Vivian Wilson, the daughter of Elon Musk and Justine Wilson, is recalling the differing reactions she got from her parents when she came out as transgender.
Vivian, 20, told Teen Vogue in an interview published on March 20 that her mom was more supportive than the Tesla CEO, 53, when she confirmed her gender identity to them in 2020.
“She was very supportive of my transition,” Vivian told the outlet of mom Justine, 52. “She is a published writer of supernatural romance fiction, which is where I get all my Vivian-isms.”
“When I came out to her, she was like, ‘Yeah, that figures.’ She kind of [pieced it together], so when I came out, she pretended to be slightly surprised for 30 seconds and then was like, ‘Yeah, honey. Okay,’ ” she continued.
As for Musk, Vivian told Teen Vogue, “He was not as supportive as my mom,” adding: “First of all, I had not talked to him in months — in months — so I had to get f—— parental consent to get testosterone blockers and [hormone replacement therapy].”
Elon Musk, Justine Wilson.
Marc Piasecki/Getty
Vivian revealed she was transgender through a post shared on her Instagram Stories. “I said, ‘I’m trans. She/her pronouns,’ ” she recalled to Teen Vogue.
She also included “little text at the bottom-left of the picture” that read, “Are you Team Peeta or are you Team Gale?” — a nod to the Hunger Gamesbook and film series.
Explaining to the outlet that her love of the dystopian saga “lasted, like, eight years — like four years after the movies came out,” Vivian continued, “I was cringe. I have never not been cringe.”
And when asked by Teen Vogue what her own answer to the prompt she shared years ago would be, Vivian said, “I am Team Peeta, obviously. Gale killed Katniss’ sister. F— that bitch.”
Vivian Wilson.
Vivian Jenna Wilson/ Instagram
According to Vivian, her coming out journey kicked into high gear late one night.
“It was 11:00 p.m., and I was like, I know for a fact I am trans. I had known for a few months at that point, and I was like, I cannot f—— do this anymore,” she said. “That was the point where puberty was really picking up and everything in my life was completely falling apart.”
“I was constantly having mental breakdowns in the middle of class. I could not get through days. I didn’t want to wake up, I didn’t want to do anything,” Vivian continued. “I just wanted to rot, pretty much.”
She added: “It was like, I cannot do this anymore. If I stay in the closet anymore, this is going to take me down a very destructive path.”
Elon Musk in January 2023.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
Looking back, Vivian said she would redo her coming out, however, to allow her mom to play a more prominent role. “I do regret that,” she said of initially announcing the news on social media. “If I were to do it again, [my mom] deserves to be the first one to know.”
Currently, Vivian told Teen Vogue her relationship with her mother is good. “She’s been supportive of the choices that I have made in college, about being public. She kind of was like, ‘Well, I can’t stop you, so whatever,’ ” she said.
As for where her relationship with her father stands currently, Vivian and the SpaceX founder are estranged. In the past, Musk has said that he was “tricked” into allowing Vivian to undergo transgender-related medical treatment when she was 16 — a claim that Vivian, who legally filed to change her name and gender in 2022 at age 18, denied in an interview with NBC News, referring to it as a “lie.”
She also told the outlet that she looked back at her childhood as one where her father, who is a dad to 13 other children with four different women, “was there, I want to say, maybe 10% of the time.”
