One week ago, Ashley St. Clair accused Elon Musk’s AI of generating sexualized images of her. She spoke out, threatened legal action, and called X “the most dangerous company in the world.”
By Thursday, her account had been gutted—checkmark gone, monetization frozen.
On Sunday, she posted an apology. Not to Musk, but to his estranged transgender daughter. By Monday morning, Musk announced he was filing for full custody of their son.
St. Clair’s post came in response to a user who asked how she felt about trans people, given her history of what they called “blatant transphobia.”
“I feel immense guilt for my role,” she wrote. “And even more guilt that things I have said in the past may have caused my son’s sister more pain.”
The sister is Vivian Wilson—Musk’s daughter, who came out as transgender in 2020 and has publicly criticized her father for years. St. Clair continued: “Idrk how to make amends for many of these things but I have been trying incredibly hard privately to learn + advocate for those within the trans community that I’ve hurt.”
She predicted what would come next. “Even this reply will become right wing hysteria,” she wrote. “But yeah I am sorry.”
Hours later, a right-wing account posted: “Elon needs full custody. Coming out in support of trans grooming like this is insane.”
Musk replied directly: “I will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a one-year-old boy.”
I will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a one-year-old boy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2026
St. Clair’s post had not mentioned their son.
St. Clair revealed Musk’s paternity in February 2025 and later sued for sole custody of their son, Romulus. She accused Musk of financial retaliation—withdrawing support, she said, “to maintain control and punish me for disobedience.”
Musk responded publicly, saying he’d given her $2.5 million and was sending $500,000 a year. He also said he wasn’t sure the child was his. St. Clair fired back that he’d refused a paternity test—despite naming the baby himself.
By August, she was launching a podcast from what she described as near-eviction.
St. Clair built her career as a conservative influencer. In 2021, she published “Elephants Are Not Birds,” a children’s book arguing against gender transition. Her pinned post on X, from August 2025, reads: “twitter was way better when it was woke tbh.” It has 1.5 million views.
Her former audience has turned. One post responding to her apology, now with over 2 million views, called it “one of the most disgusting things I’ve seen.” She’s been blocking critics ever since.
No court filings related to Musk’s custody announcement have been made public. But St. Clair saw this coming. “Even this reply will become right wing hysteria,” she wrote Sunday.
By Monday, the father of her child was using it to try to take him.
