Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on a frantic online posting spree Saturday to insist his innocence after being named in the Justice Department’s latest release of files on Jeffrey Epstein, files that in some cases blew holes in his previous denials.
“No one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released and I’m glad that has finally happened,” Musk wrote Saturday in a social media post on X, which he owns. “I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his ‘Lolita Express,’ but was well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name.”
Musk has previously stated that Epstein had “tried repeatedly" to get him to visit his island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but that he had “declined” the invitations. However, the newly released Epstein files include emails from Elon Musk that appear to contradict that account, showing Musk “practically begged for an invitation” to the island, known as Little Saint James.
Musk also previously stated in 2020 that Epstein had “never toured” one of his SpaceX facilities. Among the newly released files is an email exchange that appears to contradict that statement.
“It appears Elon Musk personally invited Jeffrey Epstein to visit him at SpaceX in [2013],” reads a social media post on X from the account for the “TrueAnon” podcast, which has more than 40,000 paid subscribers on the crowd-funding platform Patreon.
In response to the revelations, Musk spent much of Saturday morning replying to users on social media defending him.
“Correct,” Musk wrote in response to a social media post that labeled attacks on Musk over his relationship with Epstein as “completely absurd.” “Exactly,” he wrote in response to another social media post that credited Musk as being the “primary reason” that the Epstein files had been released at all.No one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released and I’m glad that has finally happened.
I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his “Lolita Express”, but was well aware that some email…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 31, 2026
