Musk declines Epstein's UN General Assembly invitation

From:: Elon Musk
Date:: September 11, 2013 (The Independent dates the exchange to 11 Sep 2013; Fortune says only September 2013)
To:: Jeffrey Epstein

Partial text. Only these passages were published; [...] marks a gap.

I run and lead product design/engineering for two complicated companies. Moreover, SpaceX is about to launch what is arguably the most advanced rocket in history. Flying to NY to see UN diplomats do nothing would be an unwise use of time.

About this email

Invited by Epstein to New York during the UN General Assembly, Musk declines, saying he runs two complicated companies and the trip would be an unwise use of time.

Notes

Released by the U.S. Department of Justice on 2026-01-30 as part of the Epstein files (about 3 million pages). The text here is only what news outlets quoted from the DOJ PDF; the DOJ file itself sits behind an age-verification page and could not be retrieved, and '=' characters are encoding artifacts in the released files. Being named in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing, and no record of Musk actually visiting the island appears in the reporting. Musk's public response on X (31 Jan 2026, as quoted by TIME): "No one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released and I'm glad that has finally happened" and "I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his 'Lolita Express'"; NBC also quotes him: "I have never been to any Epstein parties ever and have many times call for the prosecution of those who committed crimes." Epstein's invitation, as quoted: "Any plans for ny" and "the opening of the general assembly has many interesting people coming to the house." Epstein's later reply: "just kidding, there is no one over 25 and all very cute."

Where it came from

Government release; attribution widely reported.

Personal, outside & personal. Tags: epstein-files, new-york, time-management

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