Elon Musk is musing about a potential civil war, according to the mother of one of his children.
Speaking at the Venice film premiere of “Musk,” a documentary about the world’s first trillionaire, Ashley St. Clair explained why she feels Musk is “sowing deliberate division” on X and that he once explained to her that they needed to have “a legion” of children “before the civil war.”
“Whatever it is, what he’s doing with this platform on X cannot be ignored, because he is stoking flames that don’t exist in the real world,” St. Clair, a former Trump supporter and conservative commentator, said.
She added, “He is creating something that is causing real world effects with all of these inputs on X. I do believe that he is causing deliberate division that may be catastrophic if it’s not regulated or tamed, or if we don’t do our part in putting it down.”
Many users of X have noticed a broader shift in Musk’s political leanings being amplified on the platform, whether by bots or conservative voices, since he purchased the platform in 2022. He famously pushed hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2024 general election in support of Donald Trump and recently celebrated the regional election win of Germany’s far-right political party.
St. Clair said she once turned down an offer from his team for a $40M lump-sum payment and a monthly salary of $100,000 in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement. St. Clair refused to sign it and the offer was withdrawn.
Of her ex, St. Clair offered some insight into his thinking. “His most complicated relationship is with the truth,” she told reporters. “Most importantly, I want to set the example for my kids that you should never take materially being comfortable over speaking the truth.”
St. Clair also referenced a text message she received from Musk that they needed to have “a legion of children before the civil war.” The “legion” comment isn’t far from Musk’s own reality: he has five children from his ex-wife, Justine Musk, three with singer Grimes and four with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, not to mention the son he and St. Clair share, born in 2024.
In response to a video questioning St. Clair’s statements, Musk said, “Sanity is not her strength,” and later added that St. Clair was “never offered that and has a history of making false claims.”
Musk has previously mused about birth rates and their relation to civilization. On Sept. 5, in response to a Polymarket tweet noting that people 65 and older outnumber those ages 5 and younger worldwide, Musk wrote, “Humanity is dying out.”
“Musk,” due out October 16, is a nearly four-hour documentary from filmmaker Alex Gibney centered on the SpaceX founder and his rise to becoming the richest man on earth, while also including portions on his influence on the world, MAGA, his relationships with the mothers of his 14 children, and more.
He has slammed the film, calling it a “hit piece” that is “boring.”
