WORDS NICO DIALESANDRO<\/strong><\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON\u00a0UNCLOSETED MEDIA<\/a>\u00a0A NEW INVESTIGATIVE LGBTQIA+ FOCUSSED NEWS PUBLICATION.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u200bElon Musk, the richest person<\/a> in the world and the entrepreneur behind PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX and X, has become one of the most powerful \u2013 and polarising \u2013 figures in American politics. Since Trump took office, Musk has ascended to the (self-titled) position of \u201cfirst buddy\u201d<\/a> and is now seen by many <\/a>as the second person in charge of the nation.<\/p>\n While Musk still holds<\/a> the title of senior advisor to Trump and the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump has recently told<\/a> his inner circle that Musk will leave soon.<\/p>\n Despite this, Musk\u2019s power and influence remain massive. Here\u2019s his complete track record on LGBTQIA+ issues.<\/p>\n Oct. 19, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n Jorge Ferro, a former assembly line worker at Tesla, sues the company<\/a> for wrongful termination. He alleges that the Musk-owned company ignored his reports of homophobic harassment at work and that his firing was retaliatory. Ferro says a manager told him to \u201cwatch [his] back\u201d after telling him his clothing was \u201cgay tight.\u201d<\/p>\n After Ferro files a second harassment report, he says an HR representative took his badge, saying that he had \u201can injury\u201d that prevented him from working and that there\u2019s \u201cno place for handicapped people at Tesla.\u201d In response, Ferro\u2019s attorney describes the decision as \u201crevolting\u201d and says that \u201cthis is classic \u2018blame the victim.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Tesla asserts<\/a> that third-party companies hired both Ferro and the manager involved and that Tesla took appropriate action to separate the two individuals.<\/p>\n During the same month, Tesla is sued by three<\/a> Black former employees for racial harassment and discrimination. The three men claim their time at Tesla was like a \u201cscene straight from the Jim Crow era.\u201d<\/p>\n Elon Musk posts various tweets that mock the use of pronouns, writing, \u201cPronouns suck<\/a>.\u201d He follows<\/a> this up on Dec. 14, 2020 by posting a meme<\/a> that suggests people who post their pronouns in their bios are oppressive<\/a>.<\/p>\n After receiving backlash to his posts, Musk tweets<\/a>: \u201cI absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic [sic] nightmare.\u201d He later reposts<\/a> a Tesla tweet from 2020 that says the company is \u201cVery proud to have scored 100\/100 for the fourth year in a row in LGBTQ equality,\u201d in reference to the Human Rights Campaign\u2019s Corporate Equality Index.<\/p>\n At 18 years old, Musk\u2019s daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, files a petition with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica to change her name and receive a new birth certificate so that she may legally transition. At this time, she begins publicly<\/a> distancing herself from Musk, saying she no longer wants to \u201cbe related to [her] biological father in any way, shape or form.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk blames<\/a> his estrangement from Wilson on \u201cneo-Marxist\u201d influences from his daughter\u2019s university. In an interview with the Financial Times<\/a>, he says, \u201cIt\u2019s full-on communism\u2009\u2026\u2009 and a general sentiment that if you\u2019re rich, you\u2019re evil. \u2026 [The relationship] may change, but I have very good relationships with all the other [children]. Can\u2019t win them all.\u201d<\/p>\n Montclair State University<\/a> publishes a study that compares hate speech on Twitter before and after Elon Musk buys it. In the week leading up to Musk\u2019s acquisition of the company, tweets using hateful terms including insults on race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation never rise above 84 instances an hour. But in the first twelve hours after Musk acquires the company, these terms are posted nearly 400 times an hour.<\/p>\n When Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, suffers a fractured skull after being attacked in his San Francisco home by a hammer-wielding man, Musk tweets unfounded allegations about the incident to his 112 million followers. “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,\u201d he tweets, implying<\/a> that Pelosi and the perpetrator are gay lovers. In the post, Musk cites the Santa Monica Observer<\/em>, a far-right news outlet that regularly publishes<\/a> false and misleading information. Musk has since deleted the post.<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with CNN<\/em>, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticises Musk\u2019s rhetoric, saying<\/a>, “It’s really sad for the country that people of [such] high visibility would separate themselves from the facts and the truth in such a blatant way. It is traumatising to those affected by it. They don’t care about that, obviously, but it’s destructive to the unity that we want to have in our country.”