Elon Musk is embroiled in a contentious legal battle with conservative commentator Ashley St. Clair, who has accused the billionaire Tesla CEO and X owner of retaliating against her financially and attempting to silence her after she filed for custody of their newborn son.
St. Clair, 26, initiated a custody lawsuit in February 2025, seeking sole custody and requesting that Musk, 53, undergo a paternity test. In a statement to *DailyMail.com*, her legal team asserted, “Ashley is vigorously opposing this application to preserve her right to speak out.” They added, “This comes as Mr. Musk portrays himself as a First Amendment advocate while freely using his own social media platform to communicate.”
Her legal representatives allege that Musk reduced financial support for their child, stating, “Elon Musk has financially retaliated against his own child by significantly and unilaterally cutting his financial contributions.” They claim this action followed unsuccessful private attempts to resolve the matter, noting, “He took this step only after Ashley was forced to bring the issue to court, having received no response to her repeated private efforts to settle the matter discreetly.”
St. Clair first made headlines on Valentine’s Day when she revealed, “Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father.” She explained, “I initially chose not to disclose this to protect our child’s privacy and safety, but it has become clear that tabloid media plans to expose this information, regardless of the harm it may cause.” She urged the media to respect their child’s privacy, stating, “I ask that the media refrain from invasive reporting to allow our child to grow up in a normal and safe environment.”
Court documents indicate that the child, referred to as R.S.C., was born in September 2024. St. Clair claims her relationship with Musk began in May 2023 and that he has only met their son three times, showing little interest in custody. In her lawsuit, she argues that “it is in the child’s best interest for her to have sole legal and physical custody.”
As part of her petition, St. Clair submitted alleged text messages exchanged with Musk. In one message sent after the child’s birth, Musk wrote, “I look forward to seeing you and him this weekend.” In another exchange, Musk responded to a selfie of St. Clair with a friend by saying, “Hi cutie.” St. Clair replied, “Hi, see u soon,” to which Musk added, “I want to knock you up again.”
Additional messages reveal Musk referencing security concerns, stating, “Wake up. This is not the time for sentiment at the expense of safety. If I make a mistake on security, [REDACTED] will never know his father.” St. Clair responded, “That’s why the father spot on his birth certificate is blank right, E. And he has my last name.” Musk replied, “Necessary for now. Only the paranoid survive.”
In another exchange, Musk wrote, “The threat level will reach insane levels until the election is decided. Loose lips sink ships.”
The lawsuit also highlights St. Clair’s belief that their relationship deteriorated due to interference from Musk’s associate, Jared Birchall. She wrote to Musk, “He said a lot of pretty horrible things to me that he attributed to you… If you are in New York or if you’d like me to come to DC, I really would appreciate being able to speak to you in person.” Musk’s response was brief: “Hmm ok.”
St. Clair replied with a GIF of Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura saying, “Alllrighty then,” to which Musk responded, “Well, we do have a legion of kids to make.”
With this child, Musk is believed to now have 13 children. St. Clair claims their relationship began after Musk contacted her in May 2023, and their first meeting occurred during an interview in San Francisco. She later received an invitation from Musk to travel to Rhode Island the same day.
Musk’s legal team has requested to seal court documents, a motion that was denied on an emergency basis but remains pending. A hearing originally scheduled for May is expected to proceed privately. Meanwhile, both parties continue to exchange legal arguments in what has become one of Musk’s most high-profile personal lawsuits to date.
