Elon Musk’s drug use worries Tesla and SpaceX leaders, reports Wall Street Journal

7 Jan 2024

Musk has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, often at private parties, the Journal said, citing unnamed witnesses and others with knowledge of the matter.

Elon Musk’s drug use has worried executives and board members at businesses he runs, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the billionaire and the companies.

Musk has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, often at private parties, the Journal said, citing unnamed witnesses and others with knowledge of the matter. People close to the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer told the newspaper his drug use was ongoing, and that, in particular, he was consuming ketamine. Musk said in August he had a prescription to use the drug as an antidepressant.

I have serious concerns about SSRIs, as they tend to zombify people.

Occasional use of Ketamine is a much better option, in my opinion. I have a prescription for when my brain chemistry sometimes goes super negative.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2023

After Musk puffed on a joint containing marijuana on Joe Rogan’s podcast in September 2018, the Pentagon reviewed the federal security clearance tied to his role as CEO of Space Exploration Technologies, which is certified to launch military spy satellites, Bloomberg News first reported in March 2019.

“After that one puff with Rogan, I agreed, at NASA’s request, to do 3 years of random drug testing,” Musk (52) posted on Sunday on X, the social media company he owns. “Not even trace quantities were found of any drugs or alcohol.”

Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News. Alex Spiro, an attorney for the billionaire, told the Journal that his client was “regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test”, and referred to “false facts” in the article, but didn’t detail them.

SpaceX is now the only US company approved to transport Nasa astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The Pentagon has stepped up purchases of launches from the closely held company in recent years, and in June contracted with SpaceX’s satellite communications business Starlink to support Ukraine’s military.

The Journal reported that Linda Johnson Rice, who became a Tesla director in 2017, didn’t stand for re-election two years later out of frustration with Musk’s behaviour and her concerns about his alleged drug use.

Read more about SA-born Musk in Daily Maverick: Revenge of the nerd – who is Elon Musk?

Musk oversees six companies: Tesla, SpaceX and X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter; the tunnelling venture The Boring Co.; brain implant developer Neuralink; and artificial intelligence startup xAI. His $219.4-billion net worth ranks as No 1 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. DM

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