Elon Musk has alleged that Jeffrey Epstein launched a campaign to short Tesla and persuaded Bill Gates to take a 1% short position when the company’s market cap stood at about $40 billion.
The allegation comes as the US Department of Justice released roughly three million pages of Epstein-related records, naming several billionaires, including Musk and Gates. The documents viewed by Cryptopolitan show email exchanges between Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein dating back to 2012 and 2013.
While there has been no confirmation that any such visit occurred, the messages contradict Musk’s long-standing insistence that he didn’t know Epstein well. However, to some extent, the files favored him as they revealed that SpaceX servers began rejecting Epstein’s emails in 2014.
Musk later confirmed on X that he cut off communication.
Yup 😂
That really made him upset. After I ghosted him, Epstein went on a massive campaign to short Tesla and got Gates to short 1% of Tesla stock when the market cap was $40B. As far as I know, Gates still has the short open.
Someone should ask him how that’s working out 🤗
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2026
Responding to a user who claimed Epstein had been aggressively sending invitations, Musk wrote, “Yup […] That really made him upset. After I ghosted him, Epstein went on a massive campaign to short Tesla and got Gates to short 1% of Tesla stock …”
Musk calls out Gates for taking Epstein’s advice to short Tesla
Musk weighed in on the post, once again bringing attention to the 1% short position of the company’s total shares outstanding that he claimed Gates has held against Tesla for the past eight years. “As far as I know, Gates still has the short open. Someone should ask him how that’s working out,” Musk wrote.
In December, Musk claimed that the position has since cost the Microsoft co-founder as much as $10 billion, as Tesla shares soared over the past few years. Tesla shares most recently closed at $417.44, with the stock up 17.3% over the past year and 100.4% over the past three years.
Several other institutional investors have changed their positions in TSLA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Tesla by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter.
Additionally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Tesla in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,839,824,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Tesla by 5.9% during the second quarter. Amundi also increased its Tesla shareholding by 20.4% in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $550 price target, implying 31.9% upside potential. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco maintained his Hold rating and $415 price target, suggesting that shares are fully valued at current levels.
Epstein advises on the structure of Tesla
A batch of DOJ documents shows that Epstein was involved with Tesla in 2018. Musk posted on social media that he was “considering taking Tesla private” in a move that never came to fruition.
One of the CEO’s surrogates was sounding out Epstein for advice on financing the deal and potential board members for a reorganized Tesla. They also went back and forth over Musk’s leadership qualities.
That year, Musk was having a rough time. His companies were struggling, and his behavior on social media was becoming increasingly unpredictable, which seemed to be hurting his public image.
Musk took counsel from the high-powered former lobbyist and corporate consultant Juleanna Glover as he sought to limit blowback. It was Glover who would later backchannel with Epstein about a plan to take Tesla private.
The idea of buying Tesla was sketchily outlined in another of Musk’s now-infamous tweets. “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420,” he posted in August. This tweet caused a backlash because he had not secured those funds.
On September 27, the US SEC filed fraud charges against Musk, alleging “securities fraud for a series of false and misleading tweets.”
Musk quickly settled to the tune of a $20 million fine, with Tesla paying an equal penalty, and stepped down as chairman of the electric vehicle company. In the weeks between Musk’s tweet and the SEC charge, Glover was working behind the scenes to make the deal a reality and sought Epstein’s counsel.