‘Definitely a Nazi salute’: Elon Musk’s transgender daughter speaks out

Elon Musk’s eldest child has unleashed on her billionaire dad in a rare interview — and she made a strong claim about his controversial hand gesture.

Elon Musk’s eldest child, Vivian Jenna Wilson, has spoken out about the billionaire’s controversial hand gesture saying it was “definitely a Nazi salute”.

Wilson, Mr Musk’s estranged transgender daughter, spoke to Teen Vogue for a rare interview published on Thursday, denouncing the “cartoonishly evil” Trump administration and Mr Musk’s “cringe” behaviour.

The 20-year-old is the Tesla CEO’s first child with ex-wife Justine Wilson. Wilson came out as transgender in 2020 and in 2022 was granted a request by a Los Angeles court for a legal name and gender change, with a reissued birth certificate.

Wilson first publicly denounced Mr Musk last year after the tech mogul claimed in an interview with conservative influencer Dr Jordan Peterson that his son was “dead”, claiming he had been “tricked” into approving gender-affirming care.

Speaking to Teen Vogue, Wilson said the direction of US politics under President Donald Trump, who has launched a radical overhaul of the government with Mr Musk as his right-hand man, was “terrifying”.

Elon Musk’s estranged eldest child, Vivian Wilson. Picture: Supplied

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“Every time I open my phone to read the news, I kind of just stare at the wall for 10 minutes,” Wilson said.

“It’s horrifying what they’re doing, not only to the trans community, but also to migrants, to communities of colour, to so many marginalised communities that are being systematically targeted by the new administration and having protections revoked. It’s cartoonishly evil.”

But Wilson, who is currently living and studying in Tokyo, said that despite being outspoken online about politics, reacting to Mr Musk on a day-to-day basis was not a big priority.

“I mean, I’ll see things about him in the news and think, that’s f**king cringe, I should probably post about this and denounce it, which I have done a few times,” Wilson said. “The Nazi salute s**t was insane.”

Mr Musk sparked controversy in January after he made a hand gesture at a celebratory rally that critics said resembled a Nazi salute, telling the crowd “my heart goes out to you”.

He later posted on his social media platform X that his critics needed “better dirty tricks” and that “the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired”.

Mr Musk gestures during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

Anti-Semitism watchdog the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also defended Mr Musk, describing the raised arm as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm”.

“Honey, we’re going to call a fig a fig, and we’re going to call a Nazi salute what it was,” Wilson told Teen Vogue.

“That s**t was definitely a Nazi salute. The crowd is equally to blame, and I feel like people are not talking about that. That crowd should be denounced. But other than that, I don’t give a f**k about him. I really don’t. It’s annoying that people associate me with him. I just don’t have any room to care anymore.”

After Mr Musk’s comments on Dr Peterson’s podcast last year, he took to X to claim his eldest child was born “gay and slightly autistic” and that these traits “contribute to gender dysphoria”.

Tensions between the pair had earlier been hinted at in Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography Elon Musk.

Their dispute dramatically spilt out into public after the podcast interview, with Wilson taking to Threads in a series of viral posts slamming the billionaire. “He doesn’t know what I was like as a child because he quite simply wasn’t there,” one post said.

Speaking to Teen Vogue, Wilson said speaking out last year “was the most cathartic moment of my entire life by far”.

Wilson slammed the ‘cartoonishly evil’ Trump administration. Picture: Supplied

“I had all this pent-up energy, I had wanted to speak out for so long after being [essentially] defamed in a book, after being doxxed,” Wilson said. “Everything that had gone on — especially in my childhood — when that finally happened, it was the most cathartic experience I have ever had. And then I was like, OK, whatever.”

The SpaceX chief has partially attributed his shift to the right to his experience with his eldest, saying it fuelled his quest to “destroy the woke mind virus”.

But Wilson insisted Mr Musk’s views were “not because of me”.

“It’s such a convenient narrative, that the reason he turned right is because I’m a f**king tr***y, and that’s just not the case,” Wilson said.

“That’s not what that does to people. Him going further on the right, and I’m going to use the word ‘further’ — make sure you put ‘further’ in there — is not because of me. That’s insane … I haven’t talked to him since 2020. That was almost half a decade ago at this point. Thank God.”

The interviewer asked, “Do you ever feel scared? He’s the richest man in the world.”

“He’s a pathetic man-child,” Wilson replied.

“Why would I feel scared of him? Ohhh, he has so much power. Nah, nah, nah. I don’t give a f**k. Why should I be scared of this man? Because he’s rich? Oh, no, I’m trembling. Ooh, shivering in my boots here. I don’t give a f**k how much money anyone has. I don’t. I really don’t.

“He owns Twitter. OK. Congratulations. People thrive off of fear. I’m not giving anyone that space in my mind. The only thing that gets to live free in my mind are drag queens.”

Wilson, a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, expressed a desire to take part in a drag competition.

“I have such an appreciation for the art form, and I would love to participate in the LA scene sometime,” Wilson said. “It’s on my bucket list to win a drag pageant.”