Elon Musk is reportedly having an affair with Nicole Shanahan, who is the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. It turns out that Musk and Brin have been friends for years.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Brin, who is a Tesla investor, injected $500,000 into Musk's company during the 2008 financial crisis.
Musk returned the favor by making Brin one of the first owners of the Tesla Model X in 2015. Musk also often spends time at Brin's Silicon Valley home.
But after the affair, Brin reportedly consulted his financial advisors to sell his investments in Musk's companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and Boring Company. But it is not known how much investment Brin holds in these companies.
Musk also has a close relationship with another Google co-founder, Larry Page. Musk, Brin, and Page often hang out together and talk about weird business ideas.
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"It was great fun for the three of us to talk crazy things, and we found things that ended up being real," Page told biographer Ashlee Vance in a Vice article, as quoted by Insider, Monday (25/7/2022).
Insider also revealed that Musk once took Brin and Page for a test drive of a Tesla car. Although the test drive didn't go smoothly due to a bug problem, Musk managed to get Brin and Page to invest in his company.
Musk himself denied the Wall Street Journal report about allegations of being a third person in Brin and Shanahan's relationship. The two filed for divorce weeks after Brin learned of an affair between Shanahan and Musk that took place at the Art Basel festival in early December.
Reportedly, Musk, who had met Brin at a party, got down on his knees to apologize to his friend. Brin reportedly accepted the apology but still did not speak to Musk.
Responding to the Wall Street Journal report about the affair, Musk said it was just bullshit and he admitted that he was still close friends with Brin.
"This is complete nonsense. Sergey and I are still friends and we partied together last night!" Musk wrote in a tweet on Twitter.
"I've only met Nicole twice in three years, always with a lot of people. Nothing romantic," he continued.
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