Elon Musk once said that humans can change species and everyone’s having the same reaction
Elon Musk’s bizarre 2020 comments have been unearthed. (Allison Robbert/Getty)
Elon Musk's bizarre 2020 comments have been unearthed. (Allison Robbert/Getty)
Elon Musk, former leader of the now disbanded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has had his current stance on trans people questioned after a 2020 statement about butterflies resurfaced on X.com.
Recently, Elon Musk reiterated his anti-trans sentiment with comments that his estranged daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, has a so-called “woke mind virus” that is somehow responsible for her trans identity.
However, in 2020, the tech billionaire seemed to have a different perspective; an old video of him receiving the Axel Springer Award has gone viral.
At the time, he claimed it would be possible to “turn someone into a freaking butterfly with the right genome sequence.”
As the video began to make the rounds online, many pointed out how ironic it is that Musk doesn’t think a person can undergo gender transition, but he does believe it is possible for them to become a different species.
“Guy who says you can’t change your gender: You can change your species,” one user posted with the clip. The post has over 172,000 likes.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of breakthroughs on the medical side, particularly around synthetic mRNA,” Musk says in the video.
“You can basically do anything with synthetic mRNA – DNA. It’s like a computer program.
“With effort that’s not too crazy, you can probably stop ageing – reverse it, if you want. You can turn someone into a fricking butterfly, if you want, with the right DNA sequence. So… I mean, caterpillars do it.”
‘Guy who says you can’t change your gender: You can change your species’
“Guy who thinks gender is fixed,” one user commented, drily, on the video.
“Trans-humanist who wants to upload his consciousness onto a hard drive but cannot accept his Trans daughter,” another wrote.
This whole debacle was kick-started by Musk’s clash with California Governor Gavin Newsom. In a conversation with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein earlier this week, Newsom shared that “there’s no governor who’s signed more pro-trans legislation than I have.”
He also added he has a trans godson: model and socialite Nats Getty, who was previously married to transgender model and YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous.
Following the interview, an X account founded by Musk posted the clip of Newsom. Newsom’s press office account responded: “Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon.”
Musk then fired back with a statement that deadnamed his daughter and used her incorrect pronouns.
“(She) has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children. I love (Vivian) very much and hope (she) recovers,” Musk wrote.
“My daughters are Azure, Exa (she goes by Y) and Arcadia, and they do indeed love me very much.”
