Elon Musk

Elon Musk is a businessman known for leading the electric-vehicle maker Tesla and the space company SpaceX, and as the owner of the social platform X. He is also founder of the artificial-intelligence company xAI and co-founder of Neuralink and The Boring Company.

Musk appears in the released Epstein documents through a series of email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein. According to CBS News, the messages span 2012 to 2014 and discuss Epstein’s Caribbean island: a November 25, 2012 email in which Epstein asked about bringing guests by helicopter and Musk replied “Probably just Talulah and me” (a reference to his then-wife Talulah Riley); a Christmas 2012 message in which Musk asked “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”; a November 2013 invitation that Musk accepted; and 2014 scheduling notes that referenced a possible December visit, with later uncertainty about whether it took place. PBS News similarly reports that the emails are from 2012-2013 and that “it’s not immediately clear if the island visits took place,” adding that Musk’s representatives at Tesla and X did not respond to requests for comment.

Both CBS News and PBS News report Musk’s own response. CBS News quotes Musk’s statement on social media that he “had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations” to visit the island or use Epstein’s plane, while acknowledging the emails could be “misinterpreted.” PBS News notes that Musk has maintained he repeatedly turned down the financier’s overtures, citing a 2025 post in which Musk wrote that Epstein “tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED.”

Is Elon Musk in the Epstein files?

Yes. Elon Musk, the businessman who leads Tesla and SpaceX, is named in the released Epstein documents through email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein dated 2012 to 2014, according to CBS News and PBS News. The reported emails discuss Epstein’s Caribbean island and parties, but the records do not establish whether any visit occurred, and PBS News notes it is not clear the island visits took place. Musk has said he had little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to the island. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing.

Evidence

These passages come from the Epstein records released by the U.S. Department of Justice, reported by CBS News, with our annotations connecting each to the claims this profile makes. Read the originals via the link beneath the panel.

Read the originals: DOJ Epstein Files (full release) ↗

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Elon Musk. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Musk has said he declined repeated invitations to Epstein’s island.

• DOJ Epstein Files (full release) — The Justice Department’s release of files from the federal inquiry into Epstein includes the 2012–2014 email exchanges in which Epstein and Musk discussed a possible visit to Epstein’s Caribbean island, as reported by CBS News, Fortune, and NBC News. The emails do not establish that any visit took place.