Elon Musk's Ex Ashley St. Clair Claims She Turned Down $40 Million NDA Offer To Speak Out

Elon Musk's former partner Ashley St. Clair has claimed in Venice that she turned down an alleged $40 million package tied to a non‑disclosure agreement, saying she chose her children's long‑term trust over immediate financial security as she appeared in a new documentary about Musk, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on 8 September.

The nearly four‑hour documentary, simply titled Musk, is directed by Oscar‑winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and examines Musk's personal, professional and political influence, including his ownership of X and role in public debate.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief has already tried to frame the film as a 'hit piece,' and the latest teaser has only intensified arguments online about how much sway one tech billionaire should really have over public life.

After St. Clair, 28, who has a son with Musk, took the rare step of speaking publicly about their relationship and the legal pressure she says she faced to stay silent.

During a press conference for Musk at Venice, she told reporters: 'I was offered the opportunity not to speak for $40 million.'

Elon Musk Documentary Puts NDA Claim Under Harsh Spotlight

St. Clair, who appears in the film, described the kind of moral stand‑off that only happens when someone shoves more money than most people will ever see in front of you and asks you to shut up.

'When you're offered something like that, it really causes a debate in your head about what your speech means and how valuable that is, and why do they want to offer me this amount of money to not speak?' she said.

She said she ultimately rejected the alleged deal, explaining that she wanted to set an example for her children by prioritising speaking the truth over material comfort. St. Clair has two children, including the son she shares with Musk, who was born in September 2024. The pair have previously described aspects of their relationship publicly.

She said she wanted to model the principle that 'you should never take being materially comfortable over speaking the truth,' adding a pointed line about the man at the centre of the documentary. In her words, Musk's 'most complicated relationship is with the truth.'

The documentary itself, which runs to around four hours including an interval, is being billed as a forensic look at Musk's reach into politics, technology and culture. Musk has previously dismissed the documentary as a 'hit piece' on X, but Gibney and several contributors, including St. Clair, have leaned straight into the controversy rather than backing away.

Ashley St. Clair, Elon Musk and a Political Backlash

St. Clair is not just another ex in Musk's unusually crowded personal universe. Before their relationship, she was a rising figure within US conservative circles and had been affiliated with the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA.

'I got involved with Republican politics when I was 18 after I met Charlie Kirk, and there was an air of ignorance,' she said, reflecting on that period. She had previously expressed anti‑transgender views, positions she later publicly reconsidered.

She now says she has stepped away from those views and is trying to reckon with the damage. 'But that ignorance does not excuse any role in that. I hope the risk that I'm taking now in speaking out and trying to fight back at least helps a little bit,' she added.

Her change in position became public in January 2026, when she posted on X expressing remorse for her past statements about transgender people. St. Clair wrote that she felt 'immense guilt' for her role in targeting trans people and expressed particular remorse over remarks that may have caused pain to Vivian Wilson, Musk's transgender daughter and her son's half‑sister.

She said she had been 'trying incredibly hard privately to learn + advocate for those within the trans community that I've hurt.' The shift did not just stir up her online audience; it reportedly ignited a fresh conflict in her already fraught relationship with Musk.

Musk responded on X that he intended to seek full custody of their son, claiming that St. Clair's comments implied she might seek to 'transition a one‑year‑old boy.' St. Clair did not publicly say she intended to.

Director Brands Elon Musk 'Very Dangerous' in New Film

Musk is not a soft profile of the world's most polarising entrepreneur. Gibney, whose past work has dismantled corporate scandals and political spin, has also publicly offered strongly critical assessments of Musk.

Gibney described Musk as 'very dangerous' and said he believed the billionaire had 'a very difficult time with empathy, especially cognitive empathy, which is putting himself in the shoes of others. He seems incapable of doing that.'

St. Clair offered a similar assessment in the film and at the Venice press conference. 'He makes a conscious choice not to put himself in other people's shoes. It is a deliberate rejection of empathy,' she said.

Those are striking words to level at the sitting president's closest tech ally and the owner of one of the world's loudest social platforms, even if they come from a director and an ex‑partner rather than a court.

The documentary premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on 8 September and is scheduled for a wider theatrical release on 16 October.

St. Clair said her decision was ultimately about setting an example for her children and prioritising what she described as speaking the truth over financial comfort.