Elon Musk looks for love again after Amber Heard heartbreak: 'I was really in love, and it hurt bad'

For the first time since his breakup with Amber Heard, tech tycoon boss Elon Musk has addressed his personal life in a candid interview with Rolling Stone.

Opening up about the recent series of events – including the launch of Tesla Model 3 – the businessman revealed he has been in "severe emotional pain" and it took him great willpower to not look like the "most depressed guy".

"I just broke up with my girlfriend," Musk told the magazine. "I was really in love, and it hurt bad."

News of Musk romancing the ex-wife of Hollywood star Johnny Depp surfaced last year after Heard's divorce with the actor. The South African-born businessman himself had filed for divorce from his second wife Talulah Riley by 2015.

Despite a year of dating, however, the power couple called it quits in August this year, with reports blaming the split on their busy schedules.

"Well, she broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think," Musk explained as he sat down for the chat, adding earnestly that he is also on the lookout for love despite the heartbreak.

He upfront asked his interviewer, Neil Strauss, "Is there anybody you think I should date?" adding, "It's so hard for me to even meet people... I'm looking for a long-term relationship. I'm not looking for a one-night stand. I'm looking for a serious companion or soulmate, that kind of thing."

Having said that, the SpaceX boss admitted, "If I'm not in love, if I'm not with a long-term companion, I cannot be happy."

Musk – who has been married twice before – continued to explain his need for a long-term partner and the struggles of being alone.

"I will never be happy without having someone. Going to sleep alone kills me," he said, acknowledging his feelings.

"It's not like I don't know what that feels like: Being in a big empty house, and the footsteps echoing through the hallway, no one there – and no one on the pillow next to you. F**k. How do you make yourself happy in a situation like that?" he asked.

In the freewheeling interview, the tech billionaire discussed several other topics, but it's his words about his life and about abandonment that rang a bell.

"When I was a child, there's one thing I said, 'I never want to be alone.' That's what I would say."