Elon Musk got on one knee and begged Google co-founder Sergey Brin for forgiveness after Musk had an affair with Brin’s wife at a swanky arts festival in Miami Beach last year, according to a report on Sunday.
The world’s richest man apologized at a party to his old friend earlier this year, people with knowledge of the stunning incident told the Wall Street Journal.
Brin acknowledged Musk’s confessed remorse, but still doesn’t speak to him regularly, the sources added.
The Tesla founder’s relationship with Nicole Shanahan led Brin to file for divorce in January, citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to the Journal.
The affair reportedly took place in December at the annual Art Basel event, a multi-day fair that featured exhibitions from international galleries and panel discussions attended by deep-seated collectors — after Musk split with Canadian pop singer Grimes in September.
Shanahan’s marriage to Brin was also strained at the time due to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and caring for their daughter, people familiar with the relationship told the Journal.
They were divorced but still living together, a person close to Shanahan told the Journal.
Shanahan is reportedly demanding more than $1 billion from Brin, who is worth $95 billion, and the couple is involved in divorce mediation proceedings.
They failed to strike a deal, with Brin’s side saying Shanahan wants much more than a prenuptial agreement and Shananan’s side saying she signed the pact under duress while she was pregnant, sources familiar with the marriage said. negotiations to the Journal.
A lawyer for Brin declined to comment, the Journal said.
Neither Musk nor a spokeswoman for Shanahan, which runs a reproductive justice foundation, responded to requests for comment, the Journal said.