![SpaceX founder Elon Musk speaks at a post-launch press conference in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 2019.](https://media.guim.co.uk/73766d43e0c9f05fa9c283852853a916a7ad5cd7/0_232_3500_2101/1000.jpg)
Elon Musk’s 18-year-old daughter has legally changed her name to dissassociate herself from her billionaire father, legal filings that came to light Monday show.
“I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form,” she said in a petition for both a name change and a new birth certificate.
Musk’s daughter also changed her gender recognition from male to female after turning 18, the age of consent in California.
The documents were filed with the Los Angeles county superior court in Santa Monica in April and came to light recently in online media reports.
Her new name was redacted in the online document. Her mother is Justine Wilson, who was married to Elon from 2000 to 2008, when she divorced him. Musk and Wilson have five children together. Musk also has two children with singer Grimes.
Wilson said in a tweet on Tuesday she is proud of her daughter. She did not immediately respond to additional request for comment.
"I had a weird childhood," my 18 year old said to me. "I can't believe I'm as normal-seeming as I am."
— Justine Musk (@justinemusk) June 20, 2022
I said, "I'm very proud of you."
"I'm proud of myself!"
Representatives for Musk’s daughter could not immediately be reached.
There were no further details on the rift between Musk’s daughter and her father, the Tesla and SpaceX chief.
Musk, the world’s richest man, is engaged in a high-profile, $44 bn bid to take over social media platform Twitter. On Tuesday, Twitter’s board unanimously recommended that shareholders approve the proposed sale, according to a regulatory filing. Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees, though the CEO has also indicated there are several “unresolved matters” related to the deal.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, Musk criticized media outlets for publishing the story about his daughter and her name.
“She does not want to be a public figure,” he said. “I think it is important to defend her right to privacy. Please don’t out someone against their will – it’s not right.” Musk did not immediately respond to additional request for comment.
A hearing to finalize the name change will take place later this month.