"He's already earned the Worst Parent of The Year Award" - Netizens react as video of Elon Musk leaving behind his son goes viral

In a recent clip that has gone viral on the internet, Elon Musk appeared to leave his son, X, behind as the Tesla CEO walked off the stage. Four-year-old X, whom Musk shares with his former partner Grimes, was seen climbing down a set of stairs on his own.

The clip was likely captured on January 19 at Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again Victory Rally' in Washington, DC. At the time, Musk made headlines as he took his son on stage while celebrating Trump's presidential win.

However, the new video has earned the X (formerly Twitter) owner backlash online. In the video, an attendee's voice could be heard from the audience as she seemingly addressed Musk:

"Wait, you're…you're leaving your little boy"

Netizens took to X to criticize the DOGE head for being careless with his four-year-old son.

"This is not unexpected behaviour. I feel like he’s already earned the Worst Parent award several times this year", one Reddit user wrote.

Internet slams Elon Musk over viral clip of leaving his son behind. (Image via Reddit/@r/Fauxmoi)

"He has no business taking his child to this event if he can't keep an eye on him. The child has a nanny, that's who he should be with", said one X user.

"Doesn’t surprise me that he forgot his child", wrote another.

Four-year-old X was seen accompanying his father to recent gatherings where Donald Trump was present. He even stole the spotlight from Musk at an Oval Office press conference earlier this month.

Regardless, after this clip made the rounds online, several people accused Musk of using his son only as a 'prop' in times of need.

"The is what happens when the camera is not on him. He forgets his prop", said one X user.

"Treats the country like he treats his kid. Once he's done using him, he discards him and moves on caring nothing for his safety", voiced another.

"He knows the servants will get him. He is just a prop and he has 12 more just like him at home!", wrote one.

A few others seemingly defended Musk, claiming the video was cut before it could show a separate perspective or camera angle. They said X had security guards following behind him.

One person wrote Elon Musk turned back and stopped to watch X get down the stairs towards the end of the video, but the clip was cut short.

"Nice play. Musk was turned facing his kid watching him while talking out of the focus. Of the picture. Nice try", claimed one person.

"There’s a bunch of security people there. He will be fine", said another.

---

The viral clip comes after Grimes' appeal to Elon Musk regarding the well-being of one of their kids

Last week Elon Musk's former partner Grimes took to X to address the Tesla CEO and urged him to communicate with her regarding their "child's medical crisis".

Musk and the Canadian singer were together from 2018 to 2022 and share three children — two sons X Æ A-Xii and Tau Techno Mechanicus, and a daughter Exa Dark Sideræl.

Grimes apologized to Elon Musk for addressing the issue publicly, but stressed that it was an emergency in her now-deleted February 20 tweet:

"It is no longer acceptable to ignore this situation. This requires immediate attention."

The 36-year-old suggested Elon Musk could have an intermediate to discuss the matter if he didn't want to talk to her himself. Grimes did not want to share intricate details but accused Musk of not returning her calls and emails.

She wrote in the following tweet:

"Our child will suffer life long impairment if he doesn't respond asap"

Although Grimes did not mention which of their three children was suffering from the medical crisis, some netizens believed she was referring to X.