Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has come under fire from fellow executives and board members over his alleged drug use, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
In its article, the WSJ reported that business leaders involved with Musk have grown increasingly worried and vocal over his use of a plethora of illicit substances, including cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, and LSD. In one instance cited by the media platform, Tesla board director Linda Rice declined to run for re-election in protest of the issue, while in another example, SpaceX executives expressed concerns that Musk’s “unhinged” and “cringeworthy” behavior during a meeting was caused by drug use.
The WSJ based its reporting on interviews with anonymous sources, including witnesses who claimed that the billionaire was still taking drugs at private parties. In 2018, Musk appeared smoking marijuana in a video alongside podcaster Joe Rogan. The event led NASA, which works closely with SpaceX and enforces a strict no-drug policy among its employees and federal contractors, to launch an investigation into the aerospace firm and caused the company to implement mandatory, random drug tests. Last year, Musk also revealed he took a prescribed dosage of ketamine for depression in an August post on his social media platform X, in which he also claimed to possess “serious concerns about SSRIs, as they tend to zombify people.”
Musk also took to social media to respond to the WSJ’s allegations. According to a January 7 post from the embattled CEO’s account, “3 years of random drug testing,” stemming from his video with Rogan, had found “Not even trace quantities” of any drugs or alcohol. “@WSJ is not fit to line a parrot cage for bird,” he concluded, ending his tweet with a poop emoji.
In December, Tesla was accused of dismissing faulty components and charging customers for under-warranty repairs in a Reuters article. The report resulted in new probes in Norway and Sweden, where the automaker continues to face an aggressive pro-labor movement after it refused to sign an agreement with Swedish employees.
