Elon Musk accused Grimes of moving with two of their kids to California this year to keep the custody battle from playing out in Texas, according to court documents obtained by Business Insider.

Musk initially sued Grimes in Texas in September to “establish the parent-child relationship” with the three kids the pair share.

Weeks later, Grimes countersued Musk in California, seeking physical custody of the children. She told a Texas judge in October that Musk had custody of their 3-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii, over her objection.

Family-law experts previously told Insider the first fight in the case would probably be over which state had jurisdiction: California or Texas. The outcome of that fight could have major consequences for Musk, thanks to the different child-support caps in California and Texas.

Elon Musk fights to keep custody battle in Texas, where he’d have to pay only $2,760 a month in child support

Texas caps monthly child-support payments at $2,760 for three children, which is how many Musk and Grimes share. California, however, has no limit, meaning a person such as Musk — the richest in the world — could be ordered to pay an extremely high amount.

On Monday, Musk filed an amended petition saying Texas was the proper jurisdiction for their custody battle because it was the children’s home state when his initial petition was filed.

The petition also said Grimes had claimed to be a nonresident of Texas “in an apparent attempt to circumvent the jurisdiction of this Court.” While many of the specific dates in the petition had been redacted, it said Grimes moved to California at some point in 2023 with two of the kids and had not returned to Texas.

X, who is frequently pictured with Musk in public, remained with this father in Texas, the petition said.

Despite saying that Grimes and two of the kids were in California, the petition said that she and the three children had resided in Texas, primarily with Musk, for at least six consecutive months, thus making it their home state.

But in Grimes’ countersuit, she said the three children had been living with her in California since December 31 of last year.

The date that Grimes and the children moved to California could affect which state is considered their home state and, therefore, where the case plays out.

Peter Walzer, a partner of Walzer Melcher with expertise in complicated and high-net-worth family-law cases, noted that Musk’s petition cited the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act — agreements between states that dictate where custody and support cases should play out.

States have different versions of these acts, but both California’s and Texas’ UCCJEA say the child’s home state is the one where they have lived for six consecutive months prior to the custody proceedings. Walzer said Musk and Grimes could spend months just trying to prove which state the kids actually lived in.

Lawyers for Musk and Grimes did not respond to requests for comment from BI.