How Epstein tried and failed to trap Elon Musk: A timeline
Send in Jenn. Position Svetlana. Dangle Woody Allen. For two years, Jeffrey Epstein ran his full playbook on Elon Musk — only to end with Musk blocking his email.
Jeffrey Epstein spent two years trying to befriend Elon Musk and getting him to one of his properties. He juggled between name-drops, party invitations, suggestive comments and a cast of women instructed to position themselves near the Musk brothers. Musk’s work schedule, low interest and a couple fortuitous cancellations meant none of it landed. By December 2014, Musk had blocked Epstein's email address.
At least, that is the story the Epstein files tell. Though it is not the story that went viral.
When excerpts of Musk’s and Epstein’s correspondence surfaced online, the framing was incriminating: Musk asking about parties on Epstein's island, cringe-worthy (fake) emails about "girls FTW," and the implication of a close relationship, earning Musk a star of the Walk of Shame.
Yet when reading the emails in full and in sequence, the picture looks different. The files do not fully vindicate Musk — he accepted Epstein's island invitation twice, even if the plans never materialized. But they confirm that the relationship stayed superficial, that Musk repeatedly declined or ignored Epstein's overtures, and that the correspondence was minimal as Musk has claimed.
What the files also reveal is the sheer relentlessness of Epstein’s pursuit — and the lengths he went to, including ensnaring Musk’s brother in the process. What emerges is a portrait of someone running a well-oiled playbook on one of the world’s richest men, and failing.
This piece draws on the DoJ’s Epstein library and jmail.world, the Gmail-style search tool built by Riley Walz and Luke Igel, to extract all correspondence, direct and indirect, in which Musk appears. The emails are messy — duplicated across folders, riddled with typos and encoding artifacts — and I’ve quoted them as-is. A full timeline is included at the end. Any omissions are unintentional; corrections are welcome.
“Just finished lunch with boris and musk”
2012 was the first year that Musk appeared on Forbes’ billionaires list. It was also the year of his first encounter with Epstein.
“Just finished lunch with boris and musk,” Epstein wrote on February 28, in the first sign of a meeting between the two. They were in New York, in the wake of the Oscars 2012 ceremony and after-party, which Musk attended. Boris refers to Boris Nikolic, founder of Biomatics Capital and then chief science advisor to Bill Gates. Nikolic has expressed shock at being named as an executor in Epstein’s will; the files show he was on close and friendly terms with Epstein for years.
Nikolic seems to have been Epstein’s gateway to the Musk brothers. He brought Musk to the February lunch: “I will come with one of musk brothers. Ok?”, he told Epstein. He also got Epstein invited to Kimbal Musk’s 40th birthday celebrations that September, a night out on the 20th and black tie event on the 22nd.
It’s unclear if Epstein attended either night out, but he used the opportunity to ask Nikolic to orchestrate a lunch at his house with the Musk brothers the same weekend. Nikolic delivered, and Musk came for lunch on the Sunday at one of Epstein’s New York houses, along with his then ex (and future) wife Talulah Riley, Hyatt fortune heir Nicholas J. Pritzker, and Musk’s friend and author Jonah Nolan.
What comes next is two years of emails showing Epstein operating on two parallel tracks. On the surface, he was frequently emailing Musk and trying to engage him using personal talk, name-dropping and invitations. Behind the scenes, he was positioning women to (presumably) seduce Musk at opportune moments. Sturm, Svetlana and possibly others whose names are redacted returned empty handed; Kimbal was not so lucky.
The email courtship
The first direct email exchange between Musk and Epstein came after the lunch on September 23. “That was indeed a very enjoyable conversation!” Musk wrote, to which Epstein replied “Hopefully the first of many”.
From then on to December 2014, with a six month hiatus in 2014, Epstein emailed Musk repeatedly and persistently, sometimes multiple times a month. These were always brief, written in an informal tone, and peppered with invitations, suggestive comments or attempts at striking up a personal conversation. From inquiring how Musk was doing, inviting him to his island, New York, his New Mexico ranch and even Paris, asking him about Solar City or talking about Kimbal, Epstein tried a range of ways to get a conversation going.
At first, he tried getting to Musk through Kimbal. In October, hot on the heels of the lunch, he invited Musk for lunch with Nikolic and Kimbal in New York, and then again to see “Kimbal and his new romance”.
At other times, Epstein tried the “fun” card. “will be in paris 17-20 , come, stay, plenty of room and much f=n”, he wrote that same month. Sometimes he combined it with flattery. “Congragulations „ now its time for fun,” he wrote on March 2, 2013, likely in reference to SpaceX’s successful resupply mission to the ISS. “Thanks. Now I need to focus on Tesla. Hopefully will have that sorted out in a few months,” came the response. “will you take a break? april, ?”, Epstein followed up. “April should be better, but it depends on how well Q1 goes,” Musk replied.
He also dangled women — mentioning Svetlana on a couple of occasions, giving Musk a heads up about the “ratio” on his island, and said, referring to an invite in September 2013, “there is no one over 25 and all very cute”. Musk picked up on none of these comments.
In 2013, Epstein started using name-dropping. “any east coast plans, just emailed with ovitz and sinofsky”, he wrote on January 29, 2013, referring to the investors Michael Ovitz and Steven Sinofsky. “No, I am focused on Tesla and SpaceX execution. Not sure I understand the context in which you are mentioning Ovitz and Sinofsky,” Musk replied. “they thought you were great,” Epstein offered. No reply.
Woody Allen or Ehud Barak were recurring ones. Here’s one such exchange from April 10, 2013, where Epstein flaunted the film director and the former Israeli prime minister:
Jeffrey: “are you coming to east coast?”
Musk: “no firm plans”
Jeffrey: “april 23 , you are welcome to come to dinner with woody alien and crowd at my house, it will be fun,”
Musk: “Thanks. I might be in town for the Time 100. Not sure yet.”
