Elon Musk has publicly acknowledged what appears to be his 13th child while simultaneously announcing a dramatic legal move against the child’s mother, conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair, tying the dispute directly to her recent comments about the transgender community.
The announcement was made Monday (January 12) on X, where Musk responded to a user claiming he “needs full custody” of his one-year-old son, Romulus, after St. Clair allegedly expressed views that alarmed his followers.
Highlights
- Elon Musk said he would file for full custody of his one-year-old son after Ashley St. Clair reversed her stance on transgenderism.
- St. Clair’s apology referenced Musk’s transgender daughter, Vivian Wilson.
- The dispute adds to Musk’s growing list of public custody conflicts involving multiple former partners.
“I will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a one-year-old boy,” Musk wrote.
Elon Musk said he wants full custody of his one year old son after his mother reversed her stance on transgenderism
Image credits: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
The custody threat followed a public apology St. Clair posted over the weekend in which she addressed her past rhetoric toward the transgender community.
The 27-year-old influencer, who built a following on right-wing commentary, acknowledged what she called her “blatant transphobia” and said she felt “immense guilt” for her role.
Image credits: stclairashley/X
“I feel immense guilt for my role,” she wrote. “[I don’t really know] how to make amends for many of these things but I have been trying incredibly hard privately to learn + advocate for those within the trans community that I’ve hurt.”
St. Clair specifically referenced Musk’s transgender daughter, Vivian Wilson, saying she felt “even more guilt” for things she had previously said that “may have caused my son’s sister more pain.”
Image credits: stclairashley
Anticipating backlash, St. Clair acknowledged her apology would likely be met with what she described as “right wing hysteria” or dismissed as “disingenuous” by critics on the other side. She nevertheless ended the post with a direct appeal.
“But yeah, I am sorry. Let me know how I can help.”
Notably, St. Clair’s apology did not indicate or suggest that she would subject him to child hormonal treatments. It remains unclear which statements Musk was referencing in his custody declaration.
St. Clair had previously authored a children’s book that went against the idea of gender transitions
Image credits: vivllainous/Instagram
St. Clair’s apology represented a sharp departure from her previous public stance.
In 2021, she authored a children’s book titled Elephants Are Not Birds, which she has described as an “unapologetic rebuke” of “transgender acceptance.”
The book’s synopsis describes an elephant who “learns that even though he can sing, he is not a bird, even if Culture insists that he is.”
Her new stance placed her at odds with Musk, who has publicly supported the idea that pediatric “gender medicine” represents untested or reckless experimentation on children, who he claims are developmentally incapable of fully understanding its long-term consequences.
Image credits: asc.sys/Instagram
As a result, Musk has been estranged from Vivian, 21, since she came out as transgender in 2020 and later told NBC News that her father berated her as a child for her “femininity and queerness.”
She described him as “quick to anger” and “uncaring and narcissistic.”
Musk has continued to refer to Vivian Wilson by her former name and in 2022 told the Financial Times, “You can’t win them all.” In 2024, he went further, claiming his daughter had perished from “the woke mind virus.”
St. Clair has accused Musk of using child support to manipulate her into obedience
Image credits: Brave Books
St. Clair first named Musk as the father of her baby last year, five months after the child was born. She said she initially kept the information private due to safety and privacy concerns, but chose to go public after learning that “tabloid media” planned to report on the baby’s existence.
Musk responded at the time by saying he did not know if the child was his, adding, “Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year.”
Image credits: elonmusk
St. Clair pushed back, alleging Musk refused a paternity test before the birth and accusing him of using financial support as leverage. She claimed he was “sending support for your child that you thought was necessary… until you withdrew most of it to maintain control and punish me for ‘disobedience.’”
She later filed a request for sole custody and a court-ordered paternity test, a case that is still ongoing.
If confirmed, Romulus would be Musk’s 13th known living child.
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
The billionaire has had children with four women, including author Justine Wilson, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, Grimes, and St. Clair. His first child with Wilson died in infancy.
Musk is also currently embroiled in a separate custody dispute with Grimes over their three children. In March 2025, she wrote, “The state of my children’s lives being public is of grave concern to me and I think about how to solve this every day.”
"Full custody." Netizens debated the controversy on social media
