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Elon Musk's trans daughter, Vivian Wilson, calls out his Nazi salute: 'Call a spade a spade'

Elon Musk gestures wildly during the inaugural parade
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2025.

Vivian Wilson is calling out her father for Sieg Heiling after his remarks Monday while also shading the publications that have refused to call the Nazi salute what it is.

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Some media outlets might be downplaying Elon Musk's Nazi salute at Donald Trump's inauguration, but his daughter knows what it was meant to be.

Vivian Wilson is calling out her father for Sieg Heiling after his remarks while also shading the publications that have refused to call the gesture what it is. The Telsa CEO on Monday performed the Nazi greeting to the crowd once before turning around and performing it again to the group behind him.

"I'm just gonna say let's call a spade a fucking spade. Especially if there were two spades done in succession based on the reaction of the first spade," Wilson wrote on Threads, a competitor of Musk's X/Twitter.

View on Threads

While Musk's move sparked alarm among viewers, some outlets and organizations instead tried to downplay the gesture. Even the Anti-Defamation League referred to the widely-known Nazi greeting as an "awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute," while other outlets referred to it as simply a "controversial hand gesture." NBC News described it as Musk "forcefully touch[ing] his heart, before raising his hand and saluting supporters.”

Some have attempted to defend Musk's Nazi salute by claiming he intended for the gesture to be something else, with the excuses claiming simultaneously that the move was supposedly a symbol of love while somehow also being a reference to a Roman salute — except such a salute didn't actually exist in ancient Rome, according to historian Martin Winkler.

"I don't know why y'all are reacting with such vigor, I'm clearly only talking about card suits," Wilson continued. "I mean I have ADHD and this was CLEARLY just an accident that people happened to interpret to mean something other than just card suits. After all, there's no proof I'm not just talking about card suits. Y'know... people assuming that I'm not just talking about card suits just goes to show how dishonest people/the media can be."

View on Threads

Wilson, who is transgender, is one of six children (five living) Musk had with his first wife, model Justine Wilson. She filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court in April 2022 to legally change her name and gender, citing the reason as "Gender identity and the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form." She has since spoken out about the "cruel" treatment she received from Musk as a child.

"For those who can read between the lines, do y'all understand how fucking easy this is to do?" Wilson added. "Plausible deniability honey. Just saying."

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Ryan Adamczeski

Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. Her first cover story, "Meet the young transgender teens changing America and the world," has been nominated for Outstanding Print Article at the 36th GLAAD Media Awards. In her free time, Ryan likes watching the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.
Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. Her first cover story, "Meet the young transgender teens changing America and the world," has been nominated for Outstanding Print Article at the 36th GLAAD Media Awards. In her free time, Ryan likes watching the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.