Jeffrey: “Great , last minute always ok, in town is the former israelindefensevninister, Ehud bark, I think you would enjoy him”
On July 22, he tried Barak again, this time through the Tesla angle:
Jeffrey: ehud bank, former defense minster of israel, former prime minister and head of the munich team, would like to discuss taking tesla to israel. he is very clever about many things that you have in the past shown interest in, when you are next on my coast let me know
Musk: Not a week passes without a request from someone important in Israel (and other countries) wanting to bring Tesla there. What they don’t appreciate is that Tesla is production constrained, not demand constrained. When production has increased to the point of addressing the major markets, then we will start shipping to tiny markets.
Jeffrey: understood, how are you iw in santa fe for august , come visit
In 2014, he started name-dropping LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and Joi Ito, former director of MIT Media Lab. “spoke to reid hoffman yesterday, are you planning to do st barth again f=r xmas?,” Epstein wrote, on September 2, 2014. “you are welcome to the island . reid is coming with joi ito, on the 6 t= of dec come vist”, he added after an inconclusive reply.
In all, Epstein invited and tried to hook up with Musk some twenty times in that timespan. These included five invitations to the Caribbean, four to New York, two to his New Mexico ranch, and various other attempts at meeting up. The propositions ranged from formal dinners, to open-ended messages such as “Any East Coast plans?”
Musk replied most of the time, remaining cordial but always brief, usually ignoring follow-up emails and suggestive hints, declining most of the invitations (typically due to travels), while also never reciprocating. Where Musk did bite, was for the island invitations. More on those later.
A meager harvest
Besides the initial September lunch at his house, only one Epstein’s efforts materialized into an encounter. This was at a SpaceX tour on February 25 2013. In 2020, Musk said that Epstein never toured SpaceX “to the best our knowledge”. The files show the visit did happen and included a lunch between Epstein and Musk.
Epstein would likely have preferred another setting – he invited (unsuccessfully) Kimbal to the island on January 24, asked Musk about his East Coast plans five days later, inquired if they would meet at TED, and tried to get him to his ranch.
With nothing biting, Epstein’s assistant told Musk on February 19 that Epstein would like to meet at SpaceX “as you suggested.” Epstein brought four female assistants with him, following up after the meeting: “thanks for the tour , you would have had fun at xmas”. “I see 🙂,” Musk replied.
They might also have crossed paths at social events, of course. They both attended a couple of “Edge” dinners in March and July of 2011, for instance, large elite affairs organized by publicist Jonathan Brockman with over 30 high profile guests.
Then there was the exclusive Baumé restaurant dinner in Palo Alto on August 2, 2015, long after the two had stopped talking. Organized by Ito, the 10 guests included Musk, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Hoffman and neuroscientist Ed Boyden.
A photo that Epstein took that night has circulated online, further implying that the two were socializing. But the emails tell a different story: Epstein was not on the original guest list. Ito, who said the dinner had been a year in the making, had not invited him, and Epstein only found out about it days before. It was Hoffman who added him, at the last minute.
The honey-traps
While his correspondence with Musk was playing out, Epstein was running his second track. Behind the scenes, he can be seen devising ways to hook up his girls with the Musk brothers, never missing a beat every time a potential meetup is on the horizon.
“any spare ambien”
The first such “honey-trap” we can glean was orchestrated by Epstein and in a large part Nikolic for Kimbal’s birthday. Emails show Epstein and Nikolic planning to hook up the brothers with “Jenn” (who had worked with Epstein for 6 years already at that point, as his assistant). From what I can tell, Jenn attended both nights out.
“So please prepare Jen —;)” Nikolic told Epstein on September 18. “She might like Elon as well.” On the 21st, Nikolic brought up Ambien to keep Kimbal’s ex out of the way. “We will need to distract the ex (any spare ambien);-)”, he wrote.
The plan worked like a charm and the emails show Kimbal became smitten with Jenn, entering a seven month long relationship. Unbeknownst to him, Jenn was continuously controlled by Epstein, forwarding Kimbal’s emails to her puppet master, who micromanaged her every move (even - it seems - long after their breakup).
Kimbal has since said he met Jenn through a friend, not Epstein. The emails don’t support this. On October 7, he thanked Nikolic and Epstein effusively for connecting him with Jennifer, saying “I believe you both played a role. :)”. Nikolic told him to be nice with her, saying “Jeffrey goes crazy when someone mistreats his girls/friends”, to which Kimbal answered: “Message received wide and clear”.
There is no indication that Kimbal understood that she was an Epstein pawn. When Kimbal told her in April 2013 that he was not able to have a “real relationship” due to his life being too complicated, and offering to go back to dating on weekends, Jenn forwarded it to Epstein, saying “ I just don’t think I’d EVER be a priority”.
She also forwarded the email to Steve Hanson (NYC restaurant mogul, founder of BR Guest), who scolded her for giving Kimbal too much too fast. “Leave NOW. In 1 week we will have. A plan for u,” Hanson wrote. “U have to control this. It’s a game. Your losing. You’re not even playing. Also turn your phone off.”
“his wife was hanging [onto] him”
Jenn was not the only woman deployed at Kimbal’s birthday. That same weekend, Epstein communicated with at least one if not two other women about Musk. On the day of the party, he emailed someone, writing just “Elon Musk”. Her reply: “perfect!!! let me know execly what he wants, will organize all) x “. This could have been intended for Kimbal’s birthday, or for the planned lunch in Epstein’s New York house the next day.
After the party, a woman – the same person? we don’t know – emailed Epstein saying “Talked to elan, he was looking at me. But his wife was hanging on him.”
