Elon Musk has taken to his social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), to deny a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claiming that several executives and board members at businesses he oversees, including Tesla and SpaceX, were concerned about his alleged use of illegal recreational drugs. The Tesla boss claimed that he was subject to three years of random drug testing in his position at SpaceX, which never found evidence “any drugs or alcohol.”
The question of his relationship to illegal substances is relevant because of the lucrative contracts that his company holds with NASA, which requires that its contractors work in a drug-free environment. Musk reportedly agreed to undergo drug testing after he was filmed smoking marijuana on the Joe Rogan podcast. If he were to a fail a drug test, there may be dire consequences for SpaceX.
Musk’s denial came in the wake of a report from the Wall Street Journal, which quoted several unnamed sources who claimed they had witnessed him taking drugs, including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms at private parties around the world.
Read: Tesla Investors Demand Action After Elon Musk’s Antisemitic Social Media Post
Sources also reported to WSJ that there were concerns among leaders at SpaceX and Tesla regarding Musk’s alleged drug use. One particular all-hands meeting at SpaceX in 2017 led to significant consternation after 15 minutes of rambling that attendees described as “nonsensical,” “unhinged,” and “cringeworthy.”
This has raised concerns that some of Musk’s more impulsive decisions may have been influenced by drug use. Alongside the internal concerns among Tesla’s top executives, this could potentially pose an external threat.
“This will give ammunition to class-action lawyers on behalf of disgruntled shareholders at Tesla, if they can tie evidence of drug use to his actual role as an executive,” Stephen Diamond, who teaches corporate governance at the Santa Clara University’s School of Law, told Autonews. “The Tesla board has an obligation to discern what’s going on here.”
Fortunately for Musk, his companies have performed exceptionally well despite the concerns about his personal conduct. Reports indicate that Tesla’s stock has grown by more than 1,000 percent since 2018. According to Gene Munster, a managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, investors are likely to overlook many issues if Tesla’s shares continue to perform strongly.
“A small percentage of investors will sell their stock over the next week and put some pressure on shares,” Munster said. “Most investors won’t care, because it falls into the category that you if want to profit from Elon, you have to put up with his controversies.”
