WSJ "Musk's Drug Use Raises Concerns Among Tesla and SpaceX Executives"

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 7th (local time), citing sources familiar with the matter, that concerns are growing among Tesla and SpaceX executives regarding CEO Elon Musk's illegal drug use.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to those who have directly witnessed or are aware of Musk's drug use, he has often consumed psychedelic drugs such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), as well as cocaine, ecstasy, and hallucinogenic mushrooms at private parties held worldwide.

At a party in LA in 2018, he took several LSD tablets, and the following year at a party in Mexico, he held a hallucinogenic mushroom party. In 2021, during Art Basel in Miami, he took ketamine at a house party with Kimberly Musk. Additionally, he has been involved in controversy for smoking marijuana in public places and on YouTube.

Among the board members and executives, concerns are growing that such drug use could adversely affect the health of Musk, who is currently 52 years old, as well as the management of the business. WSJ pointed out that "illegal drug abuse could violate federal policies that jeopardize SpaceX's multi-billion-dollar federal contracts," potentially impacting investors' assets and tens of thousands of jobs. SpaceX is currently the only U.S. company authorized to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

Earlier, the outlet reported that such concerns were also behind Linda Johnson Rice, a former Tesla board member, choosing not to seek reappointment and leaving the board after her term ended in 2019. Sources said some Tesla board members raised worries about Musk's alleged drug use but discussed the matter indirectly and did not mention it in official board agendas or public meetings. The sources also shared an episode where Musk's close associates worried about his drug use when he posted Tesla's plan to go private on Twitter in the past.

On the other hand, Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, told WSJ, "Musk has undergone regular or random drug tests at SpaceX and has never failed any," calling the report "incorrect facts." Musk himself also denied the allegations on X that day, stating, "Since taking a (marijuana) puff with Joe Rogan during a 2018 podcast appearance, I have complied with NASA's requirements and undergone random drug tests for three years, with no trace of drugs or alcohol detected."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.