Elon Musk’s Ex Ashley Musk Opens Up About Financial Struggles, Launches New Podcast

Ashley St. Clair, mother of Elon Musk’s one-year-old son Romulus, has opened up about her financial struggles while launching a new podcast.

The 26-year-old conservative commentator, currently in a custody battle with Musk, said she is finding it difficult to manage her expenses despite reports of support from the Tesla CEO.

In the premiere episode of her podcast Bad Advice, Ashley humorously described her situation: “Well, after a year of unplanned career suicide, many questionable life choices and a gap in my LinkedIn profile that cannot be legally explained, I’ve decided to start a podcast. Also, I’m getting evicted, and Polymarket offered me $10,000 to do an ad read. So with that, the roof over my head has been brought to you by Polymarket.”

Child Support Dispute with Elon Musk
Ashley previously claimed that Musk offered $15 million upfront and $100,000 per month in child support if she kept Romulus’s birth secret. She rejected the proposal, arguing it lacked sufficient protections for the child, and filed for custody and financial support through the courts. Her legal team alleges Musk later reduced monthly payments from $100,000 to $40,000 and then $20,000.

Musk has disputed these claims, stating, “I don’t know if the child is mine or not. Despite not knowing for sure, I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year.” A paternity test later confirmed with 99.9999% probability that Musk is Romulus’s father, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Romulus, Elon Musk’s 13th child, was born in September 2024. Ashley went public about the child on Valentine’s Day 2025 after learning the tabloid press planned to reveal the news. Musk and Ashley first connected in May 2023 via social media, later meeting in person during an interview between Musk and Seth Dillon of Babylon Bee, where Ashley worked.