Elon Musk Said He Had to Borrow Money From Friends To Pay $170K A Month In Legal Fees During First Divorce — But Adds: 'I Never Said I Was Broke'

Before he became the world's richest man, Elon Musk was publicly defending himself against headlines about his personal life — and fighting a legal bill that would make most billionaires wince.

In 2010, Musk published a personal essay in Business Insider responding to what he called "inaccuracies" surrounding his divorce from author Justine Musk. The piece was blunt, sharply structured, and divided by biting section headings like "Dangerous Clichés," "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "How Many Lawyers Does it Take to Screw in a…?"

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One of the most widely repeated claims at the time was that Musk had gone broke. Musk was quick to set the record straight: "I never said in any court documents that I was ‘broke' or even that I lacked considerable assets."

What he explained instead was a cash flow crisis. "Rather than allow Tesla to die," he wrote, "I committed almost all my cash reserves to the company, leaving a few million dollars to cover living expenses." That may sound like plenty — but not when you're paying two sets of divorce lawyers under California law.

"What caught me by surprise, and forced me to seek emergency loans from friends," Musk wrote, "were the enormous legal fees I had to pay my ex-wife's divorce lawyers." According to him, those bills added up to $4 million, or roughly $170,000 per month for two years.

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At the time, Musk was running both Tesla and SpaceX, raising five young sons, and finalizing his divorce — all while preparing to marry actress Talulah Riley, whom he'd later divorce twice. He said he owned "no homes (not even my residence at this point), yachts or expensive artwork," and dressed mostly in jeans and T-shirts. 

As for the settlement? According to Musk, the marital agreement entitled Justine to around $20 million after tax. But before the trial, he said he offered her more than double — roughly the pre-tax equivalent of $80 million — and even offered to make charitable donations in her name. "Justine said no to this offer," he wrote, "and continued to insist on receiving ownership in Tesla and SpaceX."

On May 3, 2010, a California judge ruled the marital agreement was valid and enforceable. Musk's motion for non-suit was granted within hours. Even assuming all of Justine's claims were true, the judge said, she would still lose.

Musk's final line in the essay? "Justine has decided to appeal…"

"In the 21st century," he wrote, "privacy just doesn't exist." But back then, he made sure his side of the story did.

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