Google co-founder Sergey Brin could make a $100 million profit selling Tesla stock after he reportedly decided to withdraw his investments from Elon Musk’s company over an alleged affair between Musk and his wife, Nicole Shanahan.
Musk on Sunday denied a Wall Street Journal report that claimed his friendship with Brin was broken after he and Shanahan had a brief fling while she was separated from Brin late last year.
According to the Journal, Brin was so outraged by the affair that it prompted him to file for divorce from Shanahan.
Brin also reportedly told his financial investors to divest all of his interests in Musk-led entities, including electric car maker Tesla.
According to Business InsiderBrin was an early investor in Tesla. In 2006, he helped the company raise $40 million, although it’s unclear how much he put into it at the time.
Musk has denied the report of an affair. He said his friendship with Brin remains intact.Getty Images for The Met Museum/
Two years later, Brin invested another $500,000 as part of another $40 million fundraising round.
That sum of money was “enough to keep the lights on for a while,” according to Hamish McKenzie, author of “Insane Mode: How Elon Musk’s Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution.”
Brin’s name does not appear in Tesla’s SEC filings, indicating that his stake in the company does not exceed 5%.
Brin reportedly told his financial advisers to divest all of his interests in Musk-led entities. Kimberly White
It is unclear whether he sold his stake in the company when it went public in 2010.
By conservative estimate, Brin’s stake in Tesla is at least $500,000. If he sold it today, it would be over $100 million.
At the time Tesla went public in June 2010, its share price was about $4 per share.
Brin is believed to own approximately $100 million in Tesla stock. Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency
On Monday morning, Tesla stock traded north of $811 a share.
Musk, 51, insisted that the allegations of an affair with his friend’s estranged wife, Shanahan, were “total bs” — even joking, “I haven’t even had sex in ages (sigh).”
The world’s richest man also sent The Post a photo of him partying with Brin, 48, who is believed to have cooled down their bromance after the alleged betrayal.
“This photo was taken just two hours ago,” Musk told The Post of the photo of him smiling while rubbing the shoulder with his fellow billionaire.
The Tesla mogul got serious to forcefully deny the widespread Wall Street Journal report that claimed a December affair was behind Brin’s divorce.
“Nicole and Sergey’s divorce has absolutely nothing to do with me,” Musk insisted by email.
“I’m sure both Nicole and Sergey would confirm that. I’ve talked to Sergey and Nicole about this and they say the story isn’t from them so [it] must be a case of a broken phone two or three layers away,” he said.
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