Elon Musk has said doctors or parents who approve or perform sex reassignment surgeries on minors should get life in prison.
The billionaire Twitter and Tesla boss tweeted, “Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life.”
His comment came in response to a discussion of new rules approved by Florida medical boards banning gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers for children under 18.
Musk’s transgender daughter said last year she wanted nothing to do with him after receiving a legal request to change her name and gender identity when she was 18.
Vivian Jenna Wilson’s petition, filed in April, was approved by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in June.
Musk took to Twitter to express his views on trans minor medical care
Tesla head Elon Musk talks to the press as he arrives to view the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin on September 3, 2020 near Gruenheide, Germany
Vivian, the daughter of Elon Musk, legally changed her name last year
Wilson asked the court to change her name to be consistent with her gender identity, saying, “I no longer live with or wish to be related in any way to my biological father.”
Wilson, who has a twin brother named Griffin and was previously named Xavier Alexander Musk, has officially adopted her mother’s maiden name, Justine.
Justine Wilson divorced Musk in 2008 after 8 years of marriage. They also had triplets named Damian, Kai and Saxon, and a son named Nevada who was born in 2002 and died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at 10 weeks.
Musk’s latest comments came in response to a tweet referencing changes made by Florida’s medical boards to block access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors under the age of 18 with gender dysphoria.
With the encouragement of Governor Ron DeSantis, the state’s Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine both passed rules to also ban surgical procedures on children under 18.
Board members said the decision was made based on the irreversibility of the drugs and the growing number of people choosing to “de-transition.”
DeSantis has long been critical of the use of medical treatments on trans children, previously saying doctors who operate on children “should be taken to court.”
Florida is one of a growing number of states restricting trans care for teens.
In February, South Dakota passed the “Help Not Harm” law that makes it illegal to perform gender reassignment surgery on anyone under the age of 18.
Musk and Justine Wilson, mother of his five teens, are pictured in an undated photo. The couple was together from 2000 to 2008
Vivian and Elon welcomed twins Griffin and Vivian (pictured with Elon and his second wife, Talulah Riley, left in 2010 and right in 2015) in 2004, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, now 15, in 2006; all five children were conceived through IVF
The father of 10 has a history of making controversial comments about trans people, declaring in 2020 that “pronouns are bad” and adding, “I’m definitely in favor of trans, but all these pronouns are an aesthetic nightmare.”
In response to the SpaceX founder’s latest tweet, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said, “Why is this a controversial statement?”
President Joe Biden has criticized DeSantis for his stance against trans teen care.
The president has said it is “almost sinful” for states to block minors’ access to medical treatments and procedures.
DeSantis responded, “It is not “sinful” to ban the mutilation of minors. It is unacceptable for the federal government to mandate that procedures such as gender reassignment surgery be allowed for children.”
Last October, Musk blamed American universities for turning his daughter Vivian against him.
In an interview with the Financial timeshe blamed “neo-Marxists” in elite schools and universities for the estrangement between him and his daughter.
He added, “It’s total communism… and a general feeling that if you’re rich, you’re bad.”
Musk seemed to shrug off being in a relationship with Vivian, saying, “It may change, but I have really good relationships with everyone else. I can’t win them all.’
The Tesla CEO also has two children with singer Grimes, and the couple reportedly split three months after welcoming their second child.
She previously said of Musk, “All I’ll say is, he seemed absolutely transphobic around that time, and beyond rumor or speculation, that’s off limits. I’m going to respond to it. Any transphobia in a transphobic environment is not okay.’