Sources: some Tesla and SpaceX directors have consumed drugs with Elon Musk feeling there is an expectation to do so, raising concerns about their independence
Board members have reaped hundreds of millions from stock awards and separate investments, even as some have done drugs with Musk …
Wall Street Journal
Context & Ripple Effects
The report extends earlier coverage in which executives and directors reportedly feared that Musk’s drug use could harm his companies, turning a leadership-risk question into a board-governance question. It also sits alongside broader reporting on drug use becoming entangled with Silicon Valley corporate culture, where informal conduct can create formal oversight problems.
The key issue is not only alleged conduct, but whether directors with substantial stock awards and separate investments can exercise independent judgment when personal and financial ties to the chief executive overlap.
First-order effects
Tesla and SpaceX face sharper scrutiny of whether their boards can independently oversee Musk, following reports that some directors felt pressure to participate in drug use with him.
The reported combination of social expectations, stock awards and separate investments makes directors’ incentives and potential conflicts a more immediate governance concern.
Second-order effects
Investors and governance-focused shareholders could press for clearer disclosure and stronger safeguards around director independence, compensation and outside financial relationships.
Board candidates and existing directors may face higher reputational and diligence costs when joining or remaining on founder-led companies where informal access to the CEO is central to influence.
Third-order effects
If similar allegations continue to surface, founder-led companies may face a higher bar for demonstrating that boards are not merely financially aligned with powerful executives but able to constrain them.
The episode points toward governance standards that treat workplace culture and executive conduct as oversight issues when they can compromise directors’ independence.
The trend: Founder-centric tech companies are facing growing pressure to show that personal loyalty, financial rewards and informal culture do not displace independent board oversight.
WSJ reports: “Some current & former Tesla & SpaceX directors have knowledge of Musk's illegal drug use but haven't taken public action, according to people who witnessed the drug use or were briefed on it.” https://www.wsj.com/... “Other directors, Gracias, Jurvetson & Kimbal Mus…
begging the question how much partying is appropriate with your boss? and with people over whom you have oversight responsibilities? some, none, a ton? https://www.wsj.com/...
More great reporting from @kirsten.grind and the WSJ crew on Musk's drug use and how a web of money and partying among his directors makes a mockery of the idea of an independent board https://www.wsj.com/...
Really curious how Space Force is justifying its continued partnership with SpaceX given this and Musk's recent bout of posting conspiracy theories about immigration on Twitter. [embedded post]
how is the government not able to pull funding or contracts from them or at least exert some pressure? I don't think NASA or blue origin are throwing ketamine parties between scattering debris all over protected wetlands [embedded post]
The @WSJ isn't going to back off of this reporting and they shouldn't. Good for them for finally running down stories that have been discussed in SV for many years: The Money and Drugs That Tie Elon Musk to Some Tesla Directors https://www.wsj.com/...
Multiple directors of Elon Musk's companies—some who have used drugs with him—have profited enormously from their deep ties to the billionaire, raising questions among shareholders about the board's independence. https://www.wsj.com/...
Some directors at Tesla and SpaceX have known for years about Elon Musk's drug use; Larry Ellison invited Musk to his Hawaiian island to dry out. Our latest investigation @EmilyGlazer @rfelliott @coulterjones https://www.wsj.com/...
The deep ties between Elon Musk and multiple directors of his companies—some who have used drugs with him—raise questions about the independence of those charged with overseeing the billionaire CEO. Latest w/ @KirstenGrind @EmilyGlazer @coulterjones: https://www.wsj.com/...
This WSJ account leads with the drugs, but the heart of the story is reporting on how Tesla's board is stacked with people very close to the CEO they are supposed to oversee. https://www.wsj.com/...
Other directors have consumed drugs with him, according to people who have witnessed the drug use and others with knowledge of it. The volume of drug use by Musk and with board members has become concerning, some of these people said. https://www.wsj.com/...
Good thing national security and clearances aren't involved | Multiple directors of Elon Musk's companies—some who have used drugs with him—have profited enormously from their deep ties to the billionaire https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Most members of Tesla's current eight-person board have amassed shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars from their seats over the years, significantly more than what board members at other companies make for their service https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
“The outreach came as friends and others close to Musk worried that his drug use was getting worse, and some asked him to go to rehab” https://www.wsj.com/...
This is getting spicy. Latest installment of WSJ's series on Musk, drugs, money, and management. Musk did damage control for Steve Jurvetson when he was going through a sex scandal. Larry Ellison offered to let Musk sober up on his Hawaiian island. https://www.wsj.com/...
In the culture Musk has created around him, some directors feel there is an expectation to consume drugs with him because they think refraining could upset the billionaire, who has made them a lot of money, some of the people said https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
In response to prior reporting by The Wall Street Journal about Musk's use of drugs—including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine—Musk and his lawyer said that Musk has never failed a drug test at SpaceX https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
At the upscale Austin Proper Hotel, Elon Musk has attended social gatherings in recent years with Tesla board member Joe Gebbia... where Musk took ketamine recreationally through a nasal spray bottle multiple times" https://archive.is/8o6Az
Musk and his lawyer didn't respond to requests for comment. Tesla's general counsel and a SpaceX spokesman didn't respond to requests for comment. Read the full story: https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
“Luckily, Jurvetson, even though the company designated him an independent director, had a good friend with whom he had deep financial ties and also attended parties with, using ecstasy and LSD: Musk.” Fascinating, esp. in light of Tornetta. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Some current and former Tesla and SpaceX directors have knowledge of Musk's drug use but haven't taken public action, according to people who have witnessed the drug use or were briefed on it https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
I look forward to @ProfRobAnderson explaining why it's actually good corporate governance to have your CEO pressuring independent directors into snorting lines with him like they're in a DARE after-school special. https://www.wsj.com/... [image]
Beyond board pay, some Tesla and SpaceX directors have tens of millions of dollars in additional investments in Musk's companies. Musk, in turn, invests in some directors' companies. https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...
The ties raise questions among some shareholders about the independence of board members charged with overseeing Musk. A judge this week struck down his $55.8 billion Tesla pay package, saying directors who signed off on it in 2018 were beholden to Musk https://www.wsj.com/...