Things got messy Tuesday, April 1, 2025, between conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair and billionaire Elon Musk over child support for a baby she says is his. St. Clair, 26, claims Musk slashed payments for their six-month-old son by 60%, forcing her to sell her Tesla to pay bills. Musk, 53, fired back on X late Monday night, saying he’s already given her $2.5 million and $500,000 a year—even though he’s still not sure the child is his.
The trouble started Saturday, when St. Clair was seen handing over her $100,000 Tesla Model S outside her Manhattan apartment—caught on camera by the Daily Mail. “I need to make up for the 60% cut Elon made to our son’s child support,” she told a reporter. She said their last conversation was February 13, before she sued for sole custody in New York Supreme Court on February 21. Her legal team says Musk retaliated financially after she refused to settle things “quietly.”
Musk responded on X, replying to a post by Laura Loomer showing the Tesla sale. “I don’t know if the child is mine or not, but am not against finding out. No court order is needed,” he wrote. “Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year.” St. Clair clapped back fast. “Elon, we asked you to confirm paternity through a test before our child (who you named) was even born. You refused. ”She accused him of cutting most support “to maintain control and punish me for disobedience,” saying it hurts their son, not her.
This fight didn’t start overnight. St. Clair first revealed the baby’s parentage on February 14—Valentine’s Day—calling Musk the father of her son, born September 2024. That makes him Musk’s alleged 13th child, with a fourth mother. She said she stayed quiet for five months to protect the baby, but went public when tabloids closed in. In her custody filing, she claims Musk has only met the child three times for a total of 3.5 hours, and court texts show Musk allegedly saying things like: “I want to knock you up again,” in November 2024.
She’s pushing for full custody and a paternity test—calling Musk an “absent father.” Musk’s camp tells a different story. He says he’s paid generously—$2.5 million upfront, plus $500,000 a year—and hasn’t dodged a paternity test. But he still hasn’t taken one. Her lawyer, Karen Rosenthal, told People on March 20 that Musk “substantially reduced” support after the lawsuit—a move she called “vindictive.” The Tesla sale, St. Clair says, was necessary to recover from the cut. “He messes up,” she told Daily Mail, “and others pay the price.”
With a court date set for May 29, no confirmed paternity yet, and both sides holding ground, the fire’s only growing.