“What day/night would be the best party on your island?” For example, Musk wrote in November 2012 to ask for an invitation to Little St. James, Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
Although there has been no confirmation that any such visit took place, the messages contradict Musk’s long-standing insistence that he did not know Epstein well and that he had always rejected his advances. Other files reveal that a Musk associate spent several weeks with Epstein behind the scenes of a major drama for Tesla and its embattled chief executive.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
A batch of emails reviewed by WIRED show that in 2018, Musk posted on social media that he was “considering taking Tesla private,” a move that never came to fruition, with one of the CEO’s surrogates voicing Epstein for advice about financing the deal and potential board members for a reorganized Tesla. He also continued to criticize Musk’s leadership qualities.
Musk faced challenges at his companies in 2018, while his increasingly erratic behavior on social media was taking a toll on his public image. That June, as the world waited in suspense for the rescue of a Thai youth soccer team trapped in a submerged cave, he decided to get himself involved. What they offered was a miniature submarine which they claimed could transport children through narrow underwater tunnels to safety. The idea was rejected as impractical, with one cave diver dismissing it as a publicity stunt. Musk criticized the man on Twitter, calling him a “pedo man.” He later deleted the post and apologized, but doubled down on the insults in an email to BuzzFeed News, which published them.
The incident led to the man filing a lawsuit against Musk, accusing him of defamation, and Musk eventually won the case in court a year later. But amid the unfolding PR disaster, Musk took advice from high-powered lobbyist and advisor Julianna Glover as he sought to limit blowback. It was Glover who later spoke with Epstein about the plan to take Tesla private.
The idea of buying Tesla was clearly outlined in another of Musk’s now infamous tweets. “I’m considering taking Tesla private at $420,” he posted on August 7, 2018. “Funding is secure,” he added. In fact, he did not secure those funds, and on September 27, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against Musk, accusing him of “securities fraud for a series of false and misleading tweets.” Musk soon settled a $20 million fine, Tesla paid the same fine and resigned as chairman of the electric vehicle company. (Musk neither admitted nor denied the truth of the SEC’s allegations.)
In the weeks between Musk’s reckless tweets and the SEC charge, Glover was working behind the scenes to make the deal a reality — and he sought Epstein’s advice, emails published by the DOJ show.
“If you are advising sovereign funds to help take a major company private, please let me know if I can be of any help with additional information,” Glover wrote to Epstein on August 12. Epstein responded: “Clever.”
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