Elon Musk Texted Ex-Girlfriend About Children Before Civil War in Documentary

The Text Message Behind the Legion of Children Warning

Among the most striking revelations in the documentary premiering at the Venice film festival involves a text message exchange between Musk and St. Clair. The mother of one of the 14 confirmed children fathered by the billionaire recounted that Musk told her in a text message he wanted to have a child with her because he needed to have a legion of children before the civil war. The pair had a son together in 2024 before eventually separating.

Following the birth, St. Clair stated that Musk’s team offered her a $40m lump-sum payment and a monthly stipend of $100,000 in return for her signing a non-disclosure agreement, but withdrew the offer after she refused to sign it. Asked during the festival’s press conference why she participated in Gibney’s project, St. Clair explained:

“I was offered the opportunity not to speak for $40 million.”

Ashley St. Clair, via The Independent

St. Clair added that the substantial offer forced an internal debate about the value of her voice, noting that she wanted to set the example for her kids that you should never take being materially comfortable over speaking the truth. St. Clair previously took legal action against Musk’s AI company this year, alleging its Grok chatbot enabled users to generate sexually explicit deepfakes of her that resulted in humiliation and emotional distress.

Algorithmic Power and the Threat to Democracy

The documentary moves beyond personal accounts to examine the societal impacts of Musk’s platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Gibney noted that his perception of the acquisition evolved during filming, observing how Musk tweaked algorithms at Twitter to, in fact, prioritize vitriol and hate over, you know, the town square. Reporter Zoë Schiffer, who is also interviewed in the project, stated that he has tweaked the algorithm, both to suppress mainstream journalism and then to augment some of the more inflammatory comments and voices on that platform.

St. Clair warned that the tech titan 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.

“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.”

Ashley St. Clair, via The Independent

Gibney, whose previous subjects include Enron, Vladimir Putin and the US military, considers Musk extremely dangerous to democracy. The documentary also investigates information collected on United States citizens by the “DOGE boys” through their broad access to government agencies under the second Donald Trump administration and his international political activity.

Cinematic Irony and a Vast Supporting Cast

To capture the complex narrative surrounding the SpaceX and Tesla chief, Gibney utilized an artificial intelligence avatar built entirely from genuine statements made by Musk to conduct a simulated interview. The director explained that the technique was chosen deliberately as an intentional irony referencing Musk’s theory that life is a simulation while poking at his shifting perspectives on technology, with the goal to capture the reality of what he’s done and unreality of his narrative. The filmmakers secured legal approval before fully committing to using the Musk avatar.

The nearly four-hour film weaves together archival footage, an interview with Musk’s father, Errol Musk, and insights from a diverse slate of figures. Alongside St. Clair and Schiffer, the documentary features Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, Musk’s first wife Justine Musk, neurologist Sam Harris, tech journalist Kara Swisher, and former USAID Administrator Samantha Power.

With Musk releasing in theaters this October, the project leaves audiences with a sweeping examination of a polarizing tech leader whose fixation on civilisational collapse and institutional disruption continues to generate profound real-world consequences.