:
“Eldest son, as excitedly as I’ve ever heard him: ‘Hey! Hey! Did you know my dad invented the car fart???’”
Zilis shares four children with Musk: twins Strider and Azure, daughter Arcadia, and son Seldon Lycurgus. While the post does not specify which of the twins made the remark, it highlights the unique way children perceive their famous father’s innovations.
Both Elon Musk and his mother, Maye Musk, quickly reacted to the post. Elon Musk responded with a fire emoticon (🔥), while his mother reposted the tweet, adding laughing out loud (😂) and heart (❤️) emoticons, showing the family’s shared amusement over the comment.
The post garnered reactions from individuals on social media, with one user noting, “So sweet. Children are innocent in ways adults have long forgotten.” Another commented, “Of course! It’s Elon Musk’s most revolutionary invention. That’s for sure.”
The Controversial Boombox Feature
The feature praised by Musk’s son was part of the Tesla Boombox function, which allowed drivers to play various preset sounds, including fart and goat noises, or even custom sounds, through an external speaker installed in the moving vehicle.
The feature, however, was later recalled in the USA in 2022. Federal regulators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ruled that the fun sounds could obscure the mandatory Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds required for electric vehicles traveling at low speeds (under 19 mph). The PWS noise is essential because electric cars operate quietly, making them a collision risk for pedestrians.
Elon Musk was famously unhappy with the regulatory decision, publicly blaming the “fun police” for forcing the recall, which required an over-the-air software update to disable the Boombox functionality while the vehicles were in drive, neutral, or reverse.