Why did Elon Musk reach out to Tiffany Fong in that way — and what had been happening between them online before that message?
A private proposal, a public fallout
A new controversy involving Elon Musk emerged on Apr. 16, following a report by the Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, Musk sent a private message to crypto influencer and journalist Tiffany Fong in November 2024, asking whether she would consider having his child. At the time the message was sent, the two had never met in person.
Fong, 31, has built a substantial following with over 335,000 followers on X and 48,000 subscribers on YouTube. She is known for her crypto-focused content and interviews, including coverage of major scandals involving companies such as Celsius Network and FTX.
Musk, who owns X and leads Tesla and SpaceX, has previously expressed concern about declining global birth rates. He currently has at least 14 children with four women.
The Wall Street Journal described Musk’s message as part of a broader pattern. According to the report, he seeks to have children with women he considers intelligent, potentially as part of his long-term view on sustaining humanity beyond Earth.
Fong was reportedly caught off guard by the proposal and declined. She confided in a few close friends, including conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair, saying she preferred a traditional nuclear family structure.
St. Clair later claimed that she herself had a child with Musk. After learning that Fong had disclosed the private message, Musk allegedly criticized her for a lack of discretion and unfollowed her on X.
This decision had a direct impact on Fong’s online visibility and income. During the period when Musk interacted with her content, she earned over $20,000 in two weeks. Following the unfollow, her engagement dropped, resulting in a marked decline in monthly revenue.
Events leading to the controversy
Fong began gaining recognition in the crypto space through her coverage of high-profile collapses. One of her early videos, titled “Celsius Network: I LOST $200,000”, received several thousand views on YouTube and drew early attention to her channel.
Her profile continued to grow after she conducted interviews with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried while he was under house arrest. These conversations, released publicly, further amplified her reach within the community.
Musk’s engagement with Fong’s content on X started during this period of rising visibility. In October 2023, Fong posted about a tense exchange with Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara Fried, outside a courthouse.
Musk responded directly, defending Fong and criticizing Fried’s past academic positions. His reply marked the beginning of regular public interactions between the two, which contributed to Fong’s growing audience on the platform.
Musk followed her on X in mid-2024 and began frequently engaging with her posts. These included commentary on crypto developments, political opinions, and pro-Trump content. His engagement played a role in expanding her online reach.
The increased visibility translated into revenue as well. Between October and November 2024, Fong reported platform earnings of $11,286, $16,727, and $21,252.25 in three successive two-week periods through X’s ad revenue-sharing program. She publicly acknowledged the income and credited the platform for the support.
As her audience expanded, her content took a more political turn. In October 2024, she announced her support for Donald Trump in the upcoming election. Musk responded to the post with fire emojis, signaling visible approval.
In November 2024, Musk sent her a private message on X, asking if she would consider having his child. After Fong discussed the message with a few others, Musk reportedly expressed displeasure and unfollowed her.
One month later, in December 2024, Fong became the subject of an unrelated controversy when a profile on a prostitution website surfaced using her publicly available Instagram photos.
She denied the allegations, stating that the profile was fake and that she had no connection to the site. The claims nonetheless spread on X, leading to renewed scrutiny and speculation about her credibility.
Musk unfollowed her on the platform around this time. Some users linked his decision to the false allegations, while others now suggest it was a response to Fong sharing details of the private message.
Since the report became public, Fong has not offered additional remarks beyond confirming to The Independent that she was not the source of the leak and would have preferred to keep the matter private.
Influence, incentives, and centralized attention
The response on X to the Musk–Fong episode has focused less on celebrity behavior and more on the nature of visibility in platform-based ecosystems shaped by personal interactions.
One post addressed the imbalance directly, stating that Musk “DMing Tiffany Fong to have his kid, then cutting her off when she says no” reflects poorly on someone who owns the platform and benefits from public influence.
Another user noted that very few creators in Fong’s position would have made the same choice. Within the crypto space, where many influencers lean libertarian or right-leaning, association with Musk often correlates with increased visibility and monetization.
One tweet read, “Not a lot of girls, especially influencers in the crypto or right-wing space, would’ve said no to having Musk’s kid.”
There was also discomfort around Musk’s pattern of expressing interest in having children with women he views as intelligent. While his stance on population decline has been public for years, the personal nature of his outreach to Fong and others before her has sparked renewed questions.
A separate post referred to what it described as “his obsession with making more IVF babies,” highlighting how unusual the pattern appears when combined with direct messages sent through a platform he controls.
From within the crypto community, the episode also brings a familiar tension to the surface. Although the industry promotes decentralization, most independent creators still rely on centralized platforms where algorithms shape engagement and exposure is often tied to a handful of influential accounts.
Fong’s experience shows how easily that system can shift. Her reach wasn’t impacted by protocol changes or network shifts, it changed when a single account stopped engaging. For a space built on resisting centralized power, that remains an unresolved contradiction.
