Billionaire businessman Elon Musk was named in the latest tranche of Epstein files — making repeated plans to visit the infamous island owned by the disgraced financier. Emails released by the US Department of Justice on Friday showed the duo making efforts to plan a “fun” outing that ultimately failed to materialise. The conversation between the two moguls came years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida.
“Will be in the BVI/St Bart’s area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit?” Musk asked via email in mid-December 2013.
“Any day 1st – 8th . play it by ear if you want. always space for you,” came the response from Epstein.
‘Just fun on the agenda’
The email exchanges released on Friday indicate that Musk had made at least two separate plans to visit Epstein’s island in 2012 and 2013. The private isle is known formally as Little Saint James and remains part of the US Virgin Islands archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. It has been central to allegations against the convicted sex offender and allegedly the location for sexual abuse.
The initial emails exchanged between Musk and Epstein had eventually led to a visit date in early January 2012 — but did not ultimately materialise.
“Bad news- Unfortunately , my schedule will keep me in New York . I was really looking forward to finally spending some time together with just fun as the agenda. so i am very disappointed. Hopefully we can schedule another time in the near future,” Epstein wrote.
The disgraced financier also sent Musk another email in November this year, wondering how many people would be accompanying the Tesla CEO on “the heli to island”. The latter had replied that it would likely be just him and Talulah (an apparent reference to his former wife Talulah Riley). Musk also asked what day or night would be the “wildest party on your island”. The email exchange had continued for weeks as the two sought to iron out a social plan.
“Do you have any parties planned? I’ve been working to the edge of sanity this year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hit 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 I’m looking for,” Musk wrote towards the end of December 2013.
“Understood , I will see you on st Barth, the ratio on my island might make Talilah uncomfortable,” Epstein responded.
“Ratio is not a problem for Talulah,” Musk had said in response.
But this meeting did not pan out either — with Musk emailing Epstein and email on January 2, 2013 to explain that the “logistics won’t work this time around”.
Who else was named on Friday?
The US’ Justice Department has released many more records from its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law intended to reveal what the government knew about the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people such as Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department would be releasing more than 3 million pages of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
The files, posted to the department’s website on Friday, include some of the several million pages of records that officials said were withheld from an initial release in December.
Included were documents concerning some of Epstein’s famous associates, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew, and email correspondence between Epstein and Elon Musk and other prominent contacts from across the political spectrum.
Lawmakers complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release last month, but officials said more time was needed to review additional documents that were discovered and to ensure no sensitive information about victims was released.
Friday’s disclosure represents the largest document dump to date about a saga the Trump administration has struggled to shake because of the president’s previous association with Epstein.