Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated during a recent interview that he feels he has “lost” his transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, due to gender-affirming care she received, which he referred to as “child mutilation and sterilization.” Musk made these remarks while speaking with psychologist and conservative commentator Jordan Peterson, emphasizing his strong opposition to gender-reassignment surgeries and expressing his determination to combat what he calls the “woke mind virus.”
Musk recounted that he was misled into signing documents related to his daughter’s transition when she was 16, during the chaotic period of the pandemic. He mentioned feeling pressured with claims that his child was at risk of suicide, leading him to consent without fully understanding the implications of what was happening.
He criticized the practice of providing gender-affirming care to minors below the age of consent, aligning himself with Peterson’s view that it is “incredibly evil” and advocating for severe consequences for those involved in promoting such treatments. Musk, who has a large family, expressed frustration that he was not informed that puberty blockers serve as sterilization drugs, despite medical explanations stating that they do not directly impact fertility.
Musk lamented, “I lost my son, essentially,” highlighting the emotional turmoil he associates with the term “deadnaming,” which refers to the use of a trans person’s birth name. His comments come shortly after he announced plans for X and SpaceX to relocate to Texas, criticizing California’s SAFETY Act, which restricts parental notification regarding a child’s transgender identification in schools.
In 2022, Wilson applied for a name change and requested a new birth certificate, explicitly stating her desire to dissociate from her father. Musk has attributed his strained relationship with her to what he perceives as the influences of her progressive school in Los Angeles. According to his biographer, this estrangement has fueled Musk’s growing “anti-woke” sentiments.
Over the last few years, Musk has shifted from his previously moderate political stance to embrace more right-wing views, notably endorsing the Republican presidential ticket of former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance.