Elon Musk made a startling allegation early Monday morning, claiming that Jeffrey Epstein initiated a campaign to undermine Tesla financially. Musk also alleged that Epstein sought assistance from Bill Gates after Musk declined invitations to Epstein’s infamous private island.
“That really made him upset. 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. As far as I know, Gates still has the short open,” Musk posted to X on February 16.
Yup 😂
That really made him upset. 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. As far as I know, Gates still has the short open.
Someone should ask him how that’s working out 🤗
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2026
The timing of Musk’s call-out is poignant to say the least. With Tesla’s current market capitalization at around $1.56 trillion, per CompaniesMarketCap.com, a 1% short position taken when the company was valued at $40 billion would represent a huge loss for anyone still holding it, potentially more than $10 billion.
“Epstein tried to get me to go to his island so many times that eventually I just blocked him,” Musk claimed in an earlier post on February 3.
The SpaceX founder added that his early contact with Epstein ended quickly when he realized something was amiss. “I obviously didn’t anticipate anything actually shady, as I was bringing my wife at the time (Talulah). Nonetheless, UNLIKE YOU, I came to my senses and declined to go,” he wrote in response to a screenshot posted by LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman.
And, as the email shows, I obviously didn’t anticipate anything actually shady, as I was bringing my wife at the time (Talulah).
Nonetheless, UNLIKE YOU, I came to my senses and declined to go. Epstein tried to get me to go to his island so many times that eventually I just…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2026
The screenshot shows an email where Musk writes to Epstein, saying, “Probably just Talulah and me. What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”
Musk still defended himself vehemently against the Epstein allegations, saying: “If I had ever been there, Epstein would have bragged about it endlessly and used my visit as a means of getting others to go, like he did when Reid Hoffman went.”
Bill Gates has previously acknowledged shorting Tesla, according to Yahoo Finance. However, the Microsoft co-founder has not publicly responded to Musk’s latest allegations connecting that short position to Epstein, as of press time.
