Elon Musk's child files to change name as she 'no longer' wants to be related to him

Elon Musk's 18-year-old child has said she no longer wants to be related to him "in any way, shape or form" after filing legal documents to change gender identity.

The former Xavier Alexander Musk who recently turned 18, the age of consent in California, has asked the court to change her gender recognition from male to female, and to register her new name.

The reason for the name change was stated 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."

A petition for both a name change, and a new birth certificate, was filed at Los Angeles County Superior Court in April, but only recently came to light.

There was no further detail of the apparent rift between Musk's daughter and her father.

Her mother is Canadian writer Justine Wilson, Musk's first wife, who he married in 2000.

They divorced in 2008 after having five sons, all of whom are now teenagers.

Musk did not immediately comment on the development.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive, who is attempting a $44 billion takeover of Twitter, is the richest person in the world.

The court document was filed a month before Musk publicly declared his support for the Republican Party, having previously voted Democrat.

He has also said he is leaning toward supporting Ron DeSantis, the Republican Florida governor who recently introduced the so-called "Don’t Say Gay" law, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

Musk has previously faced criticism after discussing on Twitter the issue of transgender people choosing their preferred pronouns.

In 2020 he wrote on Twitter "Pronouns suck" before deleting it.

He then said: "I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an aesthetic nightmare."

Last week he wrote: 'We are simultaneously being told that gender differences do not exist and that genders are so profoundly different that irreversible surgery is the only option.

"Perhaps someone wiser than me can explain this dichotomy."