In 2024, when influencer Ashley St. Clair announced that Elon Musk is the father of her child, tech billionaires immediately refuted the claim. In a drama that played out on Musk-owned social media site Fast forward to 2026 and it looks like he is indeed the father of the child. And not only is he accepting it but he is fighting with the child’s mother again. This time he is arguing that he should get full custody of the child.

The trigger behind the latest in Musk’s family drama is what Ashley is saying these days. “I will be applying for full custody today, her statements suggest she may move the one year old boy,” he wrote. In other words, Musk is saying that because Ashley can change the boy to a different gender, he is going to get full custody of the child.

While Ashley has not said anything publicly about her son’s transition, she recently apologized to the transgender community for transphobic comments she previously made. That apology clearly incensed Musk.

Musk and Ashley’s relationship

To give you context, Musk and Ashley St. Clair’s story reportedly began around 2023 when Musk — colloquially speaking — slid into his DMs after their conversation over a meme. Musk and Ashley met in person for an interview, which ultimately resulted in what Ashley desired as a “secret relationship”. Ashley, who works as an author, influencer and conservative commentator, said Musk had asked her to keep the relationship a secret for security reasons.

Ashley announces her child with Musk

However, the relationship came to light in 2024 when Ashley announced that she had given birth to a child and that Elon Musk was the father.

Until then, according to Ashley, she had remained silent to protect the child’s privacy. But with rumors flying and newspapers making the rounds, she decided to take control of the narrative. “Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is his father,” she wrote. From that moment on, things got worse between her and Musk.

Musk hit back by publicly saying that he did not even know whether the child was his or not. Also, he claimed that he has already given millions in support to Ashley. “Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5 million and I am sending her $500 thousand per year,” Musk wrote in one of his posts.

But according to the influencer, that wasn’t the whole story. “Elon Musk, you are a liar,” he posted on X. “That $2.5 million and that $500k you claim you’re sending is for your child, not me – and that’s not enough,” she wrote in one of her posts. “I need to make up for the 60 percent cut that Elon took of our son’s child support. You can check out the stock – I’m not the only one cleaning up after his mess.”

Court ordered paternity test

Soon this drama reached the courtroom from social media.

The case reached a New York court, which ordered a paternity test. The results reported by the Wall Street Journal confirmed Elon Musk as the father with 99.9999% probability. The test made the baby, named Romulus, Musk’s 13th child. Following the trial, Musk became uncharacteristically silent on the matter on social media. He is still there.

Musk says he will fight for full custody

The Musk-Ashley family fight is in the headlines again in 2026. This time, the reason appears to be Ashley’s changing stance on gender identity. He recently issued a public apology for past comments he made about the transgender community, saying that his views have evolved.

Musk, who has been vocal in his opposition to anything related to gender fluidity or hormonal treatments for children, responded sharply to Ashley’s comments, saying he was deeply concerned about the statements. Musk alleged that Ashley was planning to change the one-year-old boy to a different gender, although the influencer has not made any such comments publicly. According to them, this also means that they have to take complete care of the child.