Venice, Italy – The premiere of a new documentary about Elon Musk is causing a stir after his ex‑girlfriend Ashley St. Claire accused him of attempting to pay for her silence.
While speaking at a press conference during the Venice Film Festival, Ashley St. Clair – who revealed in February 2025 that she is the mother of one of Musk's 12 children – said that she was offered $40 million to stay out of the documentary.
She appears in the nearly four‑hour documentary as an interviewee, stating that she was offered a large sum of money to keep the father's identity private.
St. Clair also claims in the film that Musk told her in a text message that he wanted to have a child with her because he needed to have "a legion of children before the civil war."
Director Alex Gibney explained in Venice that he had unsuccessfully tried to speak with Musk about the documentary. His film examines Musk's rise and, above all, how a single man could amass so much influence.
Gibney criticizes Musk's close alignment with the US defense establishment and the space agency. He also points out that members of his inner circle received, as part of a cost‑cutting initiative by President Donald Trump, extensive access to sensitive government IT systems and personal data.
The filmmaker speculates about what could happen with such information, especially given that Musk also owns an artificial‑intelligence company.
Elon Musk calls new documentary a "smear campaign"
The documentary also points out that Musk supported Republicans in the 2024 presidential election campaign out of self‑interest and with huge sums of money.
His companies – including Tesla and SpaceX – faced numerous government investigations under the administration of Trump-predecessor Joe Biden.
A video interview with Musk from October 2024 is shown, in which he says about Trump: "If he loses, I'm screwed. How long do you think my prison sentence will be?"
Gibney examines various episodes from Musk’s career and questions the entrepreneur’s self‑portrayal.
Among other things, it looks at Musk’s role at Tesla and his treatment of co‑founder and original CEO Martin Eberhard after the now‑tech billionaire, as an early investor, took control of the electric‑car maker.
One thesis of the film is that Musk’s success is owed, in part, to his ability to sell grand visions and make questionable claims appear as facts.
The billionaire has heavily criticized the documentary on social media, repeatedly claiming it will be a "hit piece."
Musk first described it as such in response to the documentary’s announcement in March 2023, to which the director retorted shortly afterward: "How would you know?"