Is Silicon Valley Throwing Wild Sex Parties or Just ‘Nerds on a Couch’?

Contradictory sources abound in the aftermath of Vanity Fair's story on tech sex parties.

Steve Jurvetson
Former DFJ Partner Steve Jurvetson speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017 at Pier 48 on September 18, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

New sources have come forward to affirm and dispute parts of a Vanity Fair report on Silicon Valley sex parties. According to Wired, the main party described in Emily Chang’s piece was hosted by Steve Jurvetson, the cofounder of venture capital firm DFJ who was pushed out of the firm in November after personal issues began to affect his work. The party took place in June and included a pillow area dubbed a “cuddle puddle” and “Tesla,” an enhanced form of MDMA. DFJ released a statement apologizing for its connection to the party. Though several attendees in Chang’s piece spoke of near-orgiastic behavior, several in the Wired piece say they did not witness any sex or only heard about it. Among the attendees who deny any of the bizarre insinuations is Elon Musk, who described the “cuddle puddle” as “nerds on a couch.”

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