Elon Musk ‘Reduced Financial Support Substantially’ After Ashley St. Clair Sued Him for Custody, Her Attorney Claims (Exclusive)

St. Clair previously sued the Tesla CEO for sole legal custody of their son

Ashley St. Clair poses for a photo in February 2025 ; Elon Musk at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony on April 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Ashley St. Clair/ X ; Jesse Grant/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

Elon Musk is retaliating after Ashley St. Clair sued him for custody of their baby son, her attorney claims.

According to St. Clair’s legal team, the Tesla CEO, 53, has “financially retaliated” against his son he shares with the author, 26, after she filed a petition for custody with the New York Supreme Court in February.

“Elon Musk has financially retaliated against his own child and reduced his financial support substantially and unilaterally. He did this after Ashley was forced to bring this matter to court, when he refused to respond to her many private attempts to resolve this matter without publicity,” St. Clair’s legal team, Karen Rosenthal, Bikel Rosenthal & Schanfield LLP, alleges to PEOPLE in an exclusive statement.

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Elon Musk.Chesnot/Getty
Elon Musk Ordered to Appear in New York City Court over Custody Issues with Ashley St. Clair

“At the same time, he filed an emergency application to gag Ashley and prevent her from communicating about his actions. The judge denied the emergency nature of the application, even though it is still pending.”

“Ashley is vigorously opposing this application in order to preserve her right to speak-out. All while Mr. Musk fashions himself a first amendment warrior and freely communicates via his owned social media platform,” they claim. “Given that Mr. Musk is dedicated to transparency in government, it would be helpful if he administered his own life by the same principles.”

A representative for Musk did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Back in February, St. Clair first filed for custody of her son, identified as R.S.C. She alleged in the petition that Musk is the father of the boy, who was born in September 2024 (the exact date has been redacted in the filing). She claims that Musk was not present at R.S.C.’s birth and “has met him only three (3) times and has had no involvement in his care and upbringing.”

Ashley St. Clair.Ashley St. Clair/X

Although she stated that Musk is R.S.C’s father, she also filed a paternity petition along with the custody petition.

Shortly after filing for custody, Musk was ordered to appear in a New York City court. Attorneys for Musk were to be allowed to argue why he shouldn’t be forced to grant St. Clair sole custody of their son or why Musk shouldn’t be forced to take a paternity test.

The New York Supreme Court judge overseeing the case, Jeffrey H. Pearlman, was also hearing arguments about whether Musk should be ordered to pay child support to St. Clair.

At the time, St. Claire’s attorney Rosenthal told PEOPLE in a statement that Musk has still not accepted the court filing, either in person or via his attorneys.

“Despite requests, Mr. Musk has still not accepted service of the motion papers via his alleged attorneys, which is easy enough to do,” Rosenthal said in a statement.

“As a result of avoiding personal service, he has prolonged the litigation and caused unnecessary distress. It should be noted that no attorney has opted into the NYSCEF system claiming they represent Mr. Musk,” she added. “We don’t have anyone we can properly speak with. It’s unnecessary gamesmanship when there’s an infant involved.”

Elon Musk speaks at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair on June 16, 2023 in Paris, France.JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty

In mid-February, the conservative influencer posted an announcement to X saying that she and Musk have a child together, his 13th.

“Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father. 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,” read her announcement.

“I intend to allow our child to grow in a normal and safe environment,” said St. Clair. “For that reason, I ask that the media honor our child’s privacy, and refrain from invasive reporting.”

Musk first became a father in 2002 when his ex-wife Justine welcomed their son Nevada Alexander, who tragically died at 10 weeks old. The two went on to have five more children: twins Vivian and Griffin, 20, and triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian, 19.

In 2020, two years after Musk and singer Grimes were first linked, the two announced they had welcomed their first child, X Æ A-12, together. The former couple share two more children, a girl, Exa Dark Sideræl, and a boy, Techno Mechanicus. A few weeks before the arrival of their second child, the tech CEO also secretly fathered twins, Strider and Azure, with Zilis, according to court documents published by Insider. The pair then welcomed daughter Arcadia in February 2024.

In February 2025, St. Clair revealed that she and Musk had welcomed a child. Zilis then announced that she and Musk had secretly welcomed baby No. 4, son Seldon Lycurgus, though it’s unclear when.