Missed connections, claims of phone theft, and a weekend at Elon's: Inside the baffling battle between rapper Azealia Banks and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (TSLA)

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• Rapper Azealia Banks and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's lives have become entangled after Banks spent the weekend at one of Musk's properties earlier in August and made a series of claims about the billionaire on social media. 
• Banks claimed Musk ignored her when she visited his house, misrepresented their interaction, and has taken control of her phone. 
• "I'm like in tears right now," Banks told Business Insider on Monday evening. "This has nothing to do with me."
• Here's a timeline of the Banks-versus-Musk battle, as decoded via Business Insider exclusives, social media, and more.

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Azealia Banks and Elon Musk are an unlikely pair.

However, in some of the most high-pressure weeks in the Tesla's CEO's career, the rapper has become an unexpected source of complications for the billionaire. 

Banks has publicly claimed on social media that Musk avoided her after inviting her to his home, misrepresented the situation to the media, and — most recently — took possession of her phone. Musk, meanwhile, has denied many of Banks' claims and apparently deleted his Instagram account, following her most recent call out. 

The interactions between the two typically outspoken celebrities can be difficult to untangle. Here's everything we know about the timeline of how things have gone down between Banks and Musk. 

July 30: Grimes announces on Twitter she plans to collaborate with Banks.

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Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, is a Canadian musician and producer. 

Boucher attended the Met Gala in early May with Musk. At the time, Page 6 reported the pair had met on Twitter and been "quietly dating" for the past few weeks. 

While Boucher was fated to bring Musk and Banks together, her relationship with the rapper goes back significantly longer than her romance with Musk. Back in 2014, Boucher tweeted a heart emoji at Banks' now-deactivated Twitter account. 

In summer 2018, Boucher and Banks confirmed plans to collaborate. In July, Boucher tweeted she had started a number of beats for Banks and just needed the rapper to visit Los Angeles to finish the work. 

August 7: 'Funding secured.'

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

"Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured," Musk tweeted on August 7, before issuing a formal statement on the company's website. 

Tesla shares skyrocketed following the tweet, rising by as much as 12%, to over $381. 

However, the tweet also plunged Tesla into intensified scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal reported on August 8 that the SEC had made an inquiry into Tesla regarding the truthfulness and motivation of Musk's tweets.

August 10: Banks arrives at one of Musk's Los Angeles properties and crosses paths with the CEO.

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Banks told Business Insider she arrived early on Friday morning, with The New York Times confirming last week that she arrived at one of Musk's Los Angeles properties in the predawn hours. 

Banks said in an Instagram DM to Business Insider on August 13 Musk seemed distracted over the weekend. 

"I saw him in the kitchen tucking his tail in between his legs scrounging for investors to cover his ass after that tweet," she said. "He was stressed and red in the face."

Banks added: "He's not cute at all in person."

Banks also said that she was not trying to eavesdrop but that Musk seemed to be scrambling.

 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

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• 'Instagram is so thirsty': Elon Musk explains why he deleted his Instagram account on Twitter
• Some auto industry suppliers are worried about Tesla going bankrupt, survey reveals

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