One of the most surprising people set to to testify in the defamation trial for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Elon is expected to testify via video call during the trial, via court documents. The SpaceX founder has been subpoenaed to turn over all communications that he had with Amber about her ex-husband, as well as all the messages from various points in their alleged relationship. Many texts are expected to be read and released as a result of the trial. Find out all the details about why Elon is being called on to testify here.
What do court documents say?
The allegations in the court documents claim that Elon and Amber began their relationship a month after she married Johnny. “Only one calendar month after Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard were married—while Mr. Depp was out of the country filming in March 2015—Eastern Columbia Building Personnel testified that Ms. Heard received Musk ‘late at night’ at Mr. Depp’s penthouse,” the lawsuits says. The suit continues to claim that Amber had asked the building staff to give Elon access to the parking garage as well as the penthouse elevator.
The supposed visits fall closer to a much more serious alleged incident documented in the paperwork, which is possibly why Elon is being called on to testify. “Musk’s first appearance in Mr. Depp’s penthouse occurred shortly after Ms. Heard threw a vodka bottle at Mr. Depp in Australia, when she learned that Mr. Depp wanted the couple to enter into a post-nuptial agreement concerning assets in their marriage. Ms. Heard’s violently aimed projectile virtually severed Mr. Depp’s middle finger on his right hand and shattered the bones,” the document claims.
Documents don’t provide further context on what the line of questioning for the Tesla founder will be. While it’s not clear what exactly Elon will be questioned on in the upcoming trial, it’s possible that the incident described in the documents will come up. The lawyers may also ask more details about past questions about their relationship that had been asked to Amber during the first trial.
Amber & Elon have denied the visits during the marriage
Amber hit back at claims that she was seeing Elon while married to the Pirates of the Caribbean star during a July 2020 testimony, via BBC. She said that she wasn’t in a “relationship or seeing” Elon during Johnny’s 2020 libel trial against The Sun, which Johnny lost. Elon also denied the relationship in a statement by his representative to Vanity Fair. “Elon and Amber didn’t start seeing each other until May 2016, and even then it was infrequent. Their relationship didn’t become romantic until some time later,” the statement said.
During the libel trial, alleged texts between Amber and Elon were read in court, including one where he offered the actress “24/7 security” the day after an alleged domestic violence dispute involving the Sweeney Todd star.
Amber and Elon dated after the divorce
After the divorce, Amber and Elon did become romantically involved briefly. They dated for about a year before splitting up in 2017, according to People. They did reunite briefly in 2018, but the romance didn’t last, and they split up a few months later. Even though they split up, Amber seemed to still think highly of Elon post-breakup. “Elon and I had a beautiful relationship, and we have a beautiful friendship now, one that was based on our core values,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2018 interview. “We just bonded on a lot of things that speak to who I am on the inside. I have so much respect for him.” Some of the things they bonded over included, “Intellectual curiosity, ideas and conversation, a shared love for science,” she explained in the interview.
During the defamation trial, forensic psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes testified to the jury that Amber and Elon started their relationship after meeting at the 2016 Met Gala on May 4, 2022. Meeting at the Met Gala would be consistent with the two of them starting their relationship in May 2016, as Elon’s rep’s statement said.
Who else is being called to testify?
Elon isn’t the only high profile star being called as a witness, via court documents. Drop Dead Gorgeous actress Ellen Barkin is also expected to testify. Another actor who’s expected to testify via video call is Amber’s The Adderall Diaries co-star James Franco. During Amber and Johnny’s 2019 trial, a video surfaced of the actress riding in an elevator in their apartment complex with James. Amber had said that James had asked her about bruises that she alleged came from a dispute that involved Johnny throwing a cell phone at her during a 2020 testimony, via People. “He was saying to me, ‘Oh my God, what happened to you?'” she said in the court at the time. “He saw my face… when I let him in. He saw my face and said, ‘What the f—?'”