Elon Musk’s estranged daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, is vowing to leave the United States in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s recent landslide victory. The 20-year-old, who publicly cut ties with her father in 2022 when she filed to change her name and gender, announced her decision on social media the day after Trump’s win.
In a post on Threads, Wilson voiced her distress over Trump’s re-election, saying, “I’ve thought this for a while, but yesterday confirmed it for me. I don’t see my future being in the United States. Even if he’s only in office for 4 years, even if the anti-trans regulations magically don’t happen, the people who willingly voted this in are not going anywhere anytime soon.” Her reaction reflects a deeper tension with her father, who has become a vocal supporter of Trump’s conservative agenda.
The tension between Musk and his daughter has been widely documented. Wilson, one of Musk’s six children with his first wife, Justine Wilson, has previously accused her billionaire father of being cold and unaccepting. Musk, for his part, has openly discussed his estrangement from his daughter, claiming she was “lost to the woke mind virus,” which he blames on the influence of radical, far-left ideologies at elite schools. Musk has often cited the elite Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica as a key player in this transformation, saying it “pushed her beyond socialism to full communism and a hatred of wealth.”
The father-daughter divide took a personal toll on Musk, who expressed to biographer Walter Isaacson that the estrangement was more painful than even the tragic loss of his firstborn child, Nevada. He shared similar sentiments with Jordan Peterson, telling the conservative commentator that his daughter was essentially “dead” to him, explaining, “I’ve made many overtures, but she doesn’t want to spend time with me.”
Vivian, however, has continued to assert that Musk has mischaracterized her, labeling her father as “cold” and “cruel” in an NBC News interview. She recounted memories of being berated as a child for having “effeminate” traits and claimed Musk’s temper was often directed toward her. “He’s very quick to anger. He is uncaring and narcissistic,” she said, rejecting Musk’s account that he was “tricked” into approving trans-related treatments for her as a teen, insisting, “He knew the full side effects.”
Musk’s evolving political stance has only added fuel to the family feud. Once ambiguous about the presidential race, Musk threw his support behind Trump during the 2024 campaign, contributing nearly $120 million to a pro-Trump super PAC. His involvement marked a shift from his prior stance, and the billionaire made waves when he declared his allegiance at a rally in Pennsylvania, saying, “I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA.” This bold alignment with Trump has solidified Musk’s place among Trump’s highest-profile supporters.
Musk’s high-profile support for Trump and his ongoing feud with his daughter reflect the broader cultural and ideological conflicts reshaping American society. The story of Musk and Wilson’s estrangement highlights the divisive impact of ideological clashes within families, especially as the country grapples with the consequences of progressive versus conservative values. Musk, who has been a strong critic of the “woke mind virus” he believes is eroding Western values, has made it clear that he sees his daughter’s transformation as a casualty of this radical ideology.
As Vivian vows to leave the country, Musk is doubling down on his mission to fight the cultural battles he believes are threatening America’s future. While the personal stakes for the Musk family are high, their story is emblematic of a broader national divide. With Trump set to return to the White House, it appears that Elon Musk’s battle against what he sees as the destructive forces of left-wing ideology is far from over.
