Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, revealed that he was “tricked” into allowing his child to undergo puberty blockers during a live interview with psychologist Jordan Peterson on Monday. Musk shared his personal experience involving his transgender child, Xavier, who now goes by the name Vivian Jenna Wilson.
The discussion occurred as Peterson mentioned Musk’s decision to relocate SpaceX’s headquarters from California, citing the state’s new legislation, Assembly Bill 1955. The bill, signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom on July 15, 2024, allows schools to keep a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity confidential from their parents.
Musk explained his motivation for speaking out on the issue, describing his personal ordeal. “It’s evil. You’re taking kids who are far below the age of consent. It’s very possible for adults to manipulate children who are having an actual identity crisis into believing that they are the wrong gender,” Musk said.
He recounted his experience with his child, Xavier, now Vivian. “I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier. 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 Xavier might commit suicide.”
Peterson challenged this, stating, “That was a lie right from the outset. No reliable clinician ever believed that. There was never any evidence for that, and also, if there is a higher suicide rate, the reason is the underlying depression and anxiety and not because of the gender dysphoria.”
Musk continued, “It’s incredibly evil. And I agree with you that the people that are promoting this should go to prison. I was tricked into doing this. It wasn’t explained to me that puberty blockers are actually just sterilization drugs. I lost my son, essentially. They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason. The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead, so my son, Xavier, is dead, killed by the woke mind virus.”
He added, “So I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that. And we’re making some progress.”
A preprint study published by the Mayo Clinic earlier this year linked puberty blockers to irreversible long-term fertility issues in boys, contradicting previous claims that the effects are reversible. The Mayo Clinic states that puberty blockers, specifically GnRH analogues, are used to pause puberty in transgender and gender-diverse youth by stopping the production of sex hormones.
Vivian Musk, formerly Xavier, publicly announced her transgender identity in June 2022 at the age of 18, simultaneously petitioning to legally change her name and adopt her mother’s surname. “I no longer want to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form,” Vivian said.
Musk recently announced plans to relocate the headquarters of SpaceX and X to Texas following California’s new law that prohibits schools from forcing teachers to inform parents about changes to a student’s gender identity. “This is the final straw. Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas,” Musk wrote on X.
During the interview, Musk disclosed that he had previously informed Governor Newsom that he would relocate his company if the bill was signed into law, indicating that the decision to move was not a spontaneous reaction.
