Jan. 13, 2026, 1:59 p.m. ET
Tesla business mogul Elon Musk is seeking custody of his 1-year-old son, Romulus, with conservative influencer and author Ashley St. Clair following her post on social media supporting the transgender community.
Musk declared his intention on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, Jan. 12, after St. Clair responded to a comment on her own X account a day before about her past actions of apparent transphobia. The comment asked St. Clair her stance on the transgender community and said she “previously engaged in blatant transphobia.”
St. Clair responded that she’s sorry for her past words and has opted to not speak on the transgender community because she’s “gone back and forth over whether (her) voice would be helpful on the issue since it will be framed as disingenuous.”
“I feel immense guilt for my role. And even more guilt that things I have said in the past may have caused my son’s sister more pain,” St. Clair wrote in a post on X, seemingly referring to Musk’s transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson. “(I don’t really know) how to make amends for many of these things but I have been trying incredibly hard privately to learn (and) advocate for those within the trans community that I’ve hurt.”
In a separate post on X a day later, Musk responded to a screenshot of St. Clair’s apology supporting the transgender community saying that he “will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a 1-year-old boy.”
It is not clear if St. Clair has expressed a want for their son to transition to a different gender. For people seeking it, gender-affirming care usually happens when a person reaches adolescence or around the time a someone shows signs of puberty, not as an infant or toddler, according to past coverage by USA TODAY.
The public clash is the latest in a series of social media exchanges between the two parents about their shared child, including Musk publicly addressing St. Clair’s claim in early 2025 that he was the father of Romulus and other spats about child support.
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.
