Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently revealed that he felt “tricked” into consenting to puberty blockers for his child, who now identifies as transgender. Musk shared his personal story during a live interview with psychologist Jordan Peterson on Monday, addressing concerns about California’s new legislation, Assembly Bill 1955.
The new law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 15, 2024, allows schools to keep a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity confidential from their parents. This legislation has been a point of contention for Musk, prompting him to discuss his experience with his child, Xavier, who now goes by Vivian Jenna Wilson.
In the interview, Musk expressed his strong opposition to the use of puberty blockers, describing it as “evil.” He recounted his experience, stating, “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, supporting Musk’s stance, criticized the notion that puberty blockers are harmless. He argued, “That was a lie right from the outset. No reliable clinician ever believed that. There was never any evidence for that.”
Musk continued, emphasizing the severity of the issue, “It’s incredibly evil. And I agree with you that the people that are promoting this should go to prison. 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.”
This deeply personal experience has fueled Musk’s resolve to fight what he terms the “woke mind virus.” In his view, the new California law is part of a broader trend that undermines parental rights and harms families. This conviction led Musk to announce the relocation of SpaceX and X headquarters from California to Texas.
“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.
Musk had previously warned Governor Newsom that he would move his companies if the bill became law. The decision to relocate was thus not spontaneous but a calculated response to the legislation.
Adding weight to Musk’s concerns, a preprint study by the Mayo Clinic earlier this year linked puberty blockers to irreversible long-term fertility issues in boys, contradicting earlier claims of reversibility. The Mayo Clinic notes that these medications, specifically GnRH analogues, are used to pause puberty in transgender and gender-diverse youth, halting physical changes associated with puberty.
Vivian Jenna Wilson, formerly known as Xavier Musk, publicly announced her transgender identity in June 2022 at the age of 18. She also petitioned to change her name and adopt her mother’s surname, stating, “I no longer want to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”