“tell Musk that the blonde is… yfke sturm”
On the day of the lunch at his house on the 23rd, Epstein brought Dutch supermodel Yfke Sturm with him. We know this because in a follow up email to Pritzker after the lunch, Epstein wrote: “tell Musk that the blonde that walked with me , is a friend of his mothers that tried to set her up with him her name is yfke sturm”. Based on emails from Sturm to Epstein after this, it seems again that nothing came out of it.
Was Sturm independently friends with Musk’s mom (Maye Musk) and Epstein, or had Epstein set her up to befriend her? All we can see is that Sturm was in communication, clearly personal and suggestive at times, with Epstein from late 2011 to early 2014, with a peak in activity in 2012. And that two days before the lunch, Epstein’s scheduling assistant Lesley Groff wrote to Sturm: “Hi Yfke!! Epstein would like to speak with you!!”
“svetlana will be in paris… much fun”
By October, Sturm is old news. After Musk declined Epstein’s invitation to hang out in New York in October 2012 due to travels, Epstein didn’t skip a beat and asked if he would be in Europe instead. Musk said he would be in Germany, to which Epstein responded: “svetlana will be in paris 17-20 , come, stay, plenty of room and much fun”. Musk answered “Ok, will try to make it”, though he never did.
The name Svetlana shows up again in December 2012, when Epstein and Musk tried to connect on the Caribbean and Epstein says he will leave Svetlana behind for New Year’s Eve. An email from a female sender on December 31 suggests this latest attempt also tanked: “Went to p daddy party! Met some interesting ppl , didn’t see Musk though((“. The email is signed “kisssss”. Searching for this as a keyword, a certain Svetlana (among others) comes up with the same signature.
A few days later, Epstein forwarded his upcoming lunch date with Musk to a redacted recipient who answered: “Sounds perfect!!! Thank you”. It was not to be; Musk fell ill and cancelled the lunch.
“You would have had fun at xmas”
Epstein even used the SpaceX tour as an opportunity for a seduction campaign – bringing not just one, but three girls and his assistant Groff along with him.
“I can either come wtih assistants ( four , ) or alone,” he wrote to Musk. “Up to you,” Musk replied. The girls – a Russian and two South Africans – duly came along, possibly tagging along for the lunch as well. Nothing came out of those encounters either, as far as we can tell.
“no Musk…. fly straight to new york”
Two months later, Epstein was once again coordinating with a female recipient about Musk. This time the setting was the Milken Conference in LA in April 2013, where the Musk brothers were panelists. Epstein was evidently interested in their whereabouts during the event, asking a redacted recipient: “what is Musk and kimbal doing sun night?”. But Jenn and Kimbal’s breakup threw a spanner in the works. On the 29th, Epstein told someone – which appears as Svetlana in Jmail – to cancel her plans to come to LA, saying Musk will not be there in the end: “you should fly straight to new york instead of los angeles. jenn broke up with kimbal therefore no Musk [...]”.
This is the last example visible in the files of Epstein scheming with a woman about Musk. Throughout, he was also keeping an eye on Musk’s love life. In October 2012, Epstein forwarded a Business Insider article to someone (a woman, judging by the response) about Musk wanting a girlfriend. In May 2013, someone (again, redacted), emailed Epstein with only a subject line that read: “Musk is dating Cameron Diaz”. Epstein replied, “Antoine told me”.
“What day/night will be the wildest party?”
The most scrutinized part of the Musk-Epstein correspondence involves two attempts to get Musk to Epstein’s private Caribbean island (Little St James, in the US BVI). In both cases, Musk was receptive and scheduled a visit; on both occasions, Epstein canceled at the last minute.
In the fall of 2012, Epstein twice invited Musk to come to his island for November or December. Musk said he and Riley would be in another Caribbean island (St Bart) for the holidays, to which Epstein said he would send a helicopter to fetch him. They converged on December 28-30, with Musk adding, “Looking forward to it.”
While coordinating the visit, Musk inquired about parties. “What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?,” he asked in late November. Then again in December, Musk asked about parties, saying he was looking to let loose.
At this point, Epstein backtracked from the invitation. Saying the ratio on his island would make Riley uncomfortable, he offered to come to St Bart instead, even though Musk replied that she wouldn’t mind the ratio. It’s unclear why Epstein backpedaled after having tried so hard to get him to the island — had he been hoping for Musk to leave Riley behind? Whatever the reason, the pair tried to connect on St Bart instead. It didn’t work, leaving Epstein to say he would leave Svetlana and Jenn — who was dating Kimbal at the time — behind for New Years Eve, (as one does), before following up with two lunch attempts the next few days.
Here is the entire correspondence related to the 2012 Caribbean visit, collated in one place: (Svetlana’s and Jenn’s names are redacted in the DOJ files, but one version appears unredacted in the Epstein research tool Webb. Other emails confirm that the two were on St Bart, eg this one)
Oct 19-20 2012
Jeffrey: I will be in ny for next week, will see your brother and his new romance=
Musk: The world needs more romance. I will be in NY around mid Nov for some media events, but not before. Talulah and I are headed to St Barth’s at the end of the year. I assume yo= will most likely be on your island?
Jeffrey: an easy but correct assumption„ we will catch up either in ny , or i will=send a heli to st bail for you„ 45 minutes away
Nov 2 2012
Musk: What’s a good time to come over between Dec 23 and 30?
Jeffrey: Probably after Xmas day. Any day, lets choose a sunny one Glad you are coming
Musk: Let’s aim for Dec 28, 29 or 30. Looking forward to it.
Nov 24-25 2012
Jeffrey: how many people will you be for the heli to island
Musk: Probably just Talulah and me. What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?
Dec 24-25 2012
Jeffrey: you are welcome to stay or just come for the day, plenty of rroom i will=send heli to get you
Musk: Do you have any parties planned? I’ve been working to the edge of sanity th=s year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hi= the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose. The invitation is=much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what=l’m looking for.
Jeffrey: Understood , I will see you on st Barth, the ratio on my island might m=ke Talilah uncomfortable
Musk: Ratio is not a problem for Talulah
Dec 28 2012
Jeffrey: I will be in st barth tomorrow „ how do I find you?
Musk: Do you want to join us (and some others) for drinks on the 30th around 10 o= 11?
Jeffrey: we will only come tomorrow, for the day, will be seeing friends in the po=t for awhile, return to my island in the Evening
Musk: Unfortunately, we are not on St Bart’s tomorrow. Back afternoon of the 30th=
Jeffrey: how long will you stay, ? we go back and forth ,
Musk: Through 2nd
Dec 29 2012
Jeffrey: , due to high winds, we will now arrive on the 31 in the morning , I will=leave svetlana and jenn on st bart , for ny eve.Enjpy
Musk: Ok, we could perhaps get together for lunch on the 31st.
Jan 1-2 2013
Jeffrey: sorry we didn’t connect, why don’t you consider clearing customs into the states in st thomas , come for lunch with the wife
Musk: Logistics won’t work this time around.
Jeffrey: shame „ there will be others, i am here off and on all year
Jan 3-4 2013
Jeffrey: anytime tonororw in st abarths?
Musk: Could meet for lunch. Will be with Talulah and her friend Debs.
(Jeffrey forwards the above to redacted sender, who responds: Sounds perfect!!! Thank you)
Jeffrey: I will land at 12 , anytime after great, look forward to i
Musk: Anyplace here that you like to have lunch?
Musk: I’ve been ill all night. Not sure if it is food poisoning or a bug. Either =ay, I’m not well enough for lunch. Will have to meet another time. Sorry a=out this.
“FYI. In the works”... “Great, Ho HO HO”
November 2013 rolled in and Epstein invited Musk again in to his island, name-dropping Woody Allen “will you come to caribean this xmas? , woody alien with me, you might enjoy”, to which Musk replied “Yes”.
On December 13, Musk enquired about a good time to visit. From what I can tell, this is the only time in all their exchanges that Musk initiated contact. The ensuing correspondence is pretty subdued, no talk of parties, and this time Epstein canceled due to travels.
Prior to the cancellation, Groff forwarded Musk’s exchange to recipients including Ann Rodriguez and Epstein pilot Larry Visoski, commenting: “FYI. In the works. Merry Christmas!!” To which one recipient (Lvjet – possibly Larry??) replied: “Great, Ho HO HO” and another answered: “Thanks all!! Merry Xmas!!”.
Here again, is the entirety of the email chain about a December 2013 visit:
Dec 13-15 2013
Musk: Will be in the BVI/St Bart’s area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit?
Jeffrey: any day 1st - 8th . play it by ear if you want. always space for you
Musk: Ok, probably the 1st then.
Dec 25 2013
Jeffrey: the 2 or 3 would be perfect. I will come and get you.
Musk: I need to fly back to LA on the night of the 2nd, so w
Musk: Actually, I could fly back early on the 3rd. We will be in St Bart’s. When should we head to your island on the 2nd?
Dec 30 2013
Jeffrey: Bad news• Unfortunately , my schedule will keep me in New York . I was rea=ly looking forward to finally spending some time together with just fun as=the agenda. so i am very disappointed. Hopefully we can schedule anothe= time in the near future.
Musk: No problem
Jan 6 2014
Jeffrey: sorry it didn’t work , out just getting over it. how was your trip?
Musk: Great
Feb 2 2014
Jeffrey: you or you and talulah, are welcome for breakfast tomorw.
These exchanges show that Musk was open to visiting the island, and hardly “refused”, despite his later claims. However, he doesn’t seem desperate as some have claimed, nor was it a case of ditching his family to party on the island — he was clearly already in the Caribbean, holidaying with Riley.
“there is no one over 25 and all very cute”
To what extent did Musk understand what Epstein’s playbook was really about?
It’s not like Epstein didn’t drop multiple hints. Between the mentions of Svetlana, the “ratio” on his island, or “you would have had fun at xmas”, the signs were there to pick up on.
And still, Musk never engaged back with any of those comments, remaining remarkably naïve. Take when Epstein invited him in September 2013, saying the 68th opening of the United Nations general assembly “has many interesting people coming to the house”. “Flying to NY to see UN diplomats do nothing would be an unwise use of time,” Musk responded. To which Epstein fired back, “do you think i am retarded, . ? just kidding , there is no one over 25 and all very cute”.
“Address rejected”
December 2013 marks the last friendly exchange between the pair. After one invitation in February 2014, Epstein made no contact before the fall. Did something happen offline, to cool things between them? The hiatus is in stark contrast to the previous year.
The only mention of Musk in that time period is in emails with Greg Wyler, founder of low earth satellite company OneWeb, whom Epstein appears to have been advising on obtaining funding and setting up a team. Emails between the two go back to April 2013. Without having spent much time digging into these, it seems Epstein was encouraging Wyler to have Musk on board in some capacity. In May, Wyler told Epstein he had a “great relationship” with Musk. In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wyler had left Google and had been seen at SpaceX.
Maybe in relation to this, or not, in September, Epstein got back in touch with Musk. Musk’s replies are noticeably more terse. On the 2nd, Epstein name-dropped Hoffman and asked Musk about plans to come to the Caribbean; Musk replied “Don’t know”. Epstein then said Hoffman and Ito would come to the island on December 6 and Musk should join, to which Musk answered “OK”. Epstein took contact again that month, this time inviting Musk to meet with Hoffman and Ito in Palm Beach on the 28th, before flying to the island. Musk said he would be abroad and ignored Epstein’s follow-up.
