Lawyers from the U.S. Virgin Islands wrote in a motion that “Epstein may have referred or attempted to refer” Musk, the owner of Twitter and chief executive of SpaceX, to JPMorgan as a client.
JPMorgan has said the allegations are meritless.
Prosecutors told Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York that they have been unable to serve Musk the subpoena. They asked Monday for permission to serve Tesla instead as Musk’s registered agent.
The government issued the subpoena April 28, according to Monday’s filing, and attempted to deliver it to Musk’s attorney. But Musk’s counsel would not grant permission to accept the subpoena on his client’s behalf.
Instead, prosecutors hired a private investigative firm to locate Musk and hand-deliver the records, but a courier was turned away upon arrival at Tesla’s Austin headquarters, where Musk is often known to work, according to affidavits filed with the court.
The subpoena orders Musk to turn over all records of communications with Epstein and JPMorgan and “all documents reflecting or regarding Epstein’s involvement in human trafficking and/or his procurement of girls or women for commercial sex.”
Musk and representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Twitter late Monday, Musk called the subpoena “idiotic on so many levels,” and said of Epstein, “That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever.”
Epstein in a 2018 interview with the New York Times said he had advised Musk during a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Musk’s leadership of Tesla. A Musk spokesman denied the exchange to the Times.
Musk also wrote on Twitter that he discontinued Tesla’s relationship with JPMorgan a decade ago.
The government’s lawsuit against the bank has involved other high-profile subpoenas and depositions. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon is set to be deposed May 26.
Prosecutors have also subpoenaed Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, former Disney executive Michael Ovitz and billionaire hotelier Thomas Pritzker.
