Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk — a longtime friend of Brin’s — briefly dated Shanahan in December 2021 while she and Brin were separated but still living together. The publication cited unnamed people close to the matter.
“I work crazy hours, so there’s just not much time for jokes,” he said
Tesla (TSLA) said the boss on a Monday
I tweet.
“None of the main people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were interviewed!” he added.
In a previous one
I tweetMusk, the world’s richest man, described the report as “total BS” and said he and Brin were still friends — and had attended a party together the night before.
“I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with lots of other people around. Nothing romantic,” he added.
Brin filed for divorce from Shanahan in January on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, according to court documents filed in California seen by The Journal. He did so weeks after discovering the affair, the publication said.
The two billionaires have been friends for years, with Bri providing about $500,000 in funding for Tesla in 2008 when the company was struggling financially, the Journal said.
Musk reportedly got down on one knee in front of Brin at a party earlier this year to apologize for the matter, she added.
Musk, Brin and Shanahan did not immediately respond to CNN Business when reached for comment. Shanahan’s divorce attorney also did not respond when contacted.
Brin resigned as president of Alphabet (GOOGLE), the parent company of Google, in 2019. He founded the search engine in 1998 with Larry Page. Both Brin and Page continue to serve on Alphabet’s board.
Musk’s problems in the spotlight
Musk’s relationships, family issues, and legal troubles have become an increasing part of public conversation recently.
The head of Tesla and SpaceX is currently involved in a bitter legal battle with him I tweet (TWTR) on its $44 billion buyout deal. Musk had sought to buy the company but pulled out earlier this month, accusing the social media company of failing to hand over vital information about the number of bots on its platform — a claim Twitter denies.
In May, Musk denied allegations that he sexually harassed a SpaceX flight attendant in 2016. In June, one of Musk’s children filed a petition in a California court to recognize her new name and gender, saying she does not want to be more closely related to her famous and wealthy father “in any way, shape or form.” And last month, Insider reported that Musk welcomed twins last year with an executive at one of his companies, Neuralink.
Musk said Monday in a tweet that “character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year.”
– Clare Duffy contributed reporting.
