Musk vs St. Clair: Paternity Confirmed, Custody Battle Ignites Over Gender Identity Dispute

Elon Musk’s complicated personal life has once again moved from social media drama to the courtroom, this time over the custody of a child he once publicly questioned as his own. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is now threatening a full custody trial against influencer and conservative commentator Ashley St. Clair after a court-ordered paternity test confirmed he is the father of her son.

The saga began in 2024 when St. Clair announced that Musk was the father of her newborn. At the time, Musk pushed back on X, saying he did not know for sure if the child was his. Yet he also acknowledged financial support, writing, “Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year.” St. Clair fired back publicly, accusing him of misrepresenting the situation: “Elon Musk, you’re a liar,” she posted. “That $2.5 million and the $500k you claim you’ve been sending is for your child, not me — and it’s not enough,” she wrote, adding, “I need to make up for the 60 percent cut that Elon made to our son’s child support. You can check the stocks — I’m not the only one who is cleaning up after his messes.”

As the online back-and-forth intensified, the dispute landed in a New York court. A judge ordered a paternity test, and the results, reported by The Wall Street Journal, were decisive: Musk was confirmed as the father with a 99.9999% probability. The child, named Romulus, became Musk’s 13th. After the result, Musk largely fell silent on the issue—until now.

What has reignited the conflict in 2026 is not money but a sharp disagreement over gender identity and parenting. St. Clair recently issued a public apology to the transgender community for earlier comments she had made, saying her views had evolved. While she did not make any statements about her child’s gender, Musk interpreted the apology as a warning sign.

“I will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a one-year-old boy,” Musk wrote. He has long been vocal in opposing what he sees as gender-affirming medical interventions for children, and he framed the issue as a matter of protecting his son. St. Clair, for her part, has not publicly suggested any plans to transition the child, making Musk’s claim the central point of contention.

The background of their relationship adds another layer of intrigue. According to St. Clair, she and Musk connected in 2023 after he responded to one of her memes. What began as online banter turned into an in-person interview and, eventually, what she described as a “secretive affair.” She has said Musk asked her to keep their relationship private for security reasons. That secrecy ended when she decided to go public about the birth of her son, writing, “Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father.”

Now, with paternity confirmed, the battle has shifted from whether Musk is the father to who should have control over Romulus’s upbringing. Musk’s threat of a full custody trial suggests he is prepared to take the matter back to court, turning a once-private dispute into yet another high-profile legal and cultural flashpoint.