Errol Musk has responded to a blistering social-media attack from his transgender granddaughter, Vivian Wilson.
Vivian, 20, described Errol as a “racist” and “psychopath” in a fierce post on Instagram Threads. She also accused him of being a “literal groomer” and of having “murdered people.” Errol has not been convicted of either crime.
“This is a sad thing,” Errol, 78, said of Vivian in an email to MailOnline on Thursday. “The language used tells one everything.”
When MailOnline first contacted Errol earlier this week, he appeared unaware that Vivian had publicly criticized him in front of her more than 140,000 followers.
“Are they referring to me, Errol Musk, or Elon, my son?” he asked on Wednesday.
Errol expressed disappointment after MailOnline confirmed that the post—which did not name him directly—was clearly aimed at him, based on references to controversial episodes from his past.
Vivian has since deleted the Threads post, although screenshots of her comments continue to circulate on other social-media platforms.
The 20-year-old frequently uses social media to voice her frustrations with the Musk family, particularly her estranged father, Elon.
Errol Musk, pictured in May 2022, has responded to an attack from his transgender granddaughter Vivian Wilson. He told MailOnline: “This is a sad thing. The language used tells one everything.”
Vivian Wilson, 20, pictured, called Errol a “racist” and “psychopath” in a fierce Threads post. She also accused him of being a “literal groomer” and of having “murdered people”; Errol has not been convicted of either crime.
Vivian has frequently criticized her family online, particularly her estranged father Elon Musk, pictured at the White House on Wednesday. Musk has said he lost his son Xavier—now Vivian—to the “woke mind virus.”
Vivian’s attack followed Errol’s appearance on the Wide Awake podcast, where he criticized Elon’s parenting.
During the interview, Errol also made claims about the death of Elon’s first son, Nevada, alleging that the infant died after spending “too much time” in the care of nannies.
Errol appeared to try to clarify his remarks on Friday, telling The New York Times that his comments had been taken “out of context.” He also said he and Elon were on “good terms” and “always have been.”
Vivian appeared to respond to that article by telling her followers that Errol was a “complete f***ing psychopath” and that “99% of what he says is utter bulls**t.”
Without naming Errol, she called him a “racist” and “literal groomer,” while also criticizing The New York Times for publishing his account.
“I’m going to keep this as vague as possible because I am aware I have a large platform and do not want to accidentally amplify the voice of a literal groomer,” she wrote, adding that the issue “needs to be addressed.”
“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.
The remarks appeared to refer to Errol’s controversial marriage to his former stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, in the 1990s. The couple had two children together.
Her reference to Errol having “murdered people” also appeared to concern manslaughter charges he faced after a 1998 shootout with three alleged intruders at his rental property in Johannesburg.
Errol was acquitted of those charges. In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, he said he had “never intentionally threatened or hurt anyone.”
Vivian has deleted her Threads post, although screenshots of the remarks are still being shared on other social-media platforms.
Vivian’s post appeared to reference Errol’s controversial marriage to his former stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout, pictured, in the 1990s. The couple had two children together.
Errol’s former wife Heide, center, holds baby Elliot Rush, whom he shares with Jana, left. Errol and Heide’s other daughter, Asha, is pictured on the right.
After questioning Errol’s credibility, Vivian urged the media not to provide him with a platform.
“I do not care what he said, I do not care what he thinks. He is a complete f***ing psychopath and 99% of what he says is utter bulls**t. So don’t give him the time of day. That’s it. This is common sense,” she wrote.
“I am never addressing this again because I am never giving this man any more attention. He currently does not have much and it should stay that way.”
In a final post, Vivian added: “If you don’t know who I’m talking about, you don’t need to.”
Vivian has been outspoken about her family online, particularly her estranged father Elon, who has said he lost his son to the “woke mind virus.”
In a July 2024 interview with NBC News, she described Musk’s treatment of her during childhood as “cruel,” citing her queerness and femininity.
Elon has since criticized Vivian publicly, calling her a “communist” who believes that “anyone rich is evil.”
As a transgender woman, Vivian has also faced repeated dismissal and misgendering from Elon, who has previously said she is “not a girl” and is figuratively “dead.”
The Tesla billionaire has said he was “tricked” into authorizing gender-affirming care “for Xavier when he was just 16,” using Vivian’s former name.
“This was really before I had any understanding of what was going on, and we had COVID going on, so there was a lot of confusion. And I was told Xavier might commit suicide.”
Elon Musk and his first wife, Justine Wilson, lost their first child, a son named Nevada Alexander, who died from sudden infant death syndrome in 2002.
Elon Musk is pictured with Talulah Riley and his twin sons Griffin, left, and Xavier, right, in 2010.
