Elon Musk dismisses report claiming an affair between him & Google co-founder Brin's wife

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on Monday, categorically denied a media report that alleged he was having an affair with Nicole Shanahan - the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. "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 [sic]," Musk wrote on Twitter, responding to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which claimed his affair. The report also claimed that Musk’s affair with Shanahan led her and Brin to file for divorce early this year.

In a filing submitted at the Superior Court of California in January, the couple reportedly cited "irreconcilable differences" and stated that they had split on 15 December 2021. Notably, the Google co-founder had tied the knot with Shanahan in 2018. “I hope for Sergey and me 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, as reported by the WSJ. 

Brin asks financial advisors to sell his holdings in Musk's companies 

According to reports, Brin and Musk were longtime friends and the former also provided the Tesla chief with $500,000 in 2008, when the company was going through a financial crisis. Meanwhile, Musk also gifted one of Tesla's first all-electric sport utility cars to Brin in 2015. However, the tension between the two business tycoons and their teams has grown over the past few months, the WSJ reported citing people privy to the matter. They reportedly stated that Brin has instructed his financial advisors to liquidate his holdings in Musk's companies. 

Shanahan seeks over $1 billion from the Google co-founder: Report

It is significant to mention here that Musk’s alleged affair with the Google co-founder’s wife reportedly started in December 2021, at the annual Art Basel event which is an exhibition organised by international galleries and panel discussions attended by wealthy collectors. Musk’s involvement with Shanahan at the multiday fair took place after Tesla CEO’s split with the Canadian pop singer Grimes in September 2021. While Brin filed for divorce last year, Shanahan is now reportedly demanding over $1 billion from the Google co-founder who has a worth of $90 billion as the two of them are currently going through the divorce mediation procedures.

(Image: AP/@Sergey Brin/Facebook)