Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has reportedly used illegal drugs at parties and appeared drugged at events, raising concerns among executives and board members of his various companies, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. Musk, who is 52 years old and one of the world’s richest individuals, is alleged to have used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and magic mushrooms at events across the globe.
The report claims that Musk took several tabs of acid at a party he hosted in Los Angeles in 2018, indulged in magic mushrooms at an event in Mexico in 2019, and took ketamine recreationally with his brother, Kimbal Musk, at a Miami house party in 2021. These events often required attendees to sign nondisclosure agreements or surrender their phones.
Musk’s public drug use includes smoking marijuana on camera with podcaster Joe Rogan in 2018, which briefly caused Tesla’s stock price to plummet, and admitting to taking ketamine to treat his depression. His behavior has raised concerns about his ability to lead his publicly traded companies and manage the roughly $1 trillion in assets held by investors, as well as the tens of thousands of jobs at stake.
In 2017, Musk’s behavior at a SpaceX event raised questions about his substance use. A witness described his 15-minute remarks as “nonsensical,” “unhinged,” and “cringeworthy,” leading SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell to intervene. Musk’s spokesman, Alex Spiro, said the account of the event was false, as confirmed by many present, but did not provide details.
Musk’s erratic behavior has also been attributed to mental illness and lack of sleep from overseeing his companies. He confirmed in 2017 that he has bipolar disorder and said he has not been diagnosed. He also admitted on social media that he takes ketamine to help with depression and said while hosting Saturday Night Live that he has Asperger’s, a type of Autism.
In Musk’s authorized autobiography, author Walter Isaacson wrote that Musk is prone to “demon-like” outbursts at work, lashing out at employees and executives and hardly remembering what happened afterward. Musk is quoted in the book as saying, “I really don’t like doing illegal drugs.”
Musk did not respond to the Journal for the story, but his spokesman, Alex Spiro, said Musk is regularly drug tested and has never failed. Spiro also stated that “there are other false facts” in the story but did not specify them to the Journal. The Post has reached out to Spiro for comment on the Journal’s report.
