Ashley St. Clair says she rejected a financial package worth approximately $40 million that would have restricted what she could say about Elon Musk, his employees and people affiliated with him.
St. Clair discussed the alleged offer Sept. 8 at the Venice Film Festival, where Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour documentary Musk had its world premiere. St. Clair appears extensively in the film and shares a son, Romulus, with Musk.
“I was offered the opportunity not to speak for $40 million,” she told reporters. St. Clair said being presented with that kind of money forced her to consider how much her ability to speak freely was worth and why someone would value her silence so highly.
Musk, his wealth manager Jared Birchall and their attorneys have not publicly responded to St. Clair’s latest Venice remarks.
St. Clair Says the NDA Extended Beyond Musk Himself
St. Clair had already given a more detailed version of the alleged proposal during a June appearance on The Don Lemon Show. She claimed Musk initially sent a message instructing Birchall to provide her with $15 million for a home and reserve capital.
A few days later, she said, Birchall spent roughly two hours discussing conditions attached to the money. According to St. Clair, those conditions developed into a sweeping nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreement.
In that interview, St. Clair described an offer of $15 million upfront followed by payments of $100,000 per month for 20 years. That structure would total approximately $39 million.
“I was never to disparage Elon,” she said during the Don Lemon interview. St. Clair alleged that the restrictions would also have prevented her from discussing Musk’s employees and affiliates.
She said she responded to Birchall that she could not “in good conscience” sign the agreement and told Lemon she would rather live in a studio apartment with her two children than accept money on those terms.
The Alleged Offer Was Broader Than the Documentary
At the festival press conference, St. Clair said an offer of that magnitude caused her to question the value being placed on her silence. “Why do they want to offer me this amount of money not to speak?” she asked, according to The Independent.
She framed the decision partly around her children, saying she wanted them to see that material comfort should not take priority over what she considers telling the truth.
St. Clair also used the Venice appearance to criticize Musk directly, arguing that his “most complicated relationship is with the truth” and accusing him of deliberately rejecting empathy toward other people.
St. Clair Also Addressed the Politics That Made Her Famous
Before becoming one of Musk’s public critics, St. Clair built an online following through conservative commentary and activism. At Venice, she revisited that part of her public life.
She said she entered Republican politics at 18 after meeting Charlie Kirk and now believes some of the positions she promoted were shaped by ignorance. “That ignorance does not excuse any role in that,” St. Clair said, adding that she hopes taking risks by speaking publicly and attempting to “fight back” can repair at least some of the harm.
Footage shared by Variety captured St. Clair discussing both the alleged NDA and her reasons for participating in Gibney’s documentary. Her willingness to appear on camera stood out because Gibney says many other people he approached were unwilling to do the same.
Gibney Says ‘Fear’ Followed the Production
Gibney told Reuters that he encountered a “tremendous sense of fear” while researching the film, including among Musk’s critics, former colleagues and friends. “I talked to many, many, many people,” Gibney said at Venice. “Many declined to speak.”
The filmmaker said that reluctance extended even to people who were no longer financially dependent on Musk. His team also consulted attorneys while making the documentary, including over its use of an AI-generated Musk avatar built from statements the billionaire had previously made publicly.
Other interview subjects include Musk’s former wife Justine Musk, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, journalist Kara Swisher, technology reporter Zoë Schiffer and AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton. Venice’s official listing names St. Clair among the documentary’s principal participants.
The film traces Musk’s businesses and political influence through Tesla, SpaceX, his acquisition of Twitter and its transformation into X, and his involvement in the Trump administration. St. Clair also uses her interview to accuse Musk of intentionally encouraging division through the social platform.
Musk declined Gibney’s request to participate. He has repeatedly dismissed the documentary as a “hit piece” and attacked Gibney publicly.
‘Musk’ Runs Three Hours and 45 Minutes
Musk premiered outside competition at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Sept. 8. The festival’s official listing gives the documentary a running time of 225 minutes, followed by a 10-minute intermission.
Bleecker Street will begin the documentary’s U.S. theatrical rollout in select theaters on Oct. 16 before expanding nationwide on Oct. 23. HBO Documentary Films holds the North American television and streaming rights. A specific HBO Max premiere date has not yet been announced.