Sean O’Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. He has covered human rights and extremism extensively.

Sean joined Newsweek in 2023 and previously worked for The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, Vice and others from the Middle East. He specialized in human rights issues in the Arabian Gulf and conducted a three-month investigation into labor rights abuses for The New York Times.

He was previously based in New York for 10 years. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a qualified New York attorney and Irish solicitor. You can get in touch with Sean by emailing [email protected]. Languages: English and French.

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Sean O’Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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Elon Musk told the mother of his 13th child that he wanted to “knock her up again” and make a “legion” of new children, texts have allegedly revealed.

Why It Matters
There have been persistent complaints from some of the mothers of Musk’s children that he hasn’t paid attention to their needs or paid for their support.

Musk is co-director of the budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and he has vowed to introduce massive cuts to the federal budget, some of which could affect child welfare.

Newsweek sought email comment from Musk and Ashley St. Clair outside of normal working hours on Monday.

elon musk texts
What to Know
Conservative writer St. Clair has filed a lawsuit in New York seeking sole custody of her son and, in a separate application, she is seeking a court declaration that Elon Musk is the father.

The custody application includes screen grabs of texts she has exchanged with Musk, portrayed as an absent father who is disinterested in his baby son.

In one November 2024 text, when their son was two months old, Musk allegedly wrote: “I want to knock you up again.”

In early February 2025 Musk again texted St. Clair and told her that they “have a legion of kids to make.”

After St. Clair sent him a photo of their newborn son in September 2024, Musk replied: “I look forward to seeing you and him this weekend.”

He also noted concerns about a possible assassination en route to seeing them.

“I get credible death threats. I’m #2 after Trump for assassination.

“If I make a mistake on security, [our son] will never know his father.

“Wake up. This is not the time for sentiment over safety.”

St. Clair replies that she has not included Musk’s name on the birth certificate for security reasons.

He replies that it’s “necessary for now,” adding: “Only the paranoid survive” and “loose lips sink ships.”

What People Are Saying
In mid-February, the singer Grimes, real name Claire Boucher, appealed on X, which is owner by the billionaire) for help from Musk.

Boucher, the mother of three of Musk’s children, wrote that one of their children needed medical help.

“Plz respond about our child’s medical crisis. I am sorry to do this publicly but it is no longer acceptable to ignore this situation. This requires immediate attention,” she wrote.

“If you don’t want to talk to me can you please designate or hire someone who can so that we can move forward on solving this. This is urgent, Elon.”

“I’m not giving any details but he won’t respond to texts, calls or emails and has skipped every meeting and our child will suffer lifelong impairment if he doesn’t respond asap.”

What Happens Next
New York Supreme Court will allow Musk time to reply to St. Clair’s paternity and custody filings.

If the court is satisfied that Musk is the child’s father, St. Clair can then compel Musk to pay child support.