In October, Wyler told Epstein Musk would not be investing in his venture, prompting an incredulous Epstein to respond: “?? if elon is not funding how are you getting it done?”. (Wyler and Musk would not work together and SpaceX announced its rival venture Starlink in January 2015. The split was acrimonious).
Ahead of the December 6 gathering – to which Epstein also invited Bill Gates and Danny Hillis – a scheduling email for Epstein shows Musk hadn’t confirmed his attendance. He didn’t go, judging by this December 11 email from Epstein, in which he again name-dropped Hoffman and asked if Musk would come to the Caribbean for the holidays. In a twist, the email bounced with the message: “550 5.1.0 Address rejected”. This could have been prompted by a wider SpaceX mail policy change blocking external emails, or by Musk blocking Epstein’s email.
Musk has lent credence to the second explanation. In a post on X, he said this made Epstein really upset, so much so that he got Gates to short Tesla’s stock in retaliation. “After I ghosted him, Epstein went on a massive campaign to short Tesla and got Gates to short 1% of Tesla stock when the market cap was $40B.”
Whether or not that is true, the files do indicate that Epstein lost his access to Musk. The December 11 2014 email is the last direct correspondence between them. In 2015, the Emirati businessman Sultan Bin Sulayem asked Epstein for an intro to Musk to pitch him a plan to use Tesla batteries for his hotels. When Sultan inquired a second time, Epstein forwarded his request to someone – possibly Nikolic, or Jenn? – with “Re: from sultan , are you still conact with kimball” as the subject line.
Nothing shows up in the files for 2015 (except for the Baume dinner) or 2016. In 2017, a delighted Sultan told Epstein he got to meet Musk and said they would work with Tesla Batteries in Africa.
In 2017, Nikolic mentioned Musk in the context of the April TED conference in Vancouver, where Musk spoke on the 28th, but Epstein said he wouldn’t attend.
The last references to Musk are in 2018, when Epstein was contacted as a source on a major story that the New York Times was planning on Musk. But this will have to be for another piece.
Where does this all leave us? From September 2012 to December 2014, with a hiatus of six months, Epstein went all out in cultivating Musk’s friendship and trying to hook him up with various women. In the process he hoodwinked Kimbal in a relationship with his assistant, and tried to use Kimbal to get close to Musk. The files suggest that nothing landed.
There is, of course, the possibility that some of the documents related to Musk could have been redacted or left out from the DoJ release. Certainly, doubts have been raised in the case of Donald Trump. That said, the emails available tell such a consistent narrative arc, that it seems implausible — though not impossible — that a bombshell is waiting to upend the story. That said, they do leave certain questions unanswered. The radio silence from February to September 2014 is unexplained. And we can only speculate as to why Epstein canceled his island invitations at the last minute in December 2012 and 2013.
TIMELINE
Timeline of Epstein’s correspondence with Elon Musk, and all relevant references to him, available from the DoJ files.
2009: Indirect references
Apr 16: Epstein asks Al Seckel for names of “smart, out-of-the-box” people for a Florida gathering; Elon Musk included on suggested list. [EFTA01827191]
Aug 17: Publicist Johnathan Brockman recommends Musk to Epstein as someone worth knowing, implying they have not yet met. [EFTA02441366]
Aug 26: Musk and Epstein are both on a group email from Brockman, about Lisa Randall. [EFTA00769427]
2011: Edge dinners
Mar 8: Musk and Epstein are among 30+ high profile guests at EDGE dinner organized by Jonathan Brockman in Long Beach. [EFTA02191498]
Jul 17: Both attend another EDGE dinner, this time in San Francisco. [EFTA00430885]
2012: Direct contact
Jan 18: Musk and Talulah Riley announce plans to divorce [Forbes].
Feb 28: First encounter. Boris Nikolic, then chief scientific advisor to Bill Gates, brings “one of the musk brothers” (most likely Musk, who had attended the Vanity Fair Oscars party the evening before) along to lunch with Epstein in New York. [EFTA01770592] Epstein writes: “just finished lunch with boris and musk”. [EFTA00930579]
Mar 7: Musk appears on Forbes’ billionaire list for the first time. [Forbes]
September: Birthday party, “Jenn” and lunch
Sep 9: A women (redacted) asks Epstein if he knows Musk and could make an intro. We know it’s a woman, because JE forwards it and says “she”. EFTA00942856
Sep 18–19:
Nikolic tells Epstein he is invited to Kimbal Musk’s birthday party on Saturday 22nd, and to a more intimate night out with Kimbal, Musk and close friends on the Thursday (20th). Says he told Kimbal that he would bring Epstein along. The two coordinate hooking up the Musk brothers with Epstein’s assistant Jenn. “Also I told him that you are coming with Jennifer and that he might want to ditch his ex/or current to be. He said yes and is looking so much forward. So please prepare Jen —;) She might like Musk as well.” EFTA01884739
Jeffrey mentions a Saturday lunch, suggests inviting Musk. EFTA01884739
Sep 20: Night out with Kimbal (Second encounter? unclear if Epstein joined)
Nikolic and “Jenn” (and Epstein?) join Kimbal’s smaller birthday celebration. Elon Musk most likely there too.
Sep 21: “Spare ambien”, lunch coordination
Kimbal thanks Boris for a “Fun time last night!”; tells him to invite Epstein “and his friends” to his Saturday party. [EFTA01888624]
Boris tells Epstein Kimbal liked Jenn, suggests some “spare ambien” to keep Kimbal’s ex off his back at the upcoming party. Epstein asks if they can organize the Musk brothers at his house. EFTA01990857
Separately, Epstein arranges for Nicholas Pritzker to come for 1pm lunch Sunday 23rd [EFTA01885648]. Also tells Barnaby Marsh to join. [EFTA01886021]. Nikolic informs Epstein of the Musks’ schedule, says he will try to get them to come Sunday for lunch, and says he will most likely miss it himself. [EFTA02009208].
Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff emails Dutch supermodel Yfke Sturm: “Jeffrey would like to speak with you!!” [EFTA02158210]
Sep 22: Party
Epstein emails someone (redacted) saying just “elon MUSK”. Person replies:”perfect!!! let me know execly what he wants, will organize all) x “. [EFTA01887943]
Kimbal’s birthday party takes place, 7pm at the Four Seasons in NY. Nikolic and Jenn and another female in contact with Epstein attend, doesn’t seem Epstein did.
Sep 23-4: Lunch (Second confirmed encounter - Sturm)
Redacted sender tells Epstein that Musk was “looking at me” but “his wife was hanging on him”, very likely reference to previous night’s party. [EFTA01886996]
Epstein, Musk, Riley and Pritzker have lunch at Epstein’s NY house [EFTA01887662] . Musk also brought along his friend and author of Memento, Jonah Nolan. Also, Sturm came along at some point (see next email). [EFTA01887218]
Musk mentions “a very enjoyable conversation”, Epstein says “Hopefully the first of many”. [EFTA01889491] Epstein tells Pritzker to tell Musk that “the blonde that walked with me” is named Sturm.[EFTA00943910]
Sep 25: Invite to the Caribbean. Epstein invites Musk to the Caribbean; Musk says he will try. “IF you find some time , come vist me on my island in the caribean. bring your friend or friends. i will be there most of nov and dec”. Musk: “Sounds good, will try to make it.” [EFTA01884501]
Sep 29: Sturm asks Epstein if he talked to Musk about her; he says no. [EFTA01888301]
Sep 29: Epstein asks Musk about an AI researcher, Demis Hassabis. [EFTA01887687]
October: NY invites, Paris invite (fun with Svetlana), SolarCity, Caribbean invite “will send a heli”
Oct 2-3: Groff asks someone for Kimbal’s cell phone; coordinates lunch for Epstein with Kimbal and possibly Nikolic for Oct 7 in New York. [EFTA02157494] [EFTA02158048]
Oct 3–4: Epstein invites Musk to lunch with Nikolic and Kimbal, Musk says he’s traveling. [EFTA01894094] Epstein then asks about Europe plans, Musk says he will be in Germany. Epstein tells him to come to Paris, “will be in paris 17-20 , come, stay, plenty of room and much f=n”. Musk says “Ok, will try to make it.” [EFTA02702141]
Oct 4: Epstein asks Musk about installing SolarCity his New Mexico ranch or Caribbean island. [EFTA00677328]
Oct 7-9: Kimbal tells Epstein and Nikolici that Jennifer is great and thanks them for connecting him with her.“I believe you both played a role. :)” Nikolic says he better treat her well: “Jeffrey goes crazy when someone mistreats his girls/friends. So better be very nice to her,” to which Kimbal says: “Message received wide and clear. ;)”. He also invites Nikolic to hang out for Halloween. “It scares me to imagine what you’ll be for Halloween Boris”. Nikolic suggests he goes as virgin Mary, and urges Kimball to get a second NY residence. [EFTA02032070]
Oct 11:
Epstein emails someone (redacted) a Business Insider article about Musk wanting a girlfriend. [EFTA01768145]
Epstein asks Musk about his Europe plans, adding that he saw “your brother , he seems very happy”. Musk says he won’t make it in the end. Epstein tells him to come to the Caribbean: “come to island in nov? you won’t suffer”. [EFTA01894073]
Oct 19: Epstein tells Musk he’ll be in New York to see Kimbal “and his new romance” the following week. Musk says he won’t be there, but says he and Riley will be in St Bart over the holidays. Epstein says he can send a helicopter to fetch him, they agree on Dec 28-30. [EFTA02702478]
November/ December: Island coordination
Nov 24: Epstein asks Musk how many people will join him to the island, for helicopter logistics. Musk says just him and Riley, and asks “What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?” [EFTA02705984]
Dec 24-25: Epstein says Musk is welcome to stay for the day or overnight, reiterates helicopter offer. Musk asks if he has parties planned, says he wants to hit the party scene and let loose, “a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what=l’m looking for.” Epstein answers “understood”, but says ratio could make Riley uncomfortable, Musk says it’s not a problem. Epstein says he will come to St Bart. [EFTA02706510]
Dec 28: Epstein calendar alert, “elon”. [[EFTA02369050]]
Dec 28: Epstein says he’s coming to St Bart, asks if they can meet on the 29th. Musk suggests the 30 or 31st instead. [EFTA02706068]
Dec 29: Epstein says he’ll arrive the 31st instead. Says he will leave “Svetlana and Jenn” on the island for NYE, adding “enjoy”. (Note: the names are redacted in the latest DOJ version, but appears unredacted in the version available in the Webb research tool). Musk suggests possible lunch on the 31st. [EFTA01910858]
2013: SpaceX visit
January: Lunch attempt, Kimbal invite, East Coast invite
Jan 1-2: Epstein suggests lunch at St Thomas, Musk says it won’t work. Epstein replies “shame „ there will be others, i am here off and on all year ”. [EFTA01912950]
Jan 3-4: Epstein asks about meeting on the 4th on St Barts. Musk suggests he joins them for lunch, Epstein forwards this to a redacted recipient who answers “Sounds perfect!!! Thank you”. But Musk then cancels on the morning of, says he’s been ill all night. [EFTA02680017] [EFTA00659263]
Jan 24: Epstein invites Kimbal to the island, “come relax”. Kimbal declines, says his life is a “nuclear explosion” and tells him to say hi to Jennifer. [EFTA02723925]
Jan 29: Epstein asks Musk about East Coast plans, adds “ just emailed with ovitz and sinofsky,”. Musk says he is focused on work, confused why Epstein is mentioning Ovitz and Sinofsky. “they thought you were great,” Epstein answers. [EFTA01908524]
February: Invite to ranch, SpaceX meeting
Feb 11: Redacted sender tells Epstein she needs “to do Musk” before getting married [[EFTA01906837]
Feb 17: Epstein asks Musk if Kimbal told him about “Jenns pregnant joke”, and asks if he will be at TED. Musk says not for long, says to come to SpaceX if he wants to talk. [EFTA01907455]
Feb 19-20: Groff tells Musk he’d like to meet at SpaceX. [EFTA02147871] Back and forth between Groff and Musk’s assistant Mary Beth Brown about dates.[EFTA02146519]
Feb 21:
Groff invites Musk to the ranch, but Musk is booked. [EFTA02146188]
Epstein asks Musk if he should bring four assistants to the SpaceX visit. Musk says “Up to you”. [EFTA01903670]
Back and forth between Groff and Brown about logistics of the visit, passports for the girls, and whether they will eat lunch with Musk and Epstein. [EFTA02146603]
Feb 25: Third confirmed encounter
Jeffrey tours SpaceX, has lunch with Musk.
