Elon Musk’s Most Controversial Moments Through the Years: Affair Rumors, Kid Drama, Twitter War and More

Credit: Patrick Pleul/AP/Shutterstock

Elon Musk’s Most Controversial Moments Through the Years: Affair Rumors, Kid Drama, Twitter War and More

Facing the fallout. Elon Musk found himself at the center of several scandals over the years — which the CEO has preferred to address himself. During an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Podcast" in 2018, Musk shocked listeners when he decided to smoke marijuana amid the interview. The South Africa native's reaction to the experience quickly became a social media meme. Later that year, the investor admitted that he didn't know what he was doing at the time. “I am somewhat impulsive. I don’t really want to try to adhere to some CEO template," he told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes in December 2018. "I do not smoke pot. As anyone who watched that podcast can tell I have no idea how to smoke pot or anything.” Musk later found the humor in the situation when he poked fun at the infamous moment during his Saturday Night Live hosting gig. “A lot of times, people are reduced to the dumbest thing they ever did. Like one time I smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast,” he joked in the May 2021 episode. “And now all the time I hear ‘Elon Musk, all he ever does is smoke weed on podcasts.’ Like I go from podcast to podcast, lighting up joints. It happened once, it’s like reducing OJ Simpson to murderer.” The businessman's personal life has also made headlines throughout his career. Two years after sparking romance rumors with Grimes, Musk and the musician welcomed their son, X AE A-XII, in May 2020. [jwplayer jSBVpKJo-zhNYySv2] Amid challenges in their relationship, Musk opened up about the couple's unconventional approach to romance. “We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,” he said in a September 2021 statement. “It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in L.A. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.” The musician, for her part, later revealed that the pair expanded their family with daughter Exa Dark Sideræl Musk in December 2021. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” Grimes, who welcomed her second child via surrogate, told Vanity Fair in March 2022 about initially keeping the news private. “Whatever is going on with family stuff, I just feel like kids need to stay out of it, and X is just out there. I mean, I think E is really seeing him as a protégé and bringing him to everything and stuff.… X is out there. His situation is like that. But, yeah, I don’t know.” At the time, the Canada native said her connection with Musk was "the best it’s ever been," adding, “There’s no real word for it. I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we’re very fluid. We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time. … We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it.” After the interview was published, the songwriter took to social media to clarify the duo's relationship status. “Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article haha, but he’s my best friend and the love of my life, and my life and art are forever dedicated to The Mission now,” Grimes tweeted. “I think Devin wrote that part of the story rly well. Sique – peace out.” Keep scrolling to relive Musk's most controversial moments:

Credit: Patrick Pleul/AP/Shutterstock

Elon Musk’s Most Controversial Moments Through the Years: Affair Rumors, Kid Drama, Twitter War and More

Facing the fallout. Elon Musk found himself at the center of several scandals over the years — which the CEO has preferred to address himself. During an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Podcast" in 2018, Musk shocked listeners when he decided to smoke marijuana amid the interview. The South Africa native's reaction to the experience quickly became a social media meme. Later that year, the investor admitted that he didn't know what he was doing at the time. “I am somewhat impulsive. I don’t really want to try to adhere to some CEO template," he told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes in December 2018. "I do not smoke pot. As anyone who watched that podcast can tell I have no idea how to smoke pot or anything.” Musk later found the humor in the situation when he poked fun at the infamous moment during his Saturday Night Live hosting gig. “A lot of times, people are reduced to the dumbest thing they ever did. Like one time I smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast,” he joked in the May 2021 episode. “And now all the time I hear ‘Elon Musk, all he ever does is smoke weed on podcasts.’ Like I go from podcast to podcast, lighting up joints. It happened once, it’s like reducing OJ Simpson to murderer.” The businessman's personal life has also made headlines throughout his career. Two years after sparking romance rumors with Grimes, Musk and the musician welcomed their son, X AE A-XII, in May 2020. [jwplayer jSBVpKJo-zhNYySv2] Amid challenges in their relationship, Musk opened up about the couple's unconventional approach to romance. “We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,” he said in a September 2021 statement. “It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in L.A. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.” The musician, for her part, later revealed that the pair expanded their family with daughter Exa Dark Sideræl Musk in December 2021. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” Grimes, who welcomed her second child via surrogate, told Vanity Fair in March 2022 about initially keeping the news private. “Whatever is going on with family stuff, I just feel like kids need to stay out of it, and X is just out there. I mean, I think E is really seeing him as a protégé and bringing him to everything and stuff.… X is out there. His situation is like that. But, yeah, I don’t know.” At the time, the Canada native said her connection with Musk was "the best it’s ever been," adding, “There’s no real word for it. I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we’re very fluid. We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time. … We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it.” After the interview was published, the songwriter took to social media to clarify the duo's relationship status. “Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article haha, but he’s my best friend and the love of my life, and my life and art are forever dedicated to The Mission now,” Grimes tweeted. “I think Devin wrote that part of the story rly well. Sique – peace out.” Keep scrolling to relive Musk's most controversial moments:

