Elon Musk Targets ‘Liar’ WSJ Reporters With Photo of Him and Google Co-founder

Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at Manhattan federal court for a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York on April 4, 2019. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk on Monday posted a photo of himself with Google co-founder Sergey Brin in a bid to debunk a Wall Street Journal article claiming he had an improper relationship with Brin’s wife.

He also suggested Wall Street Journal editor Michael Siconolfi and the reporting staff involved in the article of being liars, tweeting “______, ______ your [pants] are on [fire]” on Monday, which included the photo of him and Brin. “The media is a click-seeking machine dressed up as a truth-seeking machine,” Musk further said.

Musk also posted a photo of himself and Brin, apparently taken at a party. “Yeah, that was Sergey and me yesterday afternoon!” he said in a Monday Twitter post. “Took this pic only two hours ago,” he also told the New York Post on Sunday.

For its article, published Sunday, the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources that alleged Musk was involved in an affair last year with Brin’s then-wife. The report further claimed Musk got down on one knee and begged Brin for forgiveness.

“I am sure both [Brin’s ex-wife Nicole Shanahan] and Sergey would confirm“ his denials, Musk told the New York Post. ”I spoke with both Sergey and Nicole about this and they say the story isn’t coming from them, so [it] must be a case of broken telephone, two or three layers removed,” he added.

It also alleged that Brin ordered his financial advisers to sell personal investments in Musk’s companies.

“This is total [nonsense],” Musk wrote on Twitter soon after the article was posted on the platform. “Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night.”

Elaborating, Musk said that key individuals were not interviewed before describing the Wall Street Journal as “sub tabloid.” The article, he added, did not engage in proper fact-checking and relied on “third party random hearsay.”

“The character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the articles are all nothing-burgers,” he said. “I work crazy hours, so there just isn’t much time for shenanigans. None of the key people involved in these alleged wrongdoings were even interviewed!”

Musk also alleged the Wall Street Journal often targets him and Tesla with “hit pieces.”

“They once wrote an article saying FBI was about to arrest me, so I called FBI to ask what’s up and they said WSJ article was total [nonsense]. Just more shortseller fud,” he wrote.

The Wall Street Journal has not issued a public comment after Musk’s Twitter posts and denials.