Billionaire Elon Musk is responding to a bombshell report published by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
According to the WSJ, the Tesla CEO was the reason that Google co-founder Sergey Brin asked for a divorce from his wife, Nicole Shanahan, in January. Sources told the publication that Musk had a “brief” affair with Shanahan late last year, which later led to Musk dropping down to one knee – in public – to apologize to Brin.
However, Musk took to Twitter on Sunday night to slam the report as “total BS.”
Elon Musk Denies Cheating Allegations, Says He ‘Hasn’t Had Sex In Ages’
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
On Sunday, Musk responded to a tweet being shared from the Whole Mars Catalog. It’s not clear who exactly runs the account, but it has long been speculated that it’s run by a friend of Musk, or even the SpaceX founder himself.
“This is total bs,” Musk said of the article. “Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!” Musk went on to say, “I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.”
WSJ has run so many bs hit pieces on me and Tesla I’ve lost count! It’s embarrassing for them, frankly.
They once wrote an article saying FBI was about to arrest me, so I called FBI to ask what’s up and they said WSJ article was total bs.
Just more shortseller fud.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Tesla investor Dave Lee commented, “Wow then the @wsj journal just ran the craziest hit piece ever. Shameless.”
“WSJ has run so many bs hit pieces on me and Tesla I’ve lost count! It’s embarrassing for them, frankly,” he wrote. “They once wrote an article saying FBI was about to arrest me, so I called FBI to ask what’s up and they said WSJ article was total bs. Just more shortseller fud.”
Haven’t even had sex in ages (sigh)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
When the Whole Mars Catalog expressed relief in hearing Musk deny the rumors, Musk responded, “Haven’t even had sex in ages (sigh).”
Musk Did Say That The ‘Attacks’ Against Him Would Escalate
You said these attacks against you would escalate and you were right. pic.twitter.com/qtCTzRRx7e
— ALEX (@ajtourville) July 25, 2022
Many are calling into question a tweet Musk made on May 18, when he warned that “Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months” after he revealed that he now politically identifies as a Republican.
“You said these attacks against you would escalate and you were right,” one user commented.
Yeah, the character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers.
I work crazy hours, so there just isn’t much time for shenanigans.
None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Musk agreed, stating, “Yeah, the character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers. I work crazy hours, so there just isn’t much time for shenanigans. None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!”
On May 19, one day after Musk’s tweet, Business Insider reported that a SpaceX flight attendant claimed that Musk had exposed himself to her and propositioned her for sex. The company reportedly paid her $250,000 for her silence.
Elon Musk told Insider that there is “a lot more to this story,” adding, “If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light.” He also called the article a “politically motivated hit piece.”
My commitment:
– We will never seek victory in a just case against us, even if we will probably win.
– We will never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
Only one day after that, Musk seemed eager to assemble his own “hardcore litigation department,” where they will “directly initiate & execute lawsuits.”
Looking for hardcore streetfighters, not white-shoe lawyers like Perkins or Cooley who thrive on corruption.
There will be blood.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
Musk said that he was “Looking for hardcore streetfighters, not white-shoe lawyers like Perkins or Cooley who thrive on corruption.”
It remains to be seen if Musk will pursue legal action against the Wall Street Journal for the article. For what it’s worth, according to The Factual, WSJ scored an average Factual Grade of 64.5% in a data set of one thousand articles. However, as a whole, the WSJ is reported to have a “Moderate Right” bias.
The Wall Street Journal is owned by the family of Rupert Murdoch through the media company News Corp., which also owns British tabloids The Sun and The Times. The Murdoch family also owns Fox News.
