A timeline of Amber Heard and Elon Musk's relationship history

Details about the billionaire's relationship with the actress have been put under the spotlight during her ongoing trial with Johnny Depp

Elon Musk's relationship with Amber Heard has been brought up in the defamation trial between Heard and Johnny Depp. AFP

Among the myriad pieces of information being raked up by the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial was a revisiting of the relationship between the actress and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after her 2016 split from Depp.

The new owner of Twitter's name was brought up when Depp’s former agent, Christian Carino, told the court about emails Heard had sent to him following her split from Musk.

Carino confirmed that Heard began dating Musk “immediately after Johnny Depp”, and that in the wake of Musk and Heard’s subsequent split, he had emailed her to say: “You weren't in love with him. You told me 1,000 times you were just feeling space.”

Here are all the details of Amber Heard and Elon Musk’s relationship…

How did Amber Heard and Elon Musk meet?

The pair met back in 2013 on the set of Machete Kills. The Robert Rodriguez-directed film starred Heard as Miss San Antonia, alongside Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga and Vanessa Hudgens. Musk was featured in a cameo.

During that time, Heard had been married to Johnny Depp for two years. Musk was single, having divorced his British actress wife, Tallulah Riley, in 2012. They would later reconcile and marry again in 2013.

When did Elon Musk and Amber Heard date?

Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016, the same year Musk and Riley split for the second time.

Musk has previously insisted he and Heard were just friends before their romance.

The pair dated for a year between 2016 and 2017.

When did they become official?

The first most people knew about the relationship was when Heard shared a photo of herself sat beside Musk at dinner in April 2017.

At the time, a source told People: “When the time was right and they were both single last year, he started pursuing her romantically. She was playing hard to get for a while, which made him even more interested.”

Insiders said the billionaire liked the actress’ “edginess” and because she embraced “being different”.

Another source added to People: “She doesn’t get easily intimidated. She is very focused and loves to learn.”

What caused their first break-up?

The pair are said to have split around August 2017.

The Rum Diary actress took to Instagram to share her side of the break-up, writing: “Being in the public eye means having to explain yourself to so many people, so much of the time. In this case, I’d like to remain more quiet. Although we have broken up, Elon and I care deeply for one another and remain close. Thank you for the continued support, respect, and privacy during these difficult, very human times.”

The Tesla chief executive officer said in the comments section: “Just to clear up some of the press storm this weekend. Although Amber and I did break up, we are still friends, remain close and love one another. Long-distance relationships when both partners have intense work obligations are always difficult, but who knows what the future holds.”

The couple were said to have spent long periods apart as Heard filmed Aquaman in Australia, while a source told Us Weekly: “The timing wasn’t good for them. He’s super busy and works all the time.”

Back together, then a final split

By the end of 2017, the pair had got back together. They spent the festive season visiting Easter Island in Chile, and were then photographed holding hands in LA just after New Year.

Their two-month-long reconciliation didn’t last and in February 2018, the pair split for good. A source told the New York Post’s Page Six that it was Musk who had “made the decision to end things.”

“The timing just wasn’t right, but they still care about each other," they said.

Moving on separately after the break-up

After their split, Heard surprised fans when she took to Instagram to announce she had welcomed a baby daughter called Oonagh Paige, via surrogate.

“Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child. I wanted to do it on my own terms,” Heard wrote on Instagram in July 2021. “A part of me wants to uphold that my private life is none of anyone’s business. I also get that the nature of my job compels me to take control of this.”

Citing “four years ago” put the date of Heard’s decision at 2017, an admission which led fans to speculate that her desire for a child was the reason she and Musk split. Others maintain Heard’s daughter was fathered by the Tesla chief executive officer.

Musk went on to have two children with Canadian musician Grimes, a son X Æ A-XII, and daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, who was welcomed via surrogate.

He has five other sons — twins Griffin and Xavier, 18, and triplets Damian, Saxon and Kai, 16 — with his ex-wife Justine Wilson.