Ashley St. Clair Claims Elon Musk Wanted a Legion of Children Before Civil War
- Clair claimed in the documentary Musk that billionaire Elon Musk told her he needed a legion of children before the civil war via a text message sent prior...
- Clair told reporters in Venice that she turned down a substantial financial package designed to keep her quiet about her relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive.
- Musk has fathered 14 publicly known children with four different women, though his firstborn, Nevada, died in infancy.
Ashley St. Clair claimed in the documentary Musk that billionaire Elon Musk told her he needed a legion of children before the civil war
via a text message sent prior to the birth of their son Romulus. The claim surfaced on Tuesday, September 8, at the Venice Film Festival during the premiere of director Alex Gibney’s four-hour documentary. According to Variety and reporting highlighted by The Guardian, St. Clair also alleged she was offered a $40 million non-disclosure agreement to stay silent about Musk before deciding to participate in the film.
The Venice Film Festival Revelations and the $40 Million NDA Offer
St. Clair told reporters in Venice that she turned down a substantial financial package designed to keep her quiet about her relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive. According to Page Six, the initial proposal included $15 million for a home, reserve capital, and an additional payout structured as $15 million alongside $100,000 per month for 20 years.
When you’re offered something like that to stay quiet, it really causes a debate in your head about what your speech means and how valuable that is and why do they want to offer me this amount of money to not speak?
St. Clair said, as reported by People and cited by Page Six.
She stated that wealth manager Jared Birchall presented the NDA terms following an initial message from Musk. St. Clair explained that she ultimately refused the payout on moral grounds, telling reporters she would rather move into a studio apartment with her children than sign away her voice. St. Clair participated in Gibney’s project to demonstrate to her children that material security should not outweigh truth.
Family Dynamics and Musk’s Public Platform on X
The documentary highlights Musk’s extensive family tree. Musk has fathered 14 publicly known children with four different women, though his firstborn, Nevada, died in infancy. His children include twins Griffin and Vivian and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian with former wife Justine Wilson; three children named X Æ A-Xii, Exa Dark Sideræl, and Techno Mechanicus with Grimes; and four children with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis. St. Clair gave birth to their son Romulus in 2024.
Beyond family planning, St. Clair raised concerns regarding Musk’s influence on his social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter. She questioned whether the billionaire was merely anticipating societal fracture or actively fueling it.
What he’s doing with this platform on X cannot be ignored,
St. Clair told reporters, accusing him of stoking nonexistent real-world flames and generating deliberate division with potentially catastrophic outcomes.
Production Challenges and Upcoming Release Plans
Director Alex Gibney faced notable hurdles while assembling the documentary, which examines Musk’s personal life alongside his business ventures with Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, and xAI. Gibney noted a pervasive atmosphere of apprehension during production.
There was a tremendous sense of fear of talking,
Gibney said regarding the difficulty of securing interviews with Musk’s critics, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Musk declined to participate in the project and has previously dismissed the documentary as a hit piece. The production is scheduled to open in theaters on October 16. The release follows ongoing legal tensions between the former partners, including a custody filing initiated by St. Clair in February 2025 and Musk’s public statements regarding custody the preceding month.
