Elon Musk's tempestuous relationship with his estranged transgender daughter: 5 points to know

Vivian Jenna Wilson legally changed her name when she turned 18 in 2022. She became a topic of conversation after her father's comment on her in an interview.

Vivian Jenna Wilson, the transgender daughter of Elon Musk, is engaged in a public feud with her father. Their conflict started with Musk’s comment about his daughter’s identity during an interview, where he said “the woke mind virus” has “killed” his son. The tech billionaire also claimed that he was tricked into consenting for his “biological son” to go on puberty blockers.

Elon Musk and his estranged transgender daughter, Vivian Jeena Wilson. (File Photo, Threads/@vivllainous)

1. Elon Musk’s comment about his transgender daughter

The Tesla CEO, during a conversation with psychologist Dr Jordan Peterson said, "I lost my son, essentially. They call it 'deadnaming' for a reason. The reason they call it 'deadnaming' is because your son is dead."

Later, he took to X and shared, “Xavier was born gay and slightly autistic, two attributes that contribute to gender dysphoria. I knew that from when he was about 4 years old and he would pick out clothes for me to wear like a jacket and tell me it was 'fabulous!', as well as his love of musicals & theatre. But he was not a girl.”

2. How did Vivian Jenna Wilson respond?

“There’s a lot of stuff I need to debunk which I will get to don’t worry, but I want to start with what I find the funniest, which is the notorious “slightly autistic” tweet. This is gonna be a bit so just bare with me,” Wilson wrote on Threads.

She claimed that Musk’s comment on her being autistic is entirely fake, adding she never picked a jacket from him or called him “fabulous.” She continued by saying that Musk “made the whole thing up” as he was never there for her in childhood. She further posted that the tech billionaire is “desperate for attention and validation”.

3. When did Wilson change her name?

Vivian Jenna Wilson is the eldest of the twins Elon Musk had with his first wife, Justine Wilson. In 2022, she turned 18 and decided to change her name. In the petition to the court, she wrote that she wanted to change her name because of her “gender identity” and because she no longer ”lives with or wishes to be related to” her biological father “in any way, shape, or form.”

4. Wilson calls Musk “uncaring and narcissistic”

After the social media clash, Wilson did an interview with NBC news where the 20-year-old called her father “Cold,” adding “He’s very quick to anger. He is uncaring and narcissistic.”

“I was in fourth grade. We went on this road trip that I didn’t know was actually just an advertisement for one of the cars — I don’t remember which one — and he was constantly yelling at me viciously because my voice was too high,” she said. “It was cruel.”

5. No communication with Musk in years

In the same interview, Wilson, a college student studying languages, revealed that she hasn’t spoken with her estranged biological father in about four years, adding she refuses to be defined by him.

“I would like to emphasise one thing: I am an adult. I am 20 years old. I am not a child,” she said. “My life should be defined by my own choices.”

Wilson, until now, has largely stayed out of public view. However, her relationship with Musk came to the limelight after the Tesla owner’s interview with the psychologist. In recent years, he has also been speaking against transgender people and the policies designed for their community.