Elon Musk has again suggested that his adult transgender daughter had no likelihood to determine her own fate, saying in a brand new interview that she was “killed by the woke mind virus” after he was tricked into giving his consent for puberty blockers.
In an interview with controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, the world's richest man also explained that his estrangement from his 20-year-old daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson was the catalyst for his mission to “destroy the woke mind virus.”
The Daily Wire Interview comes every week after Musk announced his decision to maneuver the headquarters of his corporations SpaceX and X out of California after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that forestalls public school districts from requiring parents to notify them if their child uses different pronouns or identifies as a special gender than that indicated on their school report card.
On a broader note, Musk also explained to Peterson that his anger over transgender rights and gender-affirming care coincided together with his acceptance of some facets of the right-wing agenda — in addition to his recent, enthusiastic support for Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Notably, in his interview with Peterson, Musk didn’t acknowledge that he could have played a task in his estrangement from his daughter. He actually didn’t mention her headline-grabbing move in 2022 when she petitioned the court to officially change her name and be recognized as a girl.
In her application, Wilson also asked to not be related to her father “in any way, shape or form.” She is the daughter of Musk's first wife, Justine Wilson, who once described the daddy of twelve children by three different women as a difficult, controlling and patriarchal man who was easy to live with.
Perhaps as an indication of his controlling nature, Musk didn’t discuss with his child as his daughter in conversations with Peterson. Instead, he continued to discuss with Wilson as his son and used her “death name.”
“Basically, I lost my son,” Musk said. “They call it 'deadnaming' for a reason. The reason they call it 'deadnaming' is because your son is dead. My son, Xavier, is dead – killed by the woke mind virus.”
Peterson brought up his own long-standing grievances about gender-affirming care with Musk after the 2 had a wide-ranging conversation about religion, environmentalism, Musk's childhood existential crisis, the billionaire's opposition to unions and variety, equity and inclusion initiatives, his mission to extend the worldwide birth rate and his view that Republicans today represent American ideals of meritocracy and private freedom.
Like Musk, Peterson has drawn the ire of transgender rights activists for complaining concerning the use of gender-neutral pronouns. Musk first got here under fire in July 2020 when he tweeted that “pronouns suck.” His then-partner, singer Grimes, was outraged, saying, “I can't support hate. Please stop. I know that's not your heart.”
Speaking to Peterson, Musk reiterated his opposition to gender reassignment surgery, saying the term itself was a euphemism for the “worst medical and psychological malpractice I have ever seen.”
Musk confirmed that his views on transgender people were born out of his experiences together with his daughter, whom he continued to discuss with as his son within the interview. The South African-born entrepreneur said: “I was basically tricked into signing documents for one of my older sons, Xavier.”
“This was before I even understood what was going on,” Musk continued. “There was COVID going on, so there was a lot of confusion and I was told that Xavier might commit suicide if he didn't… .”
When mentioning the subject of suicide, Peterson vehemently opposed the notion that transgender youth are at a better risk of suicide than other children. He said that the suicide rate amongst transgender youth is more likely because of underlying depression and anxiety than gender identity disorder.
With this statement, Peterson showed that he had no use for surveys from organizations reminiscent of the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention nonprofit focused on LGBTQ+ young people. In a 2024 survey of the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people within the United States ages 13 to 24, the Trevor Project reported that 39% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide prior to now 12 months. This figure included 46% of transgender and nonbinary young people.
But like Peterson, Musk appeared to dismiss such surveys by saying that “almost every child goes through some sort of identity crisis.” He also claimed that it was “very possible” that adults could manipulate a baby with an identity crisis into believing that “they are the wrong gender” and due to this fact need “sterilization drugs” or “bilateral mastectomies.”
Musk called the sex change process “incredibly evil” and “macabre” and said he was never told that the puberty blockers were “actually just sterilization drugs.”
Musk then said he was committed to abolishing gender confirmation procedures for kids following his daughter's gender reassignment and estrangement. Back in 2022, he complained to the Financial Times that his daughter's decision to distance herself was attributable to “neo-Marxists” at educational institutions.
“I vowed after that to destroy the woke mind virus,” Musk told Peterson. “And we're making some progress.”
Perhaps for Musk, moving the headquarters of SpaceX and its social media platform X from California to Texas is progress. Musk made the move due to Newsom's signing of AB 1955. In a post on X last week, Musk cited several criticisms he has of California and of doing business in San Francisco, but he said the state's recent transgender notification policy law was “the last straw,” saying they were an attack on “both families and businesses.”
“I made it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws like this would force families and businesses to leave California to protect their children,” Musk told Peterson.
As for Musk's support for Trump within the 2024 election, he stressed that he doesn’t join the “cult of personality” that surrounds Trump. He said: “We have a choice between different governments. We have to choose one.”
Musk acknowledged that there are “shortcomings on both sides.” He once viewed the Democratic Party because the party of “meritocracy, personal liberty and free speech.” But he believes Republicans now represent those values while railing against DEI policies, which he says are “another form of racism and sexism.”
On July 13, Musk let the world know he supports Trump because he was impressed by the way in which Trump responded shortly after he was injured in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. On X, Musk shared a post showing Trump together with his fist raised as Secret Service agents tried to push him off the stage. “I fully support President Trump and hope for his speedy recovery.” Musk wrote.
In the past, Musk has donated small amounts of cash to candidates of each parties and was previously a primarily Democratic donor. CNN reportedBut he has claimed for years that the Democrats have moved too far to the left for him to support lots of their candidates.
In his interview with Peterson, the electrical vehicle maker and supporter of the Paris Climate Agreement described himself as an environmentalist, but said the environmental movement had “gone too far” with its view that humans are “a plague on the earth.”
After Musk’s support for Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk was fully committed to Trump, to the purpose that he promised to support the previous president's campaign by donating $45 million a month to a brand new Super PAC. In his interview with Peterson, nevertheless, Musk denied donating $45 million to Trump. “That's just not true,” he said. He did, nevertheless, acknowledge that he founded the Super PAC.
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