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His Romantic Ups and Downs

Musk was previously married to Justine Wilson from 2002 to 2008. The former spouses welcomed their first child in 2002, but the infant died of sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old. They later had twins Vivian and Griffin in 2004 and triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian in 2006.

After moving on with Talulah Riley, Musk tied the knot for the second time in 2010. The pair divorced in 2012 before walking down the aisle again one year later. The entrepreneur filed for divorce again later that year, but the petition was withdrawn in August 2013 and the duo later pulled the plug on their marriage again in 2016.

Musk started dating Amber Heard amid her high-profile divorce from Johnny Depp. Following their split in 2017, the philanthropist admitted he was struggling to find love again.

“Is there anybody you think I should date? It’s so hard for me to even meet people,” Musk, who briefly reconciled with Heard, asked Rolling Stone during an interview in November 2017. “I’m looking for a long-term relationship. I’m not looking for a one-night stand. I’m looking for a serious companion or soulmate, that kind of thing.”

Musk was later linked to Grimes, who he dated on-and-off from 2018 to 2022.  

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The Social Media Posts

In July 2020, Musk came under fire when he wrote that "pronouns suck" via Twitter. His then-girlfriend Grimes weighed in on the controversial post, replying, "I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a [call]. I cannot support hate. Please stop this. I know this isn't your heart."

The Tesla founder, for his part, later clarified his stance. I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare," he tweeted in December 2020.

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An Attempt to Buy Twitter

In April 2022, Musk offered to purchase Twitter for $43 billion after previously acquiring a percentage of the company's stock. The Boring Company founder, who was the largest shareholder of Twitter, announced three months later that he was terminating the potential acquisition.

In response, Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk. According to multiple reports in October 2022, Musk changed his mind and will buy Twitter as originally planned. One day before the court-imposed deadline to complete his acquisition of the company, Musk implied that he planned to move forward with the deal. “I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in buying Twitter,” he wrote in a message to advertisers shared via the social media platform. “There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong. The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence." 

Musk also hinted at his plans for the platform's moderation policies, which some observers believe he will scale back. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society," he continued. "In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost." 

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Family Drama

Musk has previously made headlines for his large brood that he has discussed wanting to expand through the years. After welcoming six kids with Wilson, Musk went on to have two children with Grimes.

In July 2022, Insider reported that Musk and an executive at his Neuralink company  Shivon Zilis had two kids together eight months prior. He seemingly reacted to the news, tweeting,  "Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis. A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far."

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Rumors of an Affair

Musk called out a July 2022 report by the Wall Street Journal that claimed he had an affair with Nicole Shanahan.

"This is total bs," he tweeted at the time about his alleged connection with Google cofounder Sergey Brin's estranged wife. "Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night! I've only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic."

Musk added: "Haven't even had sex in ages (sigh)."

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Twitter Takeover

The polarizing billionaire received significant backlash when he officially purchased Twitter in late October 2022, immediately implementing new controversial practices, including charging $8 month to be verified and suspending, without warning, parody accounts not identified as such. Many stars left the platform in the wake of his takeover, including Gigi Hadid, Shonda Rhimes, Toni Braxton, Whoopi Goldberg and more.