Update: WSJ reports Elon Musk had affair with wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, prompting divorce – Tesla CEO refutes report: 'Total BS'

Editor's note: The article has been updated with quotes from Elon Musk.

Elon Musk had an affair with the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, according to a new report. The extramarital affair allegedly caused the couple to get divorced and ended a long friendship between the two tech billionaires. However, Musk refutes the allegations.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Musk "engaged in a brief affair" with Brin's wife in December, citing people familiar with the situation. The reported affair between Musk and Nicole Shanahan began during the Art Basel art show in Miami last December.

The alleged affair took place around the same time that Musk broke up with singer Claire Elise Boucher – best known as her stage name Grimes. Musk had two children with Grimes, including a daughter who was born via a surrogate in the same month as the alleged affair.

The month prior to the affair, Musk had twins with Shivon Zilis – a senior executive at Musk's Neuralink company. In all, Musk has fathered 10 children with three women. One of his children who he had with Canadian author Justine Wilson died of sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old in 2002.

At the time of the affair, Brin and Shanahan were separated but still living together. The couple allegedly were having issues revolving around COVID-19 and caring for their toddler daughter.

In January 2022, Brin reportedly filed for divorce weeks from his wife of nearly four years after discovering that Shanahan had an affair with Musk. Brin cited "irreconcilable differences" in the divorce filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

The WSJ report claimed that Brin instructed his financial advisers to liquidate all of his investments in anything related to Musk. In 2008, Brin provided Musk with a $500,000 investment in Tesla that helped the electric car manufacturer in its infancy. Musk gifted Brin a Tesla EV in 2015. Musk regularly stayed at Brin’s Silicon Valley home, according to reports.

Following the affair, Musk allegedly apologized to Brin and even dropped to his knees to beg his longtime friend for forgiveness, according to inside sources. Brin reportedly rebuffed the apology, and the two tech billionaires have not spoken since.

Musk responded to the Wall Street Journal article on Twitter on Sunday night. The Tesla CEO refuted the report that he had an affair with Brin's wife.

"This is total BS" Musk said of the report. "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."

"WSJ has run so many bs hit pieces on me and Tesla I’ve lost count! It’s embarrassing for them, frankly," he added. "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."

When Musk was asked if there was anything that supporters could do, he replied, "Call them out on it, I guess. WSJ is supposed to have a high standard for journalism and, right now, they are way sub-tabloid. WSJ should be running stories that actually matter to their readers and have solid factual basis, not third-party random hearsay."

Musk said that 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," he tweeted. "None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!"

Musk is the richest person in the world with a net worth of more than $253 billion, according to Forbes. Meanwhile, Brin has a net worth of nearly $90 billion – making him the 10th-most-wealthiest person on the planet.

The divorce between Brin and Shanahan is ongoing. Shanahan is seeking $1 billion – which is more than she is entitled under the prenuptial agreement. However, Shanahan's legal team argues that she signed the prenup under duress while pregnant with the couple's daughter.

"I hope for Sergey and I to move forward with dignity, honesty, and harmony for the sake of our child. And we are both working towards that," Shanahan told news website Puck earlier this month.