The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, reportedly offered conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair a one-off $15 million payment, as well as $100,000 a month, to keep their baby a secret.
In February, St. Clair, 26, claimed via an X post that she had welcomed Musk’s son, the Tesla founder’s 14th known child, five months earlier but had kept the birth a secret to “protect our child’s privacy and safety.” Musk, for his part, has questioned via social media whether his child is his.
According to the Wall Street Journal, St. Clair and Musk, 53, named their son Romulus, though she agreed to keep Musk’s name off the child’s birth certificate.
The results of a recent paternity test showed that Musk’s “probability of paternity” stood at 99.9999%, per the report.
The WSJ reported that Jared Birchall, described by the outlet as Musk’s “longtime fixer,” offered St. Clair a financial package including $15 million for a house and living expenses, plus $100,000 until the baby turned 21. In exchange, St. Clair was asked to sign an agreement keeping the child’s father and her relationship with Musk a secret.
In an alleged text message to St. Clair, seen by the WSJ, Musk described himself as “#2 after Trump for assassination,” thus deeming it too dangerous for news of the child’s paternity to be made public. He added that “only the paranoid survive.”
St. Clair reportedly declined the offer, feeling that it would make her son feel “illegitimate,” said the WSJ piece. The agreement contained a clause that prevented her from disparaging Musk, but didn’t offer her the same protection. St. Clair was also concerned that the agreement didn’t cover financial support for their child in the event he became gravely ill, nor did it provide for a trust fund should Musk die before the child turned 21, the report said.
After publicly announcing the birth of her child in February, Musk reportedly dropped the $15 million offer he had made to St. Clair. He also dropped child support payments from $100,000 to $40,000 and later $20,000, the outlet reported.
St. Clair announced the birth of her child via an X post on February 14, claiming Musk was the father.
“Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father,” she wrote. “I have not previously disclosed this to protect our child’s privacy and safety, but in recent days it has become clear that tabloid media intends to do so, regardless of the harm it will cause.”
She added: “I intend to allow our child to grow in a normal and safe environment. For that reason, I ask that the media honor our child’s privacy and refrain from invasive reporting.”
In March, Musk acknowledged that he had made payments to St. Clair, but questioned the paternity of the child.
“I don’t know if the child is mine or not, but am not against finding out. No court order is needed. Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year,” he wrote via X.
Musk is believed to have at least 14 children, including six with his ex-wife, Justine Musk, three with the singer Grimes, and four with technology executive Shivon Zilis. Zilis announced the birth of her fourth child with Musk, believed to be the X CEO’s 14th child overall, in late February.