Several current and former directors at Tesla Inc. and SpaceX were reportedly aware of Elon Musk’s use of illegal drugs, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Saturday.
Concerns were raised about the extent of Musk’s drug consumption, including instances of drug use with board members. The board did not initiate investigations into the matter, and no official documentation of concerns was made, the report said.
This revelation follows a recent Delaware judge’s criticism of the relationship between Elon Musk and his directors, citing conflicts of interest while ruling that Musk’s $55 billion pay package was excessive.
Elon Musk and his lawyer, Alex Spiro, did not respond to requests for comment from the Wall Street Journal. Previous reports from the paper suggested that Musk had used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms, primarily at private events. In response to those reports, Spiro stated that Musk underwent regular and random drug testing at SpaceX and had never failed a test.
The Saturday report mentioned that some friends and directors felt compelled to partake in illegal drug use with Musk to avoid upsetting him. The fear of potentially “losing the social capital” associated with being in Musk’s circle was also cited as a motivating factor.
Elon Musk responded to the previous Wall Street Journal story on his alleged drug use on X last month, stating, “Whatever I’m doing, I should obviously keep doing it!” In his X post, Musk highlighted Tesla and SpaceX as the world’s most valuable car and space companies, adding, “If drugs actually helped improve my net productivity over time, I would definitely take them!”
Elon Musk oversees six companies: Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter); The Boring Co. (tunneling venture); Neuralink (brain implant developer); and xAI (artificial intelligence startup).