Ashley St. Clair is taking legal action against Elon Musk, filing paternity and custody petitions in New York Supreme Court on February 21st. She is seeking sole legal custody of their infant son, R.S.C., born in September 2024 (the exact date is redacted in the filing).
St. Clair asserts that New York is the child’s home state and that Musk is the father. She claims Musk was not present at the birth and “has met him only three (3) times and has had no involvement in his care and upbringing.” While identifying Musk as the father, she has also filed a paternity petition, stating they had a “romantic relationship in or about May 2023” and intercourse in January 2024, leading to R.S.C.’s conception.
St. Clair alleges Musk acknowledged parentage in writing, including a text message exchange after the birth. She claims she sent Musk a photo of herself and the newborn, to which he replied, “I look forward to seeing you and him this weekend.” She also cites a statement Musk allegedly made about security concerns: “If I make a mistake on security, [R.S.C.] will never know his father,” interpreting it as an acknowledgment of paternity.
According to St. Clair, Musk met his son for two hours on September 21, 2024, one hour the following day, and last saw him on November 30, 2024, for just 30 minutes. She also alleges that Musk texted her on November 24, 2024, “I want to knock you up again,” and three months later, “Well, we do have a legion of kids to make.”
“Ashley St. Clair has filed paternity and custody petitions to protect the best interests of her child,” her representative Brian Glickich told PEOPLE exclusively. “She has made every effort to collaborate with Mr. Musk before taking this step. She has no further comment on the contents of the petitions, which speak for themselves.” PEOPLE has reached out to Musk’s representatives and attorneys for comment.
St. Clair’s petition requests the court to “issue a summons, warrant or order requiring the Respondent to show cause why the Court should not enter a declaration of paternity, an order of support and such other and further relief as may be appropriate under the circumstances.”
Her attorney, Karen B. Rosenthal, stated in her affirmation that her firm has been in contact with Musk’s lawyer and representative, Alyssa Rower from Rower, LLC, “in an attempt to resolve this matter privately. The law firm has offices in Manhattan and Westchester, New York. However, his representatives have been nonresponsive in the past to resolve the outstanding issues and Respondent has indicated that he no longer wishes to resolve issues of custody and support amicably.” Rosenthal also noted that serving Musk at the White House, due to his previous role, would be impractical due to security.
Musk has reportedly fathered 13 children with four women, including the alleged child with St. Clair. This lawsuit comes a day after Musk’s former partner, singer-songwriter Grimes, publicly pleaded with him on X to address their child’s “medical crisis.” On Thursday, February 20, Grimes wrote, “Plz respond about our child’s medical crisis. He won’t respond to texts call or emails and has skipped every meeting and our child will suffer life long impairment if he doesn’t respond asap.” Grimes did not provide further details about the crisis or specify which child was involved.
