Elon Musk and Reid Hoffman are in a heated public fight on X, accusing each other of wanting to visit Jeffrey Epstein’s island. Musk said that Epstein tried to use Hoffman’s name to get him to visit, but Hoffman called this story “disgusting” and said Musk was actually “begging” to go.
According to The Hindustan Times, Musk started the argument by sharing a screenshot on X. He wrote, “This is how I knew so long ago that Reid Hoffman went to Epstein’s island. Epstein used Reid being there to try to get me to go, not realizing that it would have the opposite effect.”
Hoffman responded strongly, accusing Musk of trying to hide his own connection with Epstein. He wrote, “Give us a break: If you cared about the victims as you say, you’d stop making false accusations to cover your a— and start using your $220m of influence with President Trump to get justice for the victims.” Hoffman had previously admitted he spent one night on Epstein’s island for MIT fundraising.
The document release reveals uncomfortable email exchanges between Musk and Epstein
Hoffman also brought up what he says was Musk’s real reason for wanting to visit. He wrote, “Instead, you’re focused on comparing my visit fundraising for MIT to your begging to go to his island (which happened TWO YEARS before the screenshot you shared), and helicoptering over to Epstein looking for the ‘wildest party.’ You lied about this to everyone for over a decade, and now your excuse (it’s disgusting, by the way) is that you could get young girls without Epstein?”
Recently released Epstein documents show Musk was in contact with the financier in 2012 and 2013. Musk says he had “very little correspondence” with Epstein and “declined repeated invitations” to the island.
The emails show Musk once asked Epstein, “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” In 2013, Musk emailed asking when would be “a good time to visit.” These emails directly contradict Musk’s previous claims about his relationship with the financier. Epstein offered to pick him up in his helicopter, but this never happened. Musk reportedly emailed back saying he was “disappointed.” Musk also said he never flew on Epstein’s private jet, known as the “Lolita Express.”
Musk has not been accused of any crimes. He says he pushed hard for the Epstein files to be released, writing on social media that “no one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released and I’m glad that has finally happened.”
Musk argues the document release is a distraction and that the focus should be on prosecuting criminals. He said, “I don’t care about that, but what I do care about is that we at least attempt to prosecute those who committed serious crimes with Epstein, especially regarding heinous exploitation of underage girls.” He added that without at least one arrest, the file release is just “performative. Nothing but a distraction.”
Legal experts have raised concerns about how the DOJ handled the file release, with victim lawyers criticizing the process. The fight between the two isn’t just about Epstein. They worked together at PayPal over 20 years ago, but their relationship ended badly after the company was sold. Hoffman said Musk’s anger comes from Hoffman’s work with OpenAI after Musk left the company saying, “You’re all a bunch of jackasses and you’ll fail.”
Published: Feb 2, 2026 03:15 pm