Who Is Elon Musk's Daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson?

Elon Musk's kids tend to stay out of the spotlight, except for one: Vivian Jenna Wilson. She has made her presence — and her problems with her famous father — publicly known.

By all appearances, Elon Musk seems like a man determined to take over the world, or at least populate it. When he's not leading the Department of Government Efficiency or strengthening his relationship with President Donald Trump, the tech billionaire is siring children – 14 of them at last count. One thing we know about Musk's children is that they have at least four different mothers.

Vivian, who is transgender, and her twin brother Griffin, are the children of Musk and his fist wife Justine Wilson. The twins were conceived via IVF after the loss of the couple's first child, son Nevada Alexander, who died of sudden infant death syndrome when he was just 10 weeks old. According to Vivian, her relationship with her father has never been the stuff Hallmark cards are made of, even when her parents were married. In an exclusive interview with NBC News, she described Musk as far from warm and fuzzy. "He was cold," she said. "He's very quick to anger. He is uncaring and narcissistic." If a picture speaks a thousand words, Vivian's twin may not seem share her sentiments. In a photo that appeared on X, formerly known as Twitter, he was spotted hanging out with his dad at an American Express event in Miami.

When Elon Musk and his first wife Justine Wilson ended their marriage, which may have been doomed from their wedding night, the couple agreed to share joint custody of their five children. While that sounds good on paper, Vivian Wilson said that the reality was much different. "He was there, I want to say, maybe 10% of the time. That's generous," she told NBC News. "He had half custody, and he fully was not there." Instead, Vivian and her siblings were primarily taken care of by their mother or a nanny, which isn't that uncommon in the world of the rich and famous. What was uncommon was her father's seeming disinterest in his parenting role; however, as a child, Vivian didn't understand that his behavior was unusual. "It was just a fact of life at the time, so I don't think I realized just how abnormal of an experience it was," she added.

According to Vivian's mother, there was a tell-tale sign of Musk's preference to simply procreate rather than actually parent. In an essay penned for Marie Claire, she wrote about dating the PayPal founder who was well on his way to billionaire status, recalling how he once asked her how many children she wanted to have. "'One or two,' I said immediately, 'although if I could afford nannies, I'd like to have four,'" she wrote. "'That's the difference between you and me,' he said. 'I just assume that there will be nannies.'"

Some of Vivian Jenna Wilson's most vivid childhood memories of her father Elon Musk involve being made to feel ashamed that she wasn't what he deemed masculine enough. In an interview with NBC News, she claimed that her father would criticize her for what he viewed as traditionally feminine characteristics, including her higher pitched voice. "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."

Vivian came out as gay when she was in the eighth grade. While she said she doesn't recall how her father reacted to the news, she got a reminder when he took to X and posted that Vivian was born "gay and slightly autistic," which he added are "two attributes that contribute to gender dysphoria." He claimed that he had been aware of Vivian's sexual orientation when she was a preschooler, and he used stereotypical examples, such as her love of fashion and use of the word "fabulous."

Vivian addressed her father's comments via Threads. "He doesn't know what I was like as a child because he quite simply wasn't there," she wrote (per NBC News). "And in the little time that he was I was relentlessly harassed for my femininity and queerness." Vivian went on, writing, "I've been reduced to a happy little stereotype. I think that says [a lot] about how he views queer people and children in general."

By the time she was 16, Vivian Wilson knew that she was transgender and wanted to start treatment for gender dysphoria. Her mother supported the decision, but there was one hiccup: because Vivian was a minor, the law required that both of her parents approve her treatment. That meant appealing to her father, Elon Musk, who not only had the resources, but also the power, to make her wishes come true. Although he ultimately agreed some months, Musk later claimed that he was duped. In a live interview on X with psychologist Jordan Peterson, the SpaceX founder said, "I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys." He added, "This was before I had really any understanding of what was going on, and we had COVID going on." 

Musk's hurtful remarks, including deadnaming his daughter, prompted her to clap back, claiming that her father read the documents multiple times prior to signing. "He was not by any means tricked," she told NBC News. "He knew the full side effects." His comments did nothing to rebuild the severed bond between him and his daughter, who clearly isn't afraid to stand up for herself. "I think he was under the assumption that I wasn't going to say anything and I would just let this go unchallenged," she said. "Which I'm not going to do, because if you're going to lie about me, like, blatantly to an audience of millions, I'm not just gonna let that slide."

It is easy to assume that the child of a billionaire has an easy life. However, that wasn't the case for Vivan Jenna Wilson. The tension between the beautiful blonde and her tech giant father had been high even before her parent's divorced. Things only escalated after Vivian came out as transgender when she was 16. Her revelation occurred during the pandemic and she used the required social distancing as a reason to stay even further away from her unsupportive father. "When Covid hit, I was like, 'I'm not going over there,'" she told NBC News. "It was basically very lucky timing."

The chasm in their relationship widened as Musk became increasingly conservative and frequently used his influence and status to denounce transgender rights. In an interview  on X with psychologist Jordan Peterson, he claimed, "I lost my son, essentially," saying Vivian was "killed by the woke mind virus." He added, "I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that, and we're making some progress." What Musk sees as progress, his daughter sees as a personal affront, and just one more way that she has been abandoned by her own father.

While Vivian has threatened to leave the U.S. following the second election of President Trump, her dad has maintained that their broken relationship has hurt him as much as the sudden death of his firstborn child. In an interview with biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk claimed, "I've made many overtures, but she doesn't want to spend time with me" (via New York Post).

