Ashley St. Clair says she walked away from a proposed $40 million agreement that would have required her to remain silent about Elon Musk, choosing instead to retain the ability to publicly discuss her relationship with the billionaire and eventually participate in a major new documentary examining his life and influence.

St. Clair, who shares a son named Romulus with Musk, discussed the alleged agreement while appearing at the Venice Film Festival for the world premiere of Musk, Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney’s sprawling documentary about the Tesla and SpaceX chief.

“I was offered the opportunity not to speak for $40 million,” St. Clair told reporters.

“When you’re offered something like that, it causes a debate in your head about what your speech means and how valuable that is,” she continued. “Why do they want to offer me this amount of money not to speak?”

St. Clair ultimately chose the ability to speak.

That decision allowed her to sit for an extensive interview with Gibney and become one of the documentary’s most closely watched contributors.

Musk disputes her account.

After St. Clair’s comments attracted widespread attention, Musk responded publicly that she “was never offered that” and accused her of having “a history of making false claims.”

The existence and precise terms of the alleged $40 million agreement therefore remain disputed between the former couple.

St. Clair Says Deal Would Have Required Her Silence

St. Clair had actually discussed the alleged agreement months before the Venice premiere.

During a June interview with Don Lemon, she claimed Musk initially communicated with his longtime financial adviser Jared Birchall about providing her $15 million for a home and reserve capital.

St. Clair said the proposed arrangement subsequently developed into a broader financial package that included $15 million upfront and $100,000 per month for 20 years—an amount totaling approximately $39 million before other considerations.

According to St. Clair, accepting the financial arrangement would have required signing a nondisclosure agreement restricting what she could publicly say about Musk and their relationship.

She rejected it.

St. Clair has framed the decision as both personal and moral, arguing that accepting financial security in exchange for silence would have conflicted with the example she wanted to set for her children.

“I want to set the example for my kids that you should never take being materially comfortable over speaking the truth,” she said while discussing the decision in Venice.

That choice potentially meant walking away from tens of millions of dollars.

It also meant St. Clair remained free to talk.

Her Story Is Now Part of ‘Musk’

That freedom ultimately placed St. Clair inside one of the most ambitious documentaries yet made about Musk.

Directed by Alex Gibney, Musk runs nearly four hours and examines the billionaire’s rise from the technology industry to an extraordinary position of influence spanning Tesla, SpaceX, X and American politics.

Gibney interviewed St. Clair about her personal experiences with Musk, alongside other people who have worked with, competed against or had relationships with him.

The documentary also includes Musk’s first wife, Justine Musk; his father, Errol Musk; Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard; journalists; former employees and other figures connected to different stages of his career.

Musk himself declined to participate.

Gibney says his production repeatedly attempted to contact Musk and provide him with an opportunity to participate, but those efforts did not result in an interview.

Instead, the filmmakers created an unusual artificial-intelligence-assisted representation of Musk using statements he has actually made publicly.

Gibney said the device was intended to contrast Musk’s carefully constructed public narrative with the documentary’s examination of his record.

Musk Rejects St. Clair’s Account

St. Clair’s $40 million claim should not be treated as an uncontested fact.

Musk has directly denied it.

After media outlets reported her comments from Venice, Musk responded on X that St. Clair had never been offered the alleged deal.

“She was never offered that and has a history of making false claims,” Musk wrote.

That leaves two sharply conflicting versions of events.

St. Clair says she was presented with a financial arrangement worth roughly $40 million that would have restricted her ability to speak publicly.

Musk says no such offer was made.

Public reporting has described communications St. Clair says involved Musk and Birchall, but the complete alleged NDA and its terms have not been independently established in the public record.

The dispute is particularly significant because St. Clair’s refusal to remain silent is now central to her public identity.

Once known primarily as a conservative political influencer, she has increasingly distanced herself from portions of her previous political persona while becoming publicly critical of Musk.

Her appearance in Musk represents the most prominent example yet.

A $40 Million Decision

Whatever ultimately emerges about the disputed agreement, St. Clair has turned the alleged offer itself into part of the documentary’s larger discussion about money, power and the ability of extraordinarily wealthy people to control information about themselves.

Her decision was straightforward in principle, even if the financial stakes she describes were enormous.

Take the money and accept restrictions on what she could say—or reject it and maintain her ability to speak publicly.

St. Clair says she chose the latter.

That is why she was sitting beside Alex Gibney at the Venice Film Festival discussing Elon Musk rather than remaining bound by the agreement she says his side wanted her to sign.

Musk maintains that the $40 million offer never existed.

The disagreement is now part of the public record—and, because St. Clair chose not to sign the alleged NDA, she is free to keep talking about it.