Elon Musk claimed that he was “#2 after Trump for assassination,” in text messages to a former partner who claims to be the mother of one of his children.
The tech billionaire told Ashley St Clair in a text, seen by the Wall Street Journal, that “only the paranoid survive,” citing it as a reason to keep his name off her baby’s birth certificate.
St Clair told the outlet that she had been ordered not to put Musk’s name on the official document, and warned not to hire an attorney by Musk’s longtime fixer, Jared Birchall.
The right-wing influencer first came forward with claims that she had given birth to one of Musk’s children in February.
“Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father,” she wrote. “I have not previously disclosed this to protect our child’s privacy and safety, but in recent days it has become clear that tabloid media intends to do so, regardless of the harm it will cause.”
St Clair told the WSJ that though she did hire an attorney, contrary to Birchall’s warning, she had also left Musk’s name off the birth certificate of her child. She later claimed she was pushed to sign further documents to keep details of the child a secret in return for financial support.
Per the WSJ, Musk texted her that it would be dangerous to make his relationship to the baby public, describing himself as the “#2 after Trump for assassination and adding that “only the paranoid survive.”
Musk has been concerned about his private security for a while, but has reportedly used his proximity to the president to mitigate this.
In February, CNN reported that members of Musk's protection team had been deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service, granting them certain rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents.
At the time, he claimed that the Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele had voiced concerns about his safety. "It's not enormous," Musk said of his security detail. "Maybe it should be bigger."
Musk was not, however, granted Secret Service protection, but the agency can assign a protective detail to anyone with an executive order from the president.