When your father is one of the wealthiest men in the world, staying in his good graces (and his will) might be paramount to some kids. but not to Vivian Jenna Wilson. Once she turned 18, she filed a petition to legally change her name to not only reflect her gender identity but to remove herself from her estranged father Elon Musk once and for all.

As People reported, Vivian wrote in her petition to the court that she was making this request on the basis of "gender Identity and the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form." Based on Elon Musk's strained relationship with his daughter Vivian, this news most likely wasn't a huge shock to those who know her. What was a shock was the media frenzy caused by her actions, which Vivian said caught her by surprise, but in no way made her rethink her choice. "I would like to emphasize one thing: I am an adult. I am 20 years old. I am not a child," she told NBC News, and added that she had not spoken with her father in four years. "My life should be defined by my own choices."

For his part, Musk blamed Neo-Marxists infiltrating elite schools and universities. In an interview with Financial Times, the DOGE leader said, "It's full-on communism ... and a general sentiment that if you're rich, you're evil." Seeming nonplussed, he continued, "It [the relationship] may change, but I have very good relationships with all the others [children]. Can't win them all."

It's no secret that Elon Musk has a pretty big ego, so when his daughter accused him of using sex selective IVF to ensure he had male offspring, it didn't feel like a stretch. This is a man who is used to being able to get whatever he wants, and he usually does. And while the expensive sex selection option is not illegal in the United States, whether or not Musk took advantage of it is unconfirmed. Regardless, Vivian has asserted that it's part of her father's grand plan to bring more boys into the world, and she has claimed to be one of the products of that choice. In a Threads post, she wrote, "My assigned sex at birth was a commodity that was bought and paid for. So when I was feminine as a child and then turned out to be transgender, I was going against the product that was sold. That expectation of masculinity that I had to rebel against all my life was a monetary transaction. A monetary transaction. A MONETARY TRANSACTION."

It is no secret that Musk has used IVF to conceive many of his children, including Vivian and her twin brother. What you may not know about Justine Wilson, Vivian's mother, however, is that she used IVF to cope with the grief of losing the couple's first child, son Nevada Alexander. "I buried my feelings instead, coping with Nevada's death by making my first visit to an IVF clinic less than two months later," she wrote in an essay for Marie Claire. "Elon and I planned to get pregnant again as swiftly as possible."

Learning that you have a new brother or sister is usually news that you receive from family members. In the case of Vivian Jenna Wilson, she said she learned of some of her additional half-siblings via social media. In a viral TikTok video, Vivian penned the caption, "Wow, if I had a nickel for every time I found out I had half-siblings through Reddit, I'd have two nickels ... which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?" The video, which featured a "Phineas and Ferb" sound clip, garnered hundreds of thousands of views and plenty of comments from followers, one who suggested, "Your dad needs to be spayed." 

Musk  has been vocal about his concerns over declining birthrates, once posting to X: "Population collapse is 2nd biggest danger to civilization after AI imo." Putting his money where his mouth is, the billionaire has reportedly donated millions to the University of Texas for fertility and population trend studies. In the meantime, he certainly seems to be doing his part to ensure the survival of mankind. As for his estranged daughter, she will most likely have to watch the internet like the rest of us to learn whether or not he gives her more half-siblings. 

Vivian Jenna Wilson has made a name for herself by taking to social media to air the dirty family laundry, and it is not just her father Elon Musk who incurs her ire. Vivian lashed out at her paternal grandfather, Errol Musk, in a since-deleted Instagram rant. Although she never specifically called him by name, Vivian referenced some weird things about Elon Musk's dad that left little doubt as to whom she was referring. "If there is someone who has kids with his stepdaughter, has murdered people, and is a huge f***ing racist, (alongside many other things I can't say publicly), maybe don't give them a f***ing platform and maybe don't repeat what they have said," she posted (per Daily Mail). In addition to these claims, Vivian also accused the senior Musk of being a "psychopath." 

It is widely known that the elder Musk has fathered two children with his former stepdaughter, which reportedly caused tension between him and his son. He was also famously involved in a shootout with alleged burglars. Even so, Errol still appeared to be confused as to whether Vivian's disdain was directed at him or her father. Once he realized he was the subject of her rage, Errol clapped back at his granddaughter for her accusations. "This is a sad thing," he told Daily Mail. "The language used tells one everything."

She may not have a good relationship with her father, but Vivian Jenna Wilson's counts her mother, Justine, among her supporters, along with the musician Grimes, Elon Musk's ex, who shares three children with the Tesla CEO.

Grimes came out in defense of Vivian after the latter called out her father on social media for offensive comments he made regarding her decision to legally change her name. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the singer wrote, "I love and am forever endlessly proud of Vivian." She also called out a user in the comments for accusing Vivian of "changing what God created." "God gave us hands to build cathedrals, rockets to the moon. It's clearly divine to make use of gods greatest gift to humanity, which is creativity," she retorted. After Grimes shared her tweet of support for Vivian, Vivian took to Threads. There, she shared a screenshot of Grimes' post on X and captioned it with a red heart emoji.

Grimes has had a front row seat to Musk's parenting skills, or lack thereof, which may be why she is able to empathize with Vivian. She has repeatedly expressed her concern over the couple's children appearing in public (it was one of their sons famously hanging out on dad's shoulders in the Oval Office), but it seems to be an uphill battle. More pressing issues might be Musk's reported lack of response to bigger events. In a now-deleted tweet the songwriter directed to her ex, Grimes pleaded, "[Please] respond about our child's medical crisis. I am sorry to do this publicly but it is no longer acceptable to ignore this situation" (via Time).