In the past, Elon Musk has been seen smoking weed on camera with Joe Rogan. Stories abound about the billionaire’s alleged drug use, including cocaine, LSD, and psychedelic mushrooms, at parties all over the globe. He’s discussed using ketamine with a prescription, though there are further, also alleged, stories about Musk taking the drug recreationally with his brother in Miami. In 2017, he reportedly showed up an hour late to an all-hands meeting at SpaceX, slurring his words to the point that another executive took over the presentation. Apparently, the issue is so bad that board members, colleagues, and friends are leaking stories about his drug abuse to the press. According to Musk, however, it’s all lies.
“After that one puff with Rogan, I agreed, at NASA’s request, to do 3 years of random drug testing,” Musk wrote in a post on X, the platform everyone used to call Twitter. “Not even trace quantities were found of any drugs or alcohol.”
That stands in contrast to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, which details conversations with multiple sources who told reporters that Musk’s drug use is both alarming and ongoing. Some reportedly worry it might cause the world’s richest man to experience a “health crisis.” However, beyond his own bodily functions, illegal drug use puts government contracts at SpaceX at risk and threatens an estimated $US1 trillion worth of investors’ assets—not to mention thousands of people’s jobs and the US space program.
The WSJ “is not fit to line a parrot cage for bird 💩” Musk wrote on X, punctuating his message with a poop emoji, a favourite of the 52-year-old.
Musk’s denials aside, the stories and allegations continue to pile up. Some reportedly speculate that drugs fueled some of the SpaceX CEO’s more erratic and personally damaging behaviour. According to the WSJ, Tesla board members worried that Musk was high when he tweeted about plans to take the company private, a choice that prompted a major fraud trial and seemingly cost shareholders tens of millions of dollars. Some told the WSJ that Tesla board members asked the CEO’s brother, Kimbal Musk, to approach him about the problem. Musk was also reportedly high when he nearly burst into tears in an interview about how hard that year had been.
NASA launched a $US5 million probe into Musk’s drug use after the CEO smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2018. Six years later, the space agency still hasn’t said what its investigation turned up. Employee drug use at SpaceX would violate the terms of the company’s $US14 billion government contracts.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer who represents Musk and often speaks on behalf of the billionaire, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SpaceX, Tesla, and X did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s questions. Musk hasn’t said much about the issue. A day after the WSJ published its article about Musk’s alleged drug use, he tweeted, “lol.”