One of Elon Musk’s Longtime VCs is Suing His Former Employer After Allegedly Being Fired

Josh Raffaelli, a prominent Silicon Valley investor with deep ties to Elon Musk’s companies, is suing his former employer, Brookfield Asset Management, a trillion-dollar asset management firm, according to reports from The New York Times.

Raffaelli’s lawsuit alleges that Brookfield fired him after he filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC about the company’s handling of pandemic-related real estate losses. His suit includes serious accusations, including fraud and bribery, though Brookfield has denied any wrongdoing in statements to The Times.

Background of the Lawsuit

In February, Brookfield quietly shut down the venture capital unit led by Raffaelli and transferred some of its assets to other divisions. One of Raffaelli’s main grievances in the lawsuit is that Brookfield did not follow through on buying as much stock in Elon Musk-owned companies, as Raffaelli had secured the rights to do.

Raffaelli had secured deals that allowed him to invest in Musk companies like SpaceX, xAI, and the Boring Company, with his Brookfield fund being a significant backer of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. The lawsuit highlights a growing rift between Raffaelli and his former employer, which was also deeply involved in backing Musk’s ventures, including SolarCity (acquired by Tesla) and SpaceX.

This lawsuit marks a highly public dispute for Raffaelli, who previously served as a partner at the VC firm then known as Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), which was instrumental in funding Musk’s ventures. Raffaelli’s efforts to secure investments in Musk-related projects appear to have been one of the key factors behind his falling out with Brookfield.

Elon Musk's Companies

This legal dispute is one to watch closely, as it involves significant figures in the tech and investment world. Stay tuned for further developments.