Feb 26: Epstein thanks Musk for the tour, “you would have had fun at xmas”. Musk: “I see :)” [EFTA00955694]
March: time for fun, NY money people, East Coast plans
Mar 4: Epstein congratulates Musk (likely for successful ISS supply mission), says “now its time for fun”. Musk says he’s focused on Tesla; Epstein asks if he’ll take a break in April, Musk says maybe. Epstein continues: “benefit analysis would probably show , tesla doing better with you getting more sleep”. Musk says his optimal sleep is 6- 6.5h, Epstein suggests trying nuvigil. [EFTA01901196]
Mar 6: Epstein asks if Musk would give a SpaceX tour to “the NY money people”, Musk answers he has no interest in funding. “yes„ this is not a funding trip„ its all fun based , if there is any one of the crowd that you would like to meet when you are there, its easy,” Epstein replies. [EFTA01904574]
Mar 21: Epstein asks Musk, “things getting better?” “Better, yes. Workload, no.” [EFTA01897361]
April: Woody Allen dinner, Kimbal & Jenn break up, TED
Apr 10-1: Epstein asks if Musk’s coming to the East Coast, Musk says no firm plans. Epstein then invites him to dinner on the 23rd, name-drops Woody Allen and Ehud Barak, “it will be fun”. Musk is non-committal. [EFTA01896405]
Apr 15: Epstein follows up “better idea of schedule?” Musk: “no” [EFTA01895714]
Apr 16-17: Groff asks Brown if Musk can attend the dinner, Brown says no. Groff replies Epstein says they will meet at the Milken conference (Apr 28-May 1, LA). [EFTA00392102]
Apr 26:
Epstein to redacted recipient: “what is Musk and kimbal doing sun night?” [EFTA01973475]
Kimbal tells Jennifer he is not able to have a real relationship and asks if she wants to go back to dating. Jenn forwards it to Epstein, says she’d rather not stay with Kimbal if they’re just dating. “ I just don’t think I’d EVER be a priority”. Epstein says “good news now i have you back again,full time”. [EFTA02032845] Jennifer is unsure whether to stay with Kimbal in LA considering the news. [EFTA01762225]
Jenn also forwards Kimbal’s email to Steve Hanson (NYC restaurant mogul, founder of BR Guest). Hanson tells her to walk away and not answer Kimbal’s calls for 10 days. ”Jen. U gave to much too quick. (...). Leave NOW. In 1 week we will have. A plan for. (...) U have to control this. It’s a game. Your losing. You’re not even playing. Also turn your phone off.” [EFTA01762306]
Apr 28: Epstein calendar reminder lists Musk among “People to see in LA”. [EFTA02140874]
Apr 29: Epstein tells Svetlana to cancel her plans to come to LA, saying “jenn broke up with kimbal therefore no Musk”. [EFTA02568991] The recipient is redacted in the file, but in Jmail it shows as Svetlana.
Summer: congratulations, Ehud Barak, Ranch invite
May 1: Epstein writes: “Sorry to have missed you”, implying they didn’t connect at TED. Musk says he was only there for a few hours. [EFTA01757873]
May 17: Epstein emails Musk, “congragulations” (same misspelling as for March 4), Musk replies Thanks. [EFTA01973150] Could be a reference to Tesla’s first profitable quarter.
May 31: “Elon is dating Cameron Diaz”, someone (redacted) tells Epstein. “Antoine told me”, he says. [EFTA02570462]
Jun 27: Lawrence Krauss discusses inviting Musk to upcoming event. [EFTA02571715]
July: Musk and Riley remarry.
