Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX
Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX
This links to the archived version. Original link is: https://www.wsj.com/business/elon-musk-illegal-drugs-e826a9e1
Elon Musk and his supporters offer several explanations for his contrarian views, unfiltered speech and provocative antics. They’re an expression of his creativity. Or the result of his mental-health challenges. Or fallout from his stress, or sleep deprivation.
In recent years, some executives and board members at his companies and others close to the billionaire have developed a persistent concern that there is another component driving his behavior: his use of drugs.
And they fear the Tesla TSLA -0.18%decrease; red down pointing triangle and SpaceX chief executive’s drug use could have major consequences not just for his health, but also the six companies and billions in assets he oversees, according to people familiar with Musk and the companies.
The world’s wealthiest person has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, often at private parties around the world, where attendees sign nondisclosure agreements or give up their phones to enter, according to people who have witnessed his drug use and others with knowledge of it. Musk has previously smoked marijuana in public and has said he has a prescription for the psychedelic-like ketamine.
In 2018, for example, he took multiple tabs of acid at a party he hosted in Los Angeles. The next year he partied on magic mushrooms at an event in Mexico. In 2021, he took ketamine recreationally with his brother, Kimbal Musk, in Miami at a house party during Art Basel. He has taken illegal drugs with current SpaceX and former Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson.
Etc. etc. That should get the bulk of the summary in. Given Elon Musk's widely known partying in Silicon Valley, as well as him acknowledging the use of both Ketamine and Ambien as party drugs, the news of harder drugs is no surprise to me at least.
Elon has denied this article, but here's some interesting details. This one is spicy:
Hundreds of SpaceX employees gathered around mission control at the rocket company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., in anticipation of Musk, who was nearly an hour late to arrive at the all-hands meeting about the company’s latest rocket.
When he finally took the stage, Musk was strangely incomprehensible at times. He slurred his words and rambled for around 15 minutes, according to executives in attendance, and referred repeatedly to SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket prototype, which was known as BFR, as “Big F—ing Rocket.”
I don't expect much to happen with regards to TSLA board or SpaceX board. But maybe the Feds will be forced to step in? Elon does have a top secret clearance apparently, and hard drugs are a big no-no.
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You're correct in practical terms, but that's not how it works high up. Here's how you use Musk, if you're a super rich billionaire:
1 - find some moronic project, like car-tunnels for electric cars.
2 - invest 10 million
3 - get musk involved, pay him some insane salary and bonus for it. The project becomes super popular and investors flock to it because Musk is involved and they're all hoping it'll be the next Tesla.
4 - ridiculous project balloons to massive size, your share in it blows up 50 fold, based purely on whatever bullshit Musk is promising.
5 - sell for 5000% profit
6 - laugh as the idiots get left holding the bag of a totally bullshit project that doesn't even work in theory. Toast your buddy Elon as he cashes his bonus before it all collapses.
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You're right... but.... the far right that he's so courted over the past few years cares deeply about the drug issue.
This is exactly the wrong reputation he needs to be building for his newfound buddies.
The far right cares about being able to control populations with strong drug laws. Minority populations, from what I've seen.
Tons of them do drugs though, they don't actually give a shit about that.
They absolutely do not care about drug use, only the identity of the user
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Who cares
I don't think his problem is that he's done drugs. It seems like the problem is he's done all the drugs. I've seen Elon say stupid shit from the start, but it wasn't anywhere as dumb as the shit he says today. I think he's fried his brain with way too many drugs. I'm not anti drug at all but doing too much will definitely fuck you up more.
The amplifier here has been years and years and years of sleep deprivation. Putting psychoactive drugs that keeps you awake on top of that is, at best, like throwing water on top of an oil fire, at worst like throwing napalm on it.
Also, in addition to that, there's the utter lack of maturity, grudge-holding, perpetually greedy and needy.
I have little respect for Musk - I think he's a horrible person - but I have some conflicting feelings on this one. I've never really been a recreational drug user, and don't even drink much, but most of the ones mentioned haven't been shown to have lasting negative effects, and I don't really care what he does at a party. On the other hand, it shows pretty poor judgement to show up to work impaired. Also, whether or not you agree with it, using illegal drugs isn't compatible with having a security clearance.
LSD, Cocaine, and Alcohol all have significant negative long-term effects. Even if he wasn't taking any of the other drugs, these three are big red flags, especially in combination with the other drugs (ie: Ambien), which mix very poorly.
Its not just the effects of drugs in isolation, when you start mixing into your system like this the negative effects are multiplied.
EDIT: Maybe the other drugs have bad long term effects too. But I'm only familiar with some of these drugs. I too am not a user at all, but consider this a strange benefits to going to a party school for college. You end up meeting a bunch of people experimenting on their own bodies with this stuff.
This is just so idiotic. Screw Musk, but we have so much research showing the positive effects of LSD and mushrooms, and now we are doing many trials for ketamine therapy for depression. Sure, these drugs can be abused, but so can alcohol, by a magnitude more.
Came here to say that. Also cocaine and ecstasy are not that uncommon anymore. Someone super conservative ran to the media to report this „drug abusing monster“. Sounds like a Karen.
Disclaimer: I personally think Elon Musk is neither intelligent nor good at managing. He is nothing but a joke with a lot of money.
There are sooo many better reasons to hate this dude, this shit is so stupid. Like, seriously, who the fuck cares if he dropped a couple tabs? I'm much more concerned by the things he says and does when he's sober. Stop stigmatizing drug-use, it helps no one.
I'm not anti drug at all but it seems like he's done way too many drugs and has lost his mind. I always thought he was dumb, but more recently he's been acting orders of magnitude more insane. Too many drugs will fuck up your brain and when the person in question is a mega billionaire with tons of power that is a serious concern.
I think people are glossing over the "prescription for ketamine" and other articles that states "he takes micro and macro doses daily" (Which is a hilarious way to frame it).
But being on dissociatives daily can't be good.
Musk's drug use, which includes LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and ketamine, according to people familiar with the matter, is at the center of an extensive new report from The Journal that details how executives at several of the billionaire's companies have struggled to manage his substance use and erratic behavior.
I've always said that his brain has gone mushy from all the blow. It's really the most consistent explanation for his behaviour.