Elon Musk set social media ablaze Monday after announcing he plans to seek full custody of his one-year-old son, citing growing concerns over the child’s mother, Ashley St. Clair, and her sudden ideological about-face on transgender issues.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the announcement in a blunt post on X, responding to a follower who urged him to take action. “I will be filing for full custody today,” Musk wrote, adding that St. Clair’s recent statements raised red flags about the child’s well-being. Musk said her comments implied openness to radical gender ideology being imposed on a toddler—an idea that has become a flashpoint in America’s broader culture war.
While St. Clair has not explicitly stated she would push her infant son toward gender transition, her recent public apology tour and embrace of transgender activism alarmed many conservatives who once viewed her as an ally. For years, St. Clair built a following online as a sharp-tongued conservative influencer, often mocking woke excesses and progressive social engineering. That persona now appears to be in retreat.
Over the weekend, St. Clair issued an emotional apology on X for past remarks critical of transgender ideology, saying she felt “immense guilt” for what she described as “blatant transphobia.” She went further, claiming remorse over comments that may have caused pain to one of Musk’s other children, Vivian, who came out as transgender in 2022.
“I’ve been trying incredibly hard privately to learn and advocate for those within the trans community that I’ve hurt,” St. Clair wrote, adding that she knew her comments would spark “right-wing hysteria.”
For Musk, that shift appears to have crossed a line.
The billionaire has been increasingly outspoken about what he sees as the dangers of radical gender ideology, particularly when it comes to children. He has previously criticized medical and social transitions for minors, calling them irreversible experiments driven by activists rather than science. Against that backdrop, Musk’s custody move is being viewed by supporters as a father acting decisively to protect his child from ideological harm.
St. Clair revealed in early 2025 that she had given birth to Musk’s 13th child, a disclosure that stunned both fans and critics. At the time, she was still widely seen as part of the conservative online ecosystem. Her recent pivot, however, has left many of her former supporters accusing her of abandoning core principles under pressure from the Left.
Musk’s family life, long a subject of public fascination, is undeniably complex. He shares five children with his first wife, Justine Wilson, including twins and triplets, and has spoken openly about the tragic loss of their infant son, Nevada, in 2002. He also has three children with musician Grimes and four with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.
Still, supporters argue that none of that negates Musk’s central point: parents have a duty to shield young children from ideological agendas they are too young to understand.
As debates rage nationwide over parental rights, gender ideology, and the role of the state in family life, Musk’s custody filing is likely to become more than a personal legal matter. For many conservatives, it’s another high-profile example of a father pushing back against a cultural movement they believe has gone dangerously too far—especially when it comes to children who can’t speak for themselves.