<\/p>\n Musk reinstates<\/a> X accounts previously banned for engaging in antisemitic, homophobic, transphobic and racist harassment campaigns. This includes Andrew Tate, a manfluencer<\/a> who has compared gay people to invasive, poisonous aliens<\/a> and said the only way to avoid<\/a> the normalisation of trans people is a draft for WWIII. It also includes Alex Jones, who, in a now<\/a>-deleted post from 2015, said that the Supreme Court\u2019s marriage equality ruling \u201copens the door for pedo [sic] politicians.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk falsely suggests<\/a> that Yoel Roth, a gay Jewish man who was Twitter\u2019s former head of trust and safety, promoted pedophilia in his academic research.<\/p>\n These claims trigger a wave of homophobic harassment and threats against Roth. Fox News<\/em>\u2019s Laura Ingraham claims<\/a> Roth stood \u201cwith the deviancy,\u201d while Ben Shapiro falsely alleges<\/a> Roth encouraged Grindr access for teens.<\/p>\n The harassment escalates to the point where Roth and his family flee<\/a> and sell their home after the Daily Mail<\/em> publishes<\/a> that they live in San Francisco.<\/p>\n In a post on X<\/a>, Musk labels \u201ccis\u201d and \u201ccisgender\u201d as slurs. He adds that \u201crepeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after Musk\u2019s post, X begins restricting<\/a> accounts attempting to post the terms and notifies them of the following: \u201cThis post contains language that may be considered a slur by X and could be used in a harmful manner in violation of our rules.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with Jordan Peterson for the right-wing media outlet The Daily Wire<\/a><\/em>, Musk deadnames and misgenders his transgender daughter, claiming he was \u201ctricked\u201d into letting her get gender-affirming medical care as a teenager and referring to her as \u201cdead.\u201d<\/p>\n He says this<\/a> is why he \u201cvows to destroy the woke mind virus.\u201d In response, Wilson tells NBC News<\/a> <\/em>that Musk is lying about her upbringing and says he was an absent father who harassed her for being too feminine. \u201cHe was cold. He\u2019s very quick to anger. He is uncaring and narcissistic. \u2026 I was in fourth grade. We went on this road trip \u2026 and he was constantly yelling at me viciously because my voice was too high. It was cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk writes an op-ed for the German newspaper<\/a> Welt am Sonntag<\/em>, where he expresses<\/a> support for the country\u2019s far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party is deeply<\/a> anti-LGBTQIA+: opposing same-sex marriage and gender-affirming care for trans people; supporting abolishing the position of a federal government commissioner on queer rights; and voting for bans on the use of gender-neutral language in schools. \u201cOnly the AfD can save Germany,\u201d Musk writes.<\/p>\n The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Musk, announces the termination<\/a> of a handful of research grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many of which fund scientific research related to gender-affirming healthcare, HIV prevention and studies focused on AIDS. One researcher is notified<\/a> in an email from NIH that says the agency no longer supports \u201cresearch based on gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with Teen Vogue<\/a><\/em>, Wilson criticises her father for mischaracterising her in Walter Isaacson\u2019s biography as being an angry, rebellious child influenced by Marxism.<\/p>\n She clarifies that she is not a Marxist, reveals she has not spoken to her father since 2020, and describes him as \u201ca pathetic man-child.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk indirectly responds<\/a> to the Teen Vogue<\/em> interview by baselessly<\/a> and repeatedly<\/a> claiming transgender people are violent<\/a> due to hormone replacement therapy.<\/p>\n In direct response to Musk deadnaming her on X, Vivian uses<\/a> a popular quote from RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/em>, stating, \u201cI look pretty good for a dead bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/elon-musk.jpg\")
<\/p>CEO Elon Musk<\/strong><\/h3>\n
July 24, 2020<\/strong><\/h4>\n
June 21, 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Oct. 11, 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Musk Buys Twitter<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Nov. 1, 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Oct. 30, 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Nov. 21, 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
December 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
June 21, 2023<\/strong><\/h4>\n
July 22, 2024<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Special Government Employee and Trump\u2019s \u201cFirst Buddy\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Dec. 28, 2024<\/strong><\/h4>\n
March 6, 2025<\/strong><\/h4>\n
March 2025<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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