Vivian Jenna Wilson is taking aim at artificial intelligence – and seemingly her billionaire father – in a new fashion campaign with Desigual.
Wilson, the estranged daughter of Elon Musk, stars in the fashion brand's fall 2026 "Born to Disobey" campaign, which features a malfunctioning robot, an apparent dig at Musk's humanoid robot called Optimus.
In the campaign video, the 22-year-old model is paired with DESI84, a humanoid robot that she says was "designed to obey" and assist with everyday tasks. Wilson instead puts the machine through a series of unconventional tests, including walking it like a dog and using it as a golf tee.
The robot also struggles to pronounce
the Spanish fashion brand's name correctly before repeatedly banging its head against a wall. Wilson ultimately concludes, "Some things aren't meant to be fixed."
The campaign does not mention Musk by name. Still, its criticism of AI and robotics has been interpreted as a jab at the tech mogul, whose businesses include Tesla and the artificial intelligence company xAI, which developed the chatbot Grok.
Desigual's websitedescribes the campaign as a "pulse that rises above the machines, born from the same free, rebellious spirit as Desigual itself. She doesn't fight the system. She refuses to belong to it." The campaign's message emphasizes resisting conformity and preserving human expression in an increasingly automated world.
The Desigual campaign is not Wilson's first fashion venture: She made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week in September 2025 and appeared in shows for Alex Bittar, Prabal Gurung and Chris Habana.
Vivian Jenna Wilson's turbulent relationship with Elon Musk
Wilson has repeatedly spoken about her strained relationship with Musk, whom she has said she has not spoken to since 2020.
In a March 2025 Teen Vogue interview Wilson called her father a "pathetic man-child" and said she was frustrated by constantly being associated with him. She added that she rarely thinks about Musk and does not want to give him space in her mind.
Their public feud escalated in 2024 after Musk discussed Wilson's transition during an interview with psychologist and conservative commentator Jordan Peterson. Musk alleged he had been "tricked" into approving gender-affirming care for Wilson while she was a minor and said his child had been "killed by the woke mind virus."
"It's annoying that people associate me with him. I just don't have any room to care anymore," Wilson said during the Teen Vogue interview. "When I initially did the whole thing, when he came for me, the Jordan Peterson interview, that was the most cathartic moment of my entire life by far."
Wilson disputed his account and accused Musk of lying about her upbringing and deliberately misgendering her. In a series of Threads posts she also challenged what she characterized as her father’s attempt to present himself publicly as a caring parent.
Wilson legally changed her name and gender in 2022,adopting her mother Justine Wilson’s surname. In her petition, she cited her gender identity and said she no longer wanted to be related to her biological father.
Contributors: Anthony Robledo, Jay Stahl, Anna Kaufman, Sara Pequeño, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk's daughter Vivian Wilson takes jab at him and AI in new ad
