Elon Musk insisted to The Post on Monday: “I would not get down on my knees and beg for anyone” after he was accused of ruining his friendship with Google co-founder Sergey Brin sleeping with his wife.
The 51-year-old billionaire hit back after the Wall Street Journal reported that he got down on one knee and begged Brin, 48, to forgive him after an alleged flirtation with his best friend’s estranged wife, Nicole Shanahan.
The Journal said in a statement Monday: “We are confident in our sourcing and stand behind our reporting.”
Musk, who adamantly denies sleeping with Shanahan, maintained that he and Brin were still on very good terms, despite rumors that their bromance had cooled in the wake of the alleged betrayal.
The richest man in the world exclusively insisted to The Post that he had never knelt in front of his billionaire colleague because “I would only kneel to propose to him.
“And I have not proposed to Sergey,” Musk joked.
When asked if he would consider suing the media outlet for report that the alleged December fling was the catalyst for Brin’s divorcethe Tesla tycoon said it was better to make his denial known on Twitter.
“Legal action by a public figure against a news organization in the United States is useless. Better to rebut on Twitter or ignore, which is what I do most of the time,” Musk told The Post in an email.
“I spoke with Sergey and Nicole about the article and they both insisted that they had not spoken to the WSJ or authorized anyone to speak on their behalf,” Musk wrote.
“Also, I was with Sergey from Saturday night to yesterday afternoon with a lot of mutual friends and it was a super positive vibe.”
Earlier Monday, Musk sent The Post a photo of himself partying with Brin and insisted the fling claims were “total rubbish” and joked that he “hasn’t even had sex in a long time (sigh).” .
Musk also said that he had only seen Shanahan twice in the three years, and both times “with a lot of people around.
“We were not romantically involved in any way,” Musk reiterated before doubling down on similar messages shared on Twitter.
Later on Monday night, the eccentric billionaire complained about the unwanted attention he was receiving.
“The amount of attention on me has gone supernova, which sucks,” Musk tweeted. “I will do my best to stay focused on doing useful things for civilization.”
The Journal, citing a person close to Shanahan, reported that Brin and Shanahan were separated but still living together when the so-called affair unfolded during Miami’s wealthy Art Basel festival.
The Google co-founder, who is worth $90 billion, filed for divorce in January, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
