Elon Musk had a brief affair last fall with the wife of Sergey Brin, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, leading the Google co-founder to file for divorce earlier this year. The affair ended Musk and Brin’s formerly close relationship, according to the Journal’s report. Musk has rejected the report as a “hit piece.”
Brin and his wife, Nicole Shanahan, were separated but still living together at the time of the affair in December, a person close to her told the Journal. Brin, who married Shanahan in 2018, filed for divorce in January, citing “irreconcilable differences,” several weeks after learning of the affair, the Journal reported.
Musk rejected the Journal’s report in a tweet, calling it “total bs.”
“Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!” Musk tweeted. “I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.”
This is total bs. Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!
I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Musk and Brin had been longtime friends, with Musk reportedly often sleeping at Brin’s Silicon Valley home. Brin, who’s worth $95 billion, has made several investments in Tesla since the company was created in 2003. Alongside Larry Page, Brin contributed to a $40 million funding round in 2006. When Tesla was facing a cash crunch in 2008, Musk sent pleas to several friends for investments, according to Ashlee Vance in his 2015 biography on Musk. Brin invested $500,000.
The Journal reported that Musk apologized to Brin at a party earlier this year but that Brin, despite acknowledging the apology, isn’t on regular speaking terms with Musk.
Musk, in a subsequent tweet, called the article a “Tesla hit piece.”
News of the alleged affair comes at a turbulent time for the Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO, who’s also the wealthiest person on the planet. Earlier this month, Twitter sued Musk to complete his proposed $44 billion purchase of the social media platform after he informed Twitter he was ending the agreement to buy the company.
Around the same time, it was revealed that Musk and one of his top executives secretly had twins in November. Musk has also battled allegations that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 to settle allegations that the billionaire exposed himself to her during a flight.
Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither Brin nor Shanahan, who runs a foundation focused on reproductive justice, could immediately be reached for comment.
Update, 8:27 p.m. PT: Adds Musk’s denial of the Journal’s report.
