Tesla CEO Elon Musk, during a recent interview with American conservative commentator Jordan Peterson, made controversial statements regarding his estranged transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson. Musk alleged that his daughter was “killed” by the “woke mind virus” after he consented to gender-affirming care procedures.
In the interview, Musk referred to the gender-reassignment surgery as a “child mutilation and sterilization” procedure. He claimed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was persuaded to sign documents for one of his children without fully understanding the situation. “I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys,” Musk stated. “This was really before I had any understanding of what was going on, and we had COVID going on, so there was a lot of confusion and I was told [my child] might commit suicide.”
Musk accused those promoting gender-affirming care of targeting children “who are far below the age of consent.” He expressed feeling deceived, saying, “I lost my son, essentially. They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason. The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead.”
This experience, Musk claimed, set him on a mission to combat what he describes as the “woke mind virus.” He stated, “I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that. And we’re making some progress.”
Two years ago, Musk’s transgender daughter filed a request to change her name in accordance with her new gender identity and to sever ties with her father. The petition, filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica in April, sought both a name change and a new birth certificate reflecting her gender identity. The former Xavier Alexander Musk, who had recently turned 18—the age of consent in California—requested the court to change her gender recognition from male to female and to register her new name. Her mother, Justine Wilson, divorced Musk in 2008.
There has been no further explanation of the rift between Musk and his daughter, nor additional comments from either party on this matter.
