Tech magnate Elon Musk, the Tesla and X CEO who frequently aligns himself with prominent conservative figures and ideals, claimed in a recent interview that his transgender daughter is "dead" after being "killed by the woke mind virus."
Sitting down with far-right psychologist and media commentator Jordan Peterson, Musk spoke about his 20-year-old daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, one of six children he shares with ex-wife Justine Wilson, who transitioned in 2022 and dropped her last name, stating in court filings that she “no longer wishes to be related” to Musk “in any way.”
"So-called gender-affirming care is a terrible euphemism, that’s for sure," Musk said, citing California Gov. Gavin Newsom's support of legislation that saw the state become the first sanctuary for transgender youth as one of the reasons he moved Tesla's headquarters. "It’s child mutilation and sterilization under the guise of gender-affirming care.”
"In California, we believe in equality and acceptance," Newsom said in September of 2022 when he signed Senate Bill 107. "We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care. Parents know what's best for their kids, and they should be able to make decisions around the health of their children without fear. We must take a stand for parental choice. That is precisely why I am signing Senate Bill 107."
Peterson alleged that doctors involved in helping minors transition were “contemptible cowards” and likened them to “the Nazis.”
“It’s evil," Musk said. "I mean, you’re taking kids who are obviously often far below the age of consent — almost every child goes through some kind of identity crisis, it’s just part of growing up — so it’s very possible for adults to manipulate children who have are having a natural identity crisis into believing that they are the wrong gender and that they need to be the other gender.”
“We have an age of consent for a reason," the billionaire continued. "The reason you can't get, say, tattoos below age 18 or drink or drive, and there are ages at which you can do things, is because if we allow children to take permanent actions when they’re 10, 12, 14 years old, they will do things that they subsequently greatly regret.”
“Why are you willing to make this an issue?” Peterson asked.
“It happened to one of my older boys, where I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier, before I had really any understanding of what was going on, and we had COVID going on, and so there was a lot of confusion," Musk replied. "I was told Xavier might commit suicide.”
“It wasn’t explained to me that puberty blockers are actually just sterilization drugs. So, anyway, so I lost my son," he said.
“They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason," Musk added, referring to the name a trans person uses before transitioning. "The reason it’s called ‘deadnaming’ is because, uh, your son is dead. So my son, Xavier, is dead, killed by the woke mind virus.”
“I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that and we’re making some progress," he claimed.
Deadnaming refers to the use of a name a transgender person used before transitioning.
Musk's comments came under fire on his social platform.
"I didn’t realize Elon’s child came out as trans but dear lord what an awful way to discuss your child," tweeted attorney Bradley Moss.
"This is every LGBT person’s nightmare reaction from their parents to them coming out," wrote NBC News editor Ben Goggin.
"This is so sad," added St. John's Law Prof. Tyler Rose Clemons. "My parents are lifelong Mississippians and deeply Christian/evangelical. But they have worked hard to maintain and even strengthen our relationship after my transition. It’s Elon who has been infected with an anti-woke mind virus. And it’s killed his humanity."
