Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently shared his perspective on his child’s transition from male to female, revealing his estranged transgender daughter dropped his surname.
In an interview with psychologist and conservative commentator Dr. Jordan Peterson, Musk expressed his feelings on the situation, describing gender-reassignment surgery as “child mutilation and sterilization.” The X owner opened up about his 20-year-old child, Vivian Jenna Wilson, who underwent gender reassignment procedures during the pandemic.
“I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys,” Musk told Peterson in a Daily Wire interview, using his child’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 [Musk’s child] might commit suicide.”
Musk criticized the process, claiming it is often performed on children “who are far below the age of consent.” He aligned with Peterson’s belief that those who promote gender-affirming care should face legal consequences.
“I was tricked into doing this,” Musk reiterated. “I lost my son, essentially. They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason. The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead.”
Musk shared that this experience fueled his mission against what he calls the “woke mind virus.”
“I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that,” Musk said. “And we’re making some progress.”
In a legal move, Musk’s estranged child was granted her name and gender change at age 18 at the Santa Monica courthouse in California on June 22, 2022. According to a petition filed on April 18, 2022, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Wilson stated the name change was due to gender identity and an apparent dislike of her father.
“I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape, or form,” Wilson wrote in the petition.
Wilson’s mother, Canadian author Justine Wilson divorced Musk in 2008. The couple shares six children.