American tech billionaire and government official Elon Musk has stirred controversy with a recent remark criticising the growing number of individuals identifying as transgender in the United States.
Musk, who currently heads the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump’s administration, made the statement in response to new data from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data, shared on social media platform X by American author John LeFerre, revealed a steady rise in the percentage of U.S. adults identifying as transgender, particularly among those born between 1990 and 2005.
Reacting to the trend, Musk posted: “Woke mind virus in action. Now, it is time for the mind virus to die.”
The comment reflects Musk’s longstanding criticism of what he refers to as “woke ideology,” and comes at a time when the Trump administration is adopting a firm stance on transgender-related policies during the president’s second term.
In February 2025, President Trump signed an executive order banning biological males from participating in women’s sports—a decision that has sparked both praise and backlash across the country.
Musk’s remarks also coincide with recent developments abroad. Just last week, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that the definition of a woman under the country’s equality law refers strictly to biological sex. The ruling triggered protests from transgender rights activists in various parts of the UK.