Musk has fathered 12 children with three women. He shares five with his former wife Justine Musk, three with Canadian singer Grimes and three with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis. MAGA influencer Ashley St Clair has claimed she secretly gave birth to Musk’s 13th child.
Discussing gender dysphoria, Elon said: “It’s incredibly evil and I agree with you that the people who are promoting this should go to prison.”
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“I was tricked into doing this. It wasn’t explained to me that puberty blockers are actually just sterilization drugs.”
“I lost my son, essentially. They call it ‘deadnaming’ for a reason.”
“The reason they call it ‘deadnaming’ is because your son is dead, so my son, Xavier, is dead, killed by the woke mind virus.”
Deadnaming is the term commonly used by transgender people when someone refers to them by the name they used before transitioning.
Elon said he had “vowed to destroy the woke mind virus” after that experience. He also posted a tweet claiming Vivian was born “gay and slightly autistic.”
Elon has fathered 12 children with three women. He shares five with his former wife Justine Musk, three with Canadian singer Grimes and three with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.
MAGA influencer Ashley St Clair has claimed that she secretly gave birth to Elon’s 13th child. Elon has not publicly addressed the claim, although he has spoken jokingly about wanting to repopulate the world by fathering as many children as possible.
Vivian went viral earlier this month after taking to TikTok to say that she learned about her latest alleged half-sibling not from family members, but through Reddit.
“Wow, if I had a nickel for every time I found out I had a half-sibling through Reddit, I’d have two nickels—which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?” she said.
The video quickly gained more than 400,000 views and attracted thousands of comments from users who said they could relate to her experience.
She later joked: “‘I don’t know how many siblings I have’ goes really hard on two truths and a lie, though I will admit.”
One commenter wrote: “I found out I had a brother through Facebook. It gets better, girl. My dad died—I hope you get the same gift.”
Another user said: “I found out through Facebook that I had a half-sister with my same name. Thanks, bio dad.”
Earlier this month, MAGA influencer Ashley St Clair claimed she had secretly given birth to Elon’s 13th child. Elon has not publicly addressed the claim.
Elon Musk’s estranged transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, said she discovered her latest alleged half-sibling through Reddit rather than through her family.
The online criticism came days after Elon’s father, Errol Musk, delivered a harsh assessment of his son’s parenting on the Wide Awake podcast.
Earlier this month, Errol also criticized Elon, claiming that the SpaceX CEO “hasn’t been a good dad” and referring to the death of the billionaire’s first son, Nevada, while in the care of a nanny.
“The first child was too much with nannies and died in the care of a nanny,” Errol said of Nevada during the South African podcast Wide Awake two weeks ago.
Nevada died from sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old in 2002. He was Elon’s first child with his then-wife, Justine.
Errol said: “If Elon hears this, he’s gonna shoot me or something, but anyway, that’s what I think.”
“They were too rich, had too many nannies… Then he had five children with the same woman—five sons, all brought up, each one had its own nanny. You following me?”
“When they got divorced, the nannies were six on this side and six on that side. So it was a really weird situation.”
Errol also alleged that Musk “never spent time with his kids.”
The comments went viral, prompting Errol to offer further clarification to The New York Times on Friday. “The press takes things out of context,” he said, while maintaining that he and Elon had a “good” relationship.
Elon and Justine were married from 2000 to 2008. After Nevada’s death, they had twin sons, Xavier and Griffin. Xavier later transitioned and became Vivian, identifying as female.
In 2006, the couple welcomed triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian.
Elon later had three children—X Æ A-12, Exa Dark Sideræl and Techno Mechanicus—with former partner Grimes. He also had three children—Strider, Azure and a third whose name has not been disclosed—with Shivon Zilis.
Both Elon and Justine have spoken about the profound grief they experienced after Nevada’s death.
Elon Musk is pictured with his son X in the Oval Office on February 11, 2025.
Musk and Shivon Zilis brought their three-year-old twins, Strider and Azure, along with X to a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.
“My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat. I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame,” he wrote in a tweet aimed at Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theorists.
Justine later recalled the tragedy in an essay for Marie Claire.
“By the time eBay bought PayPal in 2002, we had moved to Los Angeles and had our first child, a boy named Nevada Alexander. The sale of PayPal vaulted Elon’s net worth to well over $100 million.
“That same week, Nevada went down for a nap, placed on his back as always, and stopped breathing. He was 10 weeks old, the age when male infants are most susceptible to SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome.
“By the time paramedics resuscitated him, he had been deprived of oxygen for so long that he was brain-dead.
“He spent three days on life support in a hospital in Orange County before we decided to take him off it.
“I held him in my arms when he died.”
