Tesla CEO Elon Musk is once again in the spotlight, this time over allegations of ketamine use and a reported affair with Nicole Shanahan, a lawyer and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. In 2021, the Tesla CEO was at a party with Ms Shanahan and they both took ketamine together, The New York Times reported after claiming to confirm this information through eight different sources and documents.
According to the report, Ms Shanahan, who is also the potential running mate of Republic Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an independent candidate for the US Presidential polls, hosted a birthday party in New York in 2021, where Mr Musk, a longtime friend of Mr Brin, was also present.
Later, that same year, Mr Musk and Ms Shanahan crossed paths again at a private party in Miami hosted by Mr Musk's brother. At the gathering, the SpaceX founder and Ms Shanahan allegedly took ketamine together and disappeared for several hours, four people from the event confirmed to the NYT.
Three sources told the leading American daily that Ms Shanahan even confessed to Sergey Brin that she “had had sex with Mr Musk” and that she allegedly also shared the details with friends, family and others.
Both Mr Musk and Ms Shanahan have denied the affair, as per a 2022 WSJ report.
Last year, Ms Shanahan denied these claims of cheating and revealed that Mr Musk was only discussing her daughter's autism treatment that night with her, and nothing else.
She told People magazine that her career was “based on academic and intellectual credibility, and “I was being shamed internationally for being a cheater.” She claimed it was “utterly debilitating and humiliating” to be known “because of a sexual act.”
Ms Shanahan and Mr Brin separated soon after the party, and the latter filed for divorce in 2022, citing "irreconcilable differences," as per court documents. The couple's divorce process took nearly 18 months to settle, with Ms Shanahan reportedly threatening self-harm during this period, according to the New York Times report. Their divorce was finalised last year.
