Sources: some executives and board members fear that Elon Musk's use of LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms, ketamine, and other drugs could harm his companies
Some executives and board members fear the billionaire's use of drugs—including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine—could harm his companies
Wall Street Journal
Context & Ripple Effects
This report places leadership conduct and oversight at the center of risk discussions around Musk’s companies. It also fits earlier coverage of drug use becoming embedded in parts of Silicon Valley corporate culture, where private behavior can become a board-level issue when it affects leadership judgment or workplace dynamics.
The governance question sharpened in related reporting that some Tesla and SpaceX directors had used drugs with Musk and felt pressure to do so, raising concerns about director independence. That connection matters because boards are the formal check on executive risk.
First-order effects
Executives and board members must contend with the reported possibility that Musk’s conduct could create operational, reputational, and leadership-continuity risks for the companies he leads.
The allegations put greater pressure on the boards’ oversight role, particularly their ability to assess risks involving the executive they are meant to supervise.
Second-order effects
If directors’ independence is itself questioned, stakeholders may have less confidence that internal governance can address the reported risks without outside pressure.
The episode can make senior leaders and prospective executives more attentive to workplace culture and escalation channels, since the concern is not limited to a founder’s private conduct.
Third-order effects
If similar cases persist, founder-led technology companies may face stronger expectations that boards demonstrate independence and credible controls around key-person risk.
The broader shift is from treating executive behavior as separate from company governance to judging it by its potential effect on decision-making, culture, and corporate oversight.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing treatment of senior-executive conduct as a governance and key-person-risk issue rather than solely a private matter.
indeed, leave DRUGS out of this Elon was always a chud and no amount of sobriety would have saved him from tanking Twitter
@doniecnn
Donie O'Sullivan on threads
I, for one, am shocked. https://www.wsj.com/...
@esg.hound
Eric Roesch on threads
This is a bold faced lie. It's amazing how brazenly and easily he tells complete falsehoods. There would be a chain of custody form and tons of paperwork, which he conveniently doesn't provide
@marcomerican
Marco Merica on threads
He told Isaacson he didn't like doing illegal drugs. Yet another reminder of the main problem with that book. Here we have eyewitness accounts from multiple sources and Isaacson again runs with an unchallenged statement from a known pathological liar. Something that stood out …
@technicallymims
Christopher Mims on threads
I have no special knowledge of this reporting or how it came together, so what I'm about to say is the equivalent of me commenting on a New York Times or Bloomberg piece: When you have executives, board members and people close to Elon all going on the record, even anonymously …
@pkafka
Peter Kafka on threads
Reminder that before the WSJ published this story about the world's richest man and his drug use they spent a lot of time and money with lawyers poring over every word.
@datadrivenmd
Jorge Caballero on threads
Speaking as a board-certified anesthesiologist that has administered ketamine to patients ranging from 4 to 60 years old: there's absolutely nothing about Ketamine that would explain Musk's racism, misogyny, transphobia, antisemitism, or xenophobia. No, his statements and/or beh…
@crumbler
Casey Newton on threads
Stuff like this is so hard to get on the record. Bravo to @kirsten.grind and @glazer for this piece on how Musk's drug use worries those around him https://www.wsj.com/...
@karaswisher
Kara Swisher on threads
When folks ask me why this entrepreneur has changed so drastically and not in a good way, I have no answer. But here's one from the @wsj that sounds plausible: Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX https://www.wsj.com/...
@FuckElon@mastodon.social
@FuckElon@mastodon.social on mastodon
WSJ: — 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 othe…
@igb@mastodon.hccp.org
@igb@mastodon.hccp.org on mastodon
Wait, Elon's drug use (and a cohort of obviously eager enablers/board members) aside, why the hell is the public paying to train his employees?! — “NASA demanded written assurances that SpaceX was complying with the federal drug-free workplace law and spent $5 million in taxpay…
@elonmusk
Elon Musk on x
@WholeMarsBlog After that one puff with Rogan, I agreed, at NASA's request, to do 3 years of random drug testing. Not even trace quantities were found of any drugs or alcohol. @WSJ is not fit to line a parrot cage for bird 💩
@elonmusk
Elon Musk on x
@JohnnaCrider1 True
@johnnacrider1
Johnna on x
The media is harder on Elon Musk for smoking one puff on Joe Rogan's show 3 years ago than it was on the Biden Administration when cocaine was found in the White House. Sus
@wholemarsblog
@wholemarsblog on x
apparently “how is elon is he getting enough sleep” is code for “is he on drugs” 🤡 [image]
@elonmusk
Elon Musk on x
@JeremiahBonds @WhatsupFranks If drugs actually helped improve my net productivity over time, I would definitely take them!
@elonmusk
Elon Musk on x
lol
@elonmusk
Elon Musk on x
TMZ has vastly higher standards than the WSJ (actually)
@kyliebytes
Kylie Robison on x
everything i dont like is a hit piece everything i do like is the absolute truth
@ktmboyle
Katherine Boyle on x
There's been a daily drip of hit pieces recently, and unless you've witnessed one first hand, it's hard to explain what they're designed to do. Readers see a hit piece and only experience the final product— often it's nothing and the world moves on, so it looks like there's no...
@radiofreetom
Tom Nichols on x
Well, good thing there's no security issues involved
@dhh
@dhh on x
“Taking LSD was a profound experience... It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” - Steve Jobs
@wholemarsblog
@wholemarsblog on x
Wow so you're telling me that not only did this guy sell more EVs than any other automaker on Earth in 2023, launch 80% of payload to orbit But he did it while on LSD, cocaine, ecstasy & ketamine? Just when you thought the guy couldn't get more impressive what a dumb smear job [i…
@emilyglazer
Emily Glazer on x
Elon Musk's use of drugs—including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine—has made some Tesla and SpaceX leaders worry about potential risk to his companies by me and @KirstenGrind along with a team of @WSJ reporters and editors https://www.wsj.com/...
@wsj
@wsj on x
Elon Musk's use of drugs—including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine—has made some Tesla and SpaceX leaders worry about potential risk to his companies. https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
@wbhub
Will Hubbard on x
This is definitely a WSJ hit piece, but I really hope Elon doesn't go the way of Howard Hughes. He's too important for humanity. https://www.wsj.com/...
@kirstengrind
Kirsten Grind on x
Inside Elon Musk's illegal drug use, and the years-long concern of some leaders at Tesla and SpaceX - especially, lately, about his use of ketamine. Some directors have taken drugs along with him. An investigation w/ the great @EmilyGlazer https://www.wsj.com/...
@silvermanjacob
Jacob Silverman on x
“People close to Musk, who is now 52, said his drug use is ongoing, especially his consumption of ketamine, and that they are concerned it could cause a health crisis.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@parismarx
Paris Marx on x
“Illegal drug use would likely be a violation of federal policies that could jeopardize SpaceX's billions of dollars in government contracts. Musk is intrinsic to the value of his companies, potentially putting at risk ~$1 trillion in [investor] assets.” https://www.wsj.com/...