Vivian Jenna Wilson, the transgender daughter of Elon Musk, mentioned Thursday in her first interview that he was an absent father who was merciless to her as a baby for being queer and female.

Wilson, 20, in an unique interview with NBC Information, responded to feedback Musk made Monday about her and her transgender id. On social media and in an interview posted on-line, Musk mentioned she was “not a lady” and was figuratively “useless,” and he alleged that he had been “tricked” into authorizing trans-related medical remedy for her when she was 16. 

Wilson mentioned that Musk hadn’t been tricked and that, after initially having hesitated, he knew what he was doing when he agreed to her remedy, which required consent from her mother and father.

Musk’s latest statements crossed a line, she mentioned. 

“I feel he was below the idea that I wasn’t going to say something and I’d simply let this go unchallenged,” Wilson mentioned in a telephone interview. “Which I’m not going to do, as a result of when you’re going to lie about me, like, blatantly to an viewers of hundreds of thousands, I’m not simply gonna let that slide.” 

Wilson mentioned that, for so long as she may keep in mind, Musk hasn’t been a supportive father. She mentioned he was hardly ever current in her life, leaving her and her siblings to be cared for by their mom or by nannies although Musk had joint custody, and he or she mentioned Musk berated her when he was current. 

“He was chilly,” she mentioned. “He’s very fast to anger. He’s uncaring and narcissistic.” 

Wilson mentioned that, when she was a baby, Musk would harass her for exhibiting female traits and strain her to look extra masculine, together with by pushing her to deepen her voice as early as elementary college. 

“I used to be in fourth grade. We went on this highway journey that I didn’t know was really simply an commercial for one of many vehicles — I don’t keep in mind which one — and he was continually yelling at me viciously as a result of my voice was too excessive,” she mentioned. “It was merciless.” 

Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Wilson and her twin brother have been born to Musk’s first spouse, writer Justine Musk. The couple divorced in 2008, and Wilson mentioned her mother and father shared custody between their houses within the Los Angeles space. 

Musk, 53, is among the many wealthiest folks on the earth by way of his stakes in Tesla, the place he’s CEO, and in SpaceX, which he based. He has additionally turn into a major political determine, having endorsed former President Donald Trump this month for an additional time period within the White Home. Musk has 12 youngsters, together with Wilson. 

Now a school pupil learning languages, Wilson has by no means granted an interview earlier than and has largely stayed out of public view. She did, nevertheless, entice consideration in 2022 when she sought court docket approval in California to vary her identify and, within the course of, denounced her father. 

“I now not reside with or want to be associated to my organic father in any manner, form or type,” she mentioned within the court docket submitting. 

She informed NBC Information that on the time, she was shocked by the media consideration to the court docket submitting, which she submitted when she was 18. She mentioned within the interview that she stands by what she wrote, although she mentioned she might need tried to be extra eloquent had she recognized the protection it might get. 

Wilson mentioned that she hadn’t spoken to Musk in about 4 years and that she refused to be outlined by him. 

“I wish to emphasize one factor: I’m an grownup. I’m 20 years outdated. I’m not a baby,” she mentioned. “My life must be outlined by my very own decisions.” 

Musk threw a highlight on Wilson on Monday by talking about their relationship in a video interview with psychologist and conservative commentator Jordan Peterson streamed reside on X, saying he didn’t help Wilson’s gender id. 

“I misplaced my son, primarily,” Musk mentioned. He used Wilson’s delivery identify, often known as a deadname for transgender folks, and mentioned she was “useless, killed by the woke thoughts virus.” 

And in a publish on X, Musk mentioned Monday that Wilson was “born homosexual and barely autistic” and that, at age 4, she match sure homosexual stereotypes, similar to loving musicals and utilizing the exclamation “fabulous!” to explain sure clothes. Wilson informed NBC Information that the anecdotes aren’t true, although she mentioned she did act stereotypically female in different methods as a baby. 

Wilson additionally addressed Musk’s latest feedback in a collection of posts Thursday on the social media app Threads. 

“He doesn’t know what I used to be like as a baby as a result of he fairly merely wasn’t there,” she wrote. “And within the little time that he was I used to be relentlessly harassed for my femininity and queerness.”

“I’ve been decreased to a cheerful little stereotype,” she continued. “I feel that claims alot about how he views queer folks and kids typically.” 