Jul 22:
Epstein says Ehud Barak would like to discuss taking Tesla to Israel, Musk says Tesla is production constrained and focused on major markets. [EFTA00873173]
Epstein follows up with an invitation to visit in Santa Fe in August. [EFTA00873173]
September: NY invite
Sep 11: Epstein invites Musk to New York, says the UN general assembly gathering will bring “many interesting people” to the house. Musk says he has no time to see UN diplomats, to which Epstein retorts: “do you think i am retarded, . ? just kidding , there is no one over 25 and all very cute”. [EFTA00970520]
Sep 27: Krauss tells Epstein he has invited Musk to his upcoming event in April. [EFTA02678243]
Oct 22: Nikolic tells Epstein about his idea for a new fund with Yuri Milner, lists the Musk brothers among the people he has talked to about it. [EFTA00973929]
November / December: Caribbean coordination
Nov 23: Epstein asks Musk if he’ll be in Caribbean for xmas. “woody allen with me, you might enjoy”. Musk says Yes. [EFTA01753797]
Dec 13-25:
Musk says he’ll be in St Barts for the holidays, asks Epstein for a good time to visit. They converge on Jan. 2. [EFTA02356830]
Groff forwards the exchange to people including Larry Visoski Larry and Ann Rodriguez saying “FYI. In the works”. “Great, Ho HO HO”, answers one. [EFTA02118530]
Dec 30: Epstein cancels. “I was rea=ly looking forward to finally spending some time together with just fun as=the agenda. so i am very disappointed”. [EFTA02356830]
2014: Last contact, Musk blocks Epstein
Jan 6: Epstein apologizes for not connecting, asks about Musk’s trip. [EFTA01941151]
Feb 2: Epstein invites Musk & Riley for breakfast. [EFTA01941151]
February-September: Radio silence
Mar 17: Epstein attends another EDGE dinner. Musk & Riley on guest list but attendance unconfirmed. “your goyim dinner was amazing, . thank you very much for including me. where are the jews”, Epstein writes to Brockman in a follow-up email. [EFTA02112133] [EFTA01929775]
May 1: Debra Black asks Epstein if he can invite Musk to an event, says she knows JE and Musk are friends. No reply. [EFTA02518043]
May 30: OneWeb founder Greg Wyler, who can be seen corresponding with Epstein since April 2013, tells Epstein he had dinner at Musk’s. [EFTA01925099]
July 16: “Great relationship with Musk,” Wyler tells Epstein. [EFTA01749696]
September: Epstein resumes contact; island invitations with Hoffman and Ito
Sep 2–18: Epstein namedrops Reid Hoffman and asks Musk if he’s planning to go to St Bart again for xmas, Musk says Don’t know. Epstein then asks if he will come to the island on Dec 6 meet Joi Ito and Hoffman, Musk says OK. [EFTA02588894]
Sep 3: Epstein tells Ito he’s asked Musk to join for Dec 6 weekend, and also sent an invite to Bill Gates. Also invites Danny Hillis. [EFTA01749900] [EFTA02351657]
Sep 18: Epstein invites Musk to come on 28th, says Hoffman and Ito will meet at Palm Beach from where “i will fly them to island”. Musk says he’s traveling. Epstein replies “another time of your choosing. just let me know”. [EFTA00869486]
Sep-Oct: Back and forths between Wyler and Epstein, with Epstein encouraging him to have Musk onboard. Also discussions between Epstein and third parties about Wyler, his venture and Musk’s potential involvement. On Oct. 1, Wyler tells Epstein Musk will not be funding. “?? if elon is not funding how are you getting it done?” Epstein asks. [EFTA00998124]
December: Last contact; email blocked
Dec 4: Schedule for Epstein: “Elon Musk to island Dec. 6 (is this still happening?)” [EFTA00357321]
Dec 11:
Epstein tells Musk Hoffman was on the island over the weekend (the 6th was a Saturday), implying Musk didn’t make it. Asks Musk if he will come to the Caribbean for the holidays. [EFTA02356626]
Epstein’s email bounces, “550 #5.1.0 Address rejected.” This suggests rejection at SpaceX server level, likely that Musk blocked his address. [EFTA02356626]
2015: Baumé dinner
May 29: Sultan Bin Sulayem asks Epstein for an introduction to Musk, for a Tesla battery proposal. No reply. [Jmail]
Jul 24: Sultan asks again; Epstein forwards his request to a redacted sender, asking if they’re still in touch with Kimbal. [EFTA02493242]
Jul 26-27: Epstein arranges meetups in San Francisco with various contacts including Thiel, Hoffman and Ito. Hoffman invites him to an upcoming dinner organized by Ito on Aug 2, to be attended by Thiel, Zuckerberg, etc, and which Ito says has been in the works for a year. Epstein tells Ito he will be there. [EFTA02493008] [EFTA02385090]
Aug 2: Musk, Thiel, Hoffman, Ito, Zuckerberg, Ed Boyden and Epstein are among 11 attendees at the private dinner, at Baumé Restaurant in Palo Alto. An email states they bought out the restaurant to have it to themselves. Epstein later emails himself a photo of the dinner. [EFTA01749326] [EFTA01749326] [EFTA01205692]
Aug 8: Sultan asks Epstein if he told Musk about his proposal; no reply. [EFTA00658148]
2017-8: Indirect mentions, Wolff, Sultan, NYT
2017
Feb 15: Sultan tells Epstein he had a nice meeting with Musk, says he will work with Tesla batteries in Africa. [EFTA01054135]
Mar 9: Michael Wolff tells Epstein that Musk has a PR, Juleanna Glover . “Elon Musk basically owns her now and I’m not sure she can take on other clients, but she will have a valuable perspective on how you get to where you want to be.” [EFTA01052712]
Apr 24: Boris and Epstein discuss upcoming TED conference in Vancouver (24-28), Boris says, “Kimbal, Musk, and few new interesting for you are around here. Epstein says he won’t go. [EFTA01048510]
Apr 26, Jack Goldberger asks Epstein if he got past one way trips to Mars “with Musk to ask him about his cars?” Likely a reference to the TED event, at which Musk spoke. [EFTA00679086]
2018
Aug 15: NYT reporter Landon Thomas Jr. informs Epstein that they’re planning a big piece on Musk. Epstein’s name, he says, “has come up — a lot. In doing their reporting they have heard that you have -- in the past and quite recently -- spent lots of time with him. And, I am just now realizing that you must have come to know him through The Edge, via Nathan M., Brockman, Minsky and others.” About “one half of the business section” is working on the story, Thomas says. “They are going full throttle on this story.” [EFTA01007359]
Aug 16: Epstein asks Wolff for advice, says NYT reporter Stewart wants to do a background interview with him. “What’s in it for you?,” Wolff asks, to which Epstein replies Thomas is conflicted as Epstein has helped his charity in the past, and says they could recruit Stewart “to help you when the time comes”. They agree that Epstein will invite him over. [EFTA01008185]