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Elon Musk has had an eventful few years full of questionable decisions, which some Tesla and SpaceX executives reportedly fear is related to his drug use, The Wall Street Journal reports.
While Musk’s often unfiltered comments and provocative actions are often attributed to the billionaire's creativity or mental health challenges, executives at his companies reportedly have an ongoing concern that they’re instead the result of his drug use. This, the Journal notes, puts his health—and the companies' bottom lines—at risk.
Musk didn't respond to the Journal's request for comment. But on X, he said "Couldn’t ask for a higher compliment" to a tweet thread that called the story "a dumb smear job" and joked that his achievements are doubly impressive if he was also high.
The Journal says Musk has used marijuana, mushrooms, ketamine, LSD, ecstasy, and cocaine.
His marijuana use put his security clearance at risk in 2019 after he smoked it on camera during an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast. SpaceX has federal spaceflight contracts, and the Drug-Free Workplace Act requires federal and non-federal workplaces with contracts of $100,000 or more to implement a Drug-Free Workplace Program, which includes drug testing requirements (even if the drug in question is legal in the state). NASA tests for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, and PCP, according to NASA documentation from March.
According to the Journal, the Rogan appearance resulted in NASA spending "$5 million in taxpayer dollars on training for SpaceX employees" as well as worker drug tests.
On the ketamine front, the Journal last summer reported that Musk—as well as other tech CEOs—micro-dosed the substance "as gateways to business breakthroughs." About a month after that published, Musk tweeted that "occasional use of Ketamine is a much better option [than antidepressants], in my opinion. I have a prescription for when my brain chemistry sometimes goes super negative."
The Journal details several incidents during which Musk appeared to be under the influence, though his use of drugs was not confirmed and no one in Tesla or SpaceX leadership officially called him out on it. Former Tesla director Linda Johnson Rice, however, did decline to stand for re-election to Tesla's board in 2019, reportedly due to frustration with "Musk’s volatile behavior."