Ashley St. Clair Claims She Rejected $40 Million Offer to Exit Elon Musk Documentary

Forty million dollars is equivalent to the entire production budget of a mid-sized Hollywood feature, but according to former influencer Ashley St. Clair, it was the exact figure offered to secure her silence. Speaking at the Venice Film Festival premiere of Alex Gibney's new documentary "Musk" on September 8, 2026, St. Clair claimed she walked away from the massive non-disclosure agreement rather than accept sweeping restrictions on what she could say about the billionaire.[1][2]

The 232-minute film, directed by the Oscar-winning Gibney, chronicles the rise of the Tesla CEO from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to a powerful political figure. St. Clair, who shares a child born in 2024 with Musk—one of his 14 publicly known children—emerged as a central voice in the project. She alleged that Musk's wealth manager, Jared Birchall, presented an arrangement that included $15 million upfront for a home and living expenses, followed by $100,000 monthly payments over 21 years.[1][5]

"When you're offered something like that, it causes a debate in your head about what your speech means and how valuable that is," St. Clair said during the press conference. "Why do they want to offer me this amount of money not to speak?" She ultimately declined the offer, stating her desire to set an example for her children that speaking the truth holds more value than material comfort.[1][2]

Musk swiftly denied the allegations the day after the premiere. Writing on his social media platform X on September 9, 2026, the billionaire stated that St. Clair "was never offered that and has a history of making false claims." The public dispute has only amplified attention on Gibney's documentary, which reportedly took three years to film and features interviews with various former colleagues and critics.[4][5]

Gibney noted during the festival that securing on-the-record interviews for the project proved exceptionally difficult. "The thing that struck me most was, particularly early on when I was trying to get people to talk, there was a tremendous fear of talking – almost an existential fear," the director explained. He added that this hesitation spanned across Musk's critics, business colleagues, and former friends.[1]

The documentary arrives as Musk's influence over public discourse and politics continues to expand. St. Clair used the Venice platform to express concern over his management of X, warning that the platform's current trajectory could have severe real-world consequences if left unchecked. "He is creating something that is causing real world effects with all of these inputs on X," St. Clair said. "I do believe that he is causing deliberate division that may be catastrophic if it's not regulated or tamed."[1][5]

Tech journalist Zoe Schiffer, who also appeared at the press conference, corroborated the intense atmosphere surrounding Musk's corporate leadership. Schiffer noted a stark contrast between the loyalty of his inner circle and the harsh treatment often experienced at lower levels of his organizations, describing a pervasive feeling of a hostile takeover whenever he enters a new company.[1]

"Musk" is slated for a theatrical release in the United States on October 16, 2026. The film represents a significant addition to Gibney's investigative portfolio, which previously tackled subjects ranging from Enron to the Church of Scientology. As the release date approaches, the highly publicized clash over the alleged $40 million offer has transformed the documentary from a standard biographical feature into a high-stakes battle over narrative control—proving that in Silicon Valley, silence is just another commodity to be priced.[4]