"$40 million for my silence": Elon Musk's ex defies the magnate in her new documentary
Ashley St. Clair, mother of one of Musk's children, says she rejected a confidentiality agreement that could have reached that amount in order to speak about her relationship with the businessman in Alex Gibney's film, premiered in Venice.
Ashley claims she turned down a confidentiality offer that could have reached $40 million in exchange for not speaking publicly about her relationship with the tycoon.
The former conservative influencer and mother of one of Elon Musk 's fourteen children decided to take part in the documentary because she prefers to tell her version of events rather than accept an agreement that, she says, sought to silence her account.
The multimillion-dollar offer St. Clair turned down
' Ashley St. Clair arrived at the Venice Festival with a story that sums up many of the contradictions Alex Gibney tries to explore in "Musk," the nearly four-hour documentary devoted to the richest man in the world: she claims she rejected a confidentiality proposal that could have reached 40 million dollars in exchange for not speaking publicly about her relationship with the magnate.'
The figure comes from St. Clair herself and not from a publicly released document that would allow all the terms of the alleged agreement to be independently verified. U.S. media have reported that, according to her version, the proposal initially included $15 million and monthly payments for 20 years.
In an interview before the premiere, Ashley spoke about why she decided to take part in the film after turning down the offer “I think my children need to know that there are things more important than money,” she explained in justifying her decision to participate in the film.
A personal story within a portrait of power
'Ashley, one of the documentary's most prominent testimonies, went on to say: "When you're offered something like that, it really makes you reflect on what your speech means and how valuable it is, and why they want to offer me this amount of money so that I don't speak". '
St. Clair explained that her decision was related to the example she wants to set for her children and to her refusal to put money ahead of what she considers the truth: "material comfort should never be put before telling the truth," and added that "Musk's most complicated relationship is with the truth."
"Musk", is a 232-minute film that premiered on September 8 out of competition at the Venice Film Festival and reconstructs the business, political, and personal rise of the man who went from being a tech entrepreneur to becoming one of the figures with the greatest capacity to influence governments, markets, social media, and technology.
The film, directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, focuses on the influence of the 55-year-old South African billionaire on American politics.
The director presents the businessman as someone whose main skill would not be solely engineering or innovation, but the ability to sell a vision of the future and convince others to bet on it.
Gibney also draws a parallel between Musk and Elizabeth Holmes , especially because of their ability to convince investors and the public to bet on a particular vision. The director, however, points out a difference: in his view, Musk’s companies have indeed produced real technological advances, especially SpaceX and Tesla.
“A legion of children before the civil war”
Among the most striking statements in the claim, St. Clair spoke about her relationship with the magnate and the vision Musk has for the future.
'Among one of the most influential statements is the one that Elon would seek to have a "legion of children before the civil war" . This phrase has been picked up by several media outlets and is part of the portrait that Gibney constructed of Musk .'
St. Clair’s testimony adds a personal dimension to the documentary and raises one of the film’s central questions: to what extent can Musk ’s power and wealth influence those who decide to speak publicly about him.
These claims correspond to St. Clair's testimony and have not been publicly corroborated by Musk, who chose not to participate in the documentary. The businessman has criticized the film and called it a “hit piece” .
Musk had its world premiere on September 8 at the Venice Film Festival and will arrive in U.S. theaters on October 16, 2026 , distributed by Bleecker Street.
