Elon Musk has claimed that he was ‘tricked’ by what he terms the ‘woke mind virus’ into allowing one of his sons to transition into a transgender woman.
Musk’s relationship with his daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, 20, has been fraught with tension, primarily due to political disagreements.
He previously criticized her as a ‘communist’ who views wealth negatively.
In a recent interview, Musk revealed his deep dissatisfaction with this development, calling the experience ‘evil.’
He expressed regret over what he perceived as being manipulated into consenting to his son Xavier’s transition.
Musk explained, “I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier,” referencing Wilson’s former name. “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 Xavier might commit suicide.”
The Tesla CEO has fathered 12 children over the past 22 years, with three different women: Canadian author Justine Wilson, musician Grimes, and employee Shivon Zilis. His youngest child, with Zilis, was born in 2024.
Musk’s comments came in an interview with Jordan Peterson for the Daily Wire. Peterson challenged Musk’s claims about suicide risks, arguing that there was no evidence supporting that claim and suggesting that underlying mental health issues, rather than gender dysphoria, contribute to higher suicide rates among transgender individuals. Musk responded, “It’s incredibly evil and I agree with you that the people that are promoting this should go to prison.”
Statistics from The Trevor Project indicate that 46 per cent of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide in the US in 2023. However, only 13 percent of these youth received gender-affirming hormones, and just 2 percent used puberty blockers.
Musk also expressed his belief that he was misled about the nature of puberty blockers, saying, “I was tricked into doing this. It wasn’t explained to me that puberty blockers are actually just sterilization drugs.” He added, “I lost my son, essentially. They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason. The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead, killed by the woke mind virus.”
Deadnaming refers to the act of using a transgender person’s previous name, a term which reflects the loss of their former identity. Musk, who has previously expressed mixed views on transgender issues, declared that his right-wing views have intensified due to his experiences. He mentioned, “I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that and we’re making some progress.”
Vivian legally changed her name and gender to female in 2022, and she has expressed her desire to sever ties with Musk. Musk has criticized her political views, attributing them to the expensive private education she received. This estrangement is reportedly a significant emotional burden for Musk, more so than any other personal loss since the death of his firstborn child, Nevada, who passed away from SIDS.
Despite his past support for transgender rights, Musk has also made controversial statements about pronouns, tweeting in 2020, “I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare,” and “Pronouns suck.”
Vivian and her twin brother Griffin were born in 2004. All of Musk’s children attended Crossroads K-12 in Santa Monica, known for its high tuition fees. Musk recently criticized California’s new law, which prohibits school districts from notifying parents about their child’s gender identity changes, and announced plans to relocate X (formerly Twitter) to Texas.
In a tweet on Father’s Day, Musk expressed love for all his children, despite the ongoing estrangement with Vivian. She reportedly came out as transgender to her aunt at age 16 and asked her to keep it from Musk. Musk has stated that he has made numerous attempts to reconnect with Vivian, but she remains distant.