Lately, Musk has taken a hard-right flip into conservative politics and has been waging a marketing campaign towards transgender folks and insurance policies designed to help them. This month, he mentioned he was pulling his companies out of California to protest a brand new state legislation that bars faculties from requiring that trans youngsters be outed to their mother and father.

On X, Musk has for years criticized transgender rights, together with medical remedies for trans-identifying minors, and the use of pronouns if they’re completely different from what can be used at delivery. He has promoted anti-trans content material and referred to as for arresting people who present trans care to minors. 

After Musk purchased X, then generally known as Twitter, in 2022, he rolled again the app’s protections for trans folks, together with a ban on utilizing deadnames. 

Musk informed Peterson that Wilson’s gender transition has been the motivation for his push into conservative politics. 

“I vowed to destroy the woke thoughts virus after that, and we’re making some progress,” he mentioned. 

Wilson was additionally talked about in a biography of Musk by writer Walter Isaacson — a guide that she informed NBC Information was inaccurate and unfair to her. The guide refers to her politics as “radical Marxism,” quoting Musk’s sister-in-law Christiana Musk, however Wilson mentioned she’s not a Marxist, although she mentioned she does oppose wealth inequality. The guide additionally calls her by her center identify, Jenna. 

Wilson mentioned Isaacson by no means reached out to her immediately forward of publication. In a telephone interview Thursday, Isaacson mentioned he had reached out to Wilson by way of relations. 

Christiana Musk didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark Thursday.

Wilson informed NBC Information that for years she had thought of talking out about Musk’s habits as a guardian and as an individual however that she may now not stay silent after his feedback Monday. 

She mentioned she had by no means obtained an evidence for why her father spent so little time along with her and her siblings — habits that she now views as unusual. 

“He was there, I wish to say, perhaps 10% of the time. That’s beneficiant,” she mentioned. “He had half custody, and he absolutely was not there.” 

“It was only a reality of life on the time, so I don’t assume I spotted simply how irregular of an expertise it was,” she added.

Wilson mentioned she got here out twice in life: as soon as as homosexual in eighth grade and a second time as transgender when she was 16. She mentioned that she doesn’t recall Musk’s response the primary time and that she wasn’t current when Musk heard from others that she was transgender, as a result of by then the pandemic had began and he or she was dwelling full-time along with her mom. 

“She’s very supportive. I really like her loads,” Wilson mentioned of her mother.

The pandemic was an opportunity to flee Musk’s cruelty, she mentioned. 

“When Covid hit, I used to be like, ‘I’m not going over there,’” she mentioned. “It was mainly very fortunate timing.” 

Musk informed Peterson within the interview that he had been “tricked” into signing paperwork authorizing transgender-related medical remedy for Wilson — an allegation Wilson mentioned isn’t true. 

“I used to be primarily tricked into signing paperwork for certainly one of my older boys,” Musk mentioned, utilizing her delivery identify.

“This was earlier than I had actually any understanding of what was occurring, and we had Covid occurring,” he mentioned, including that he was informed she may commit suicide.

Wilson mentioned that, in 2020, when she was nonetheless a minor at 16, she needed to start out remedy for extreme gender dysphoria however wanted the consent of each mother and father below California legislation. She mentioned that her mom was supportive however that Musk initially wasn’t. She mentioned she texted him about it for some time. 

“I used to be making an attempt to do that for months, however he mentioned I needed to go meet with him in individual,” she mentioned. “At that time, it was very clear that we each had a really distinct disdain for one another.” 

When she ultimately went and gave him the medical kinds, she mentioned, he learn them not less than twice, as soon as along with her after which once more on his personal, earlier than he signed them. 

“He was not by any means tricked. He knew the total negative effects,” she mentioned. 

She mentioned she took puberty blockers earlier than she switched to hormone-replacement remedy — remedies that she mentioned have been lifesaving for her and different transgender folks. 

“They save lives. Let’s not get that twisted,” she mentioned. “They positively allowed me to thrive.” 

She mentioned she believed the necessities to acquire such remedies stay onerous, with youngsters pressured to say they’re at excessive threat of self-harm earlier than they’ll be permitted. She mentioned she felt judged by Musk and Peterson, within the Monday interview, for not being at a excessive sufficient threat of their eyes. 

“I’ve been mainly put into some extent the place, to a bunch of individuals, I’ve to mainly show whether or not or not I used to be suicidal or to not warrant medically transitioning,” she mentioned. “It’s completely mind-boggling.”