Elon Musk says that he benefits from the use of ketamine –– and investors should be pleased that he takes it –– but when he posts late at night on the social media platform he owns, he insists that he is rarely under the influence.
The Tesla CEO made all of those comments during a well-publicized interview with the journalist Don Lemon.
“There are times when I have sort of a … negative chemical state in my brain, like depression I guess, or depression that’s not linked to any negative news, and ketamine is helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind,” Musk told Lemon, as quoted by CNN.com.
Per CNN, “Musk added that he has a prescription for the drug from ‘an actual, real doctor’ and uses ‘a small amount once every other week or something like that.’”
Musk’s drug use has been the subject of intense speculation and media coverage for years. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Musk is known to use ketamine.
“Routine drug use has moved from an after-hours activity squarely into corporate culture, leaving boards and business leaders to wrestle with their responsibilities for a workforce that frequently uses. At the vanguard are tech executives and employees who see psychedelics and similar substances, among them psilocybin, ketamine and LSD, as gateways to business breakthroughs,” the Journal reported, noting that the “account of Musk’s drug use comes from people who witnessed him use ketamine and others with direct knowledge of his use.”
Following the publication of that story, Musk posted an endorsement of ketamine’s benefits.
“Depression is overdiagnosed in the US, but for some people it really is a brain chemistry issue,” Musk said at the time. “But zombifying people with SSRIs for sure happens way too much. From what I’ve seen with friends, ketamine taken occasionally is a better option.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported earlier this year on Musk’s drug use, noting that it apparently spooked some executives at his SpaceX.
That prompted NASA to issue a statement clearing the company of any illicit activity.
“The agency does not have evidence of non-compliance from SpaceX on how the company addresses the drug- and alcohol-free workforce regulations,” NASA said in a statement at the time. “We expect our commercial partners to meet all workplace safety requirements in the execution of those missions and the services they provide the American people.”
In his interview with Lemon, Musk said that his use of ketamine should not concern investors.
“From a standpoint of Wall Street, what matters is execution,” Musk said, as quoted by CNN. “Are you building value for investors? Tesla is worth about as much as the rest of the car industry combined … so from an investor standpoint, if there is something I’m taking, I should keep taking it.”
More from CNN’s report on the interview:
“While Musk said he doesn’t drink and doesn’t ‘know how to smoke pot,’ he didn’t specify whether he was talking about ketamine or another substance when he said he is ‘almost always’ sober while posting late at night…Musk also discussed the state of the core advertising business on X, which has suffered since the billionaire acquired the company formerly known as Twitter because of a rise in hateful and controversial content on the platform. Musk previously said advertisers who left X over concerns about antisemitic content could ‘go f**k yourself’ and accused them of killing the company.”
Musk’s interview with Lemon has drawn considerable attention this week for its contentious exchanges. The tension spilled over and apparently prompted Musk to cancel a planned deal with Lemon, the former CNN host, to host a new show on the social media platform X.
“Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’” Lemon said in a statement last week.
He added that Musk’s “commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me.”
At one point in the interview, Lemon asked Musk about the uptick in hate speech on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, since Musk took it over a year ago.
“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don,” Musk said in response, as quoted by CNN. “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview.”
In a statement of its own, X said, “The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities. However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.”