Japanese pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki would like you to know that Elon Musk is not the father of her two children, thank you very much.

This misunderstanding stemmed from a New York Times article in late May, where one of Musk's ex-flames, Ashley St. Clair, said that the American billionaire had fathered the child of "a Japanese pop star".

Some netizens believe it's Japanese TV personality Tenka Hashimoto, while others suspect it's 46-year-old Hamasaki.

For the record, Musk, 53, has already fathered 14 children with several different women.

Hamasaki went on social media earlier this week to quash the rumours.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on this, and I guess it’s time for me to speak up. Elon Musk is not the father of [either of] my kids," the singer said on Instagram on June 2.

The J-pop star, who has been married twice, has two children aged six and four. She has remained tight-lipped about their father's identity.

Hamasaki is more amused than upset at the rumours.

She said: "I mean, I can understand if someone were to think it seems like the sort of thing I’d do. Even my mum laughed when she heard the rumours, saying, ‘This seems kind of Ayu-like'."

Hamasaki added that she felt the need to set the record straight for the sake of her children.

“Setting aside my personal image, when my kids are old enough to start Googling things I don’t want them to run into the rumours and think they’re true, so I’m firmly denying them," she said.