Last week, The New York Times reported that Elon Musk’s use of a cocktail of illegal and legal drugs spiked to worrying levels last year while he worked on the successful presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

Mr. Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use. He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen it.

It is unclear whether Mr. Musk, 53, was taking drugs when he became a fixture at the White House this year and was handed the power to slash the federal bureaucracy. But he has exhibited erratic behavior, insulting cabinet members, gesturing like a Nazi and garbling his answers in a staged interview.

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Mr. Musk had been using ketamine often, sometimes daily, and mixing it with other drugs, according to people familiar with his consumption. The line between medical use and recreation was blurry, troubling some people close to him.

He also took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms at private gatherings across the United States and in at least one other country, according to those who attended the events.

The report follows two stories last year in The Wall Street Journal that alleged Musk was using “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.” The Journal said officials at SpaceX and Tesla Motors were worried Musk’s drug use, which likely violated federal law.

A Non-denial Denial?

Last week, Musk dodged a question about The New York Times story during a press conference in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump. He instead attacked the newspaper’s credibility. Musk later issued a denial on his social media site.

"To be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their ass off. I tried 'prescription' ketamine a few years ago and said so on X, so this not even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven't taken it since then,” he wrote.

Musk’s denial is in the present tense (I am NOT taking drugs!). The Times story chronicled Musk’s past drug use during Trump’s presidential campaign last year. The story specifically said it is unclear whether Musk continued using drugs after the campaign ended last November, or if he used them while running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year.

Musk did not respond to the story’s claims about his use of Ecstasy, Adderall, and psychedelic mushrooms during the campaign. Musk’s use of prescription ketamine appears to be more recent than “a few years ago”. In a March 8, 2024 video interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, Musk defended his use of ketamine as being beneficial to him and his shareholders. [Full video]

Musk said the drug helps him manage a “negative chemical state” similar to depression in the interview conducted this month that also touched on politics, content moderation on X and Tesla.

"From the standpoint of Wall Street, what matters is execution," said Musk, who runs the automaker, the rocket company SpaceX and the social media platform X. Musk argued Tesla was worth as much as the rest of the car industry combined.

"For investors, if there's something I'm taking, I should keep taking it."

Musk’s execution at Tesla since that interview has suffered, in part due to the amount of time he devoted to the campaign and DOGE. His embrace of Trump has alienated potential buyers and sent sales plunging around the world. Tesla’s older models are having difficulty keeping up with newer vehicles produced by Chinese electric car companies. Tesla’s only new offering, the Cybertruck, has been a bust with buyers and auto experts alike.

Last week, Musk stepped down as head of DOGE to devote more time to Tesla, SpaceX and his other companies. He had been serving as a special government employee.

A Dangerous Drug

Ketamine is a legal drug that can be therapeutic in small doses but fatal if abused. In October 2023, “Friends” actor Matthew Perry died from an overdose of ketamine and drowned in his pool. The Associated Press reported:

People close to Perry told investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy, an experimental treatment used to treat depression and anxiety. But the medical examiner said the levels of ketamine in Perry’s body were in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery, and that his last treatment 1 1/2 weeks earlier wouldn’t explain those levels. The drug is typically metabolized in a matter of hours.

The report says coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, also contributed.

The amount of ketamine detected “would be enough to make him lose consciousness and lose his posture and his ability to keep himself above the water,” said Dr. Andrew Stolbach, a medical toxicologist with Johns Hopkins Medicine who reviewed the autopsy report at the request of The Associated Press.

Prosecutors charged five persons in connection with Perry’s death. Three defendants have pleaded guilty to charges of illegally distributing ketamine.

Congressional Inquiries

In response to The Times article, the acting ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent a letter to the White House on Wednesday demanding information about whether Musk was using illegal drugs during the campaign and while running DOGE.

“Given his prominent role in the Trump Administration, the American people deserve to know the history and extent of Mr. Musk’s drug use and any influence illicit drugs may have had on his efforts to illegally and recklessly dismantle our government,” Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) wrote. “If Mr. Musk is struggling with substance abuse, it is my hope that he gets the assistance and treatment he needs….

“The drastic and erratic nature of Mr. Musk’s decisions and actions as a government employee, coupled with the reports of his drug use, begs the question of whether Mr. Musk was under the influence of illicit substances while working in your White House. The American people deserve to know whether Mr. Musk was under the influence while he gleefully took a ‘chainsaw’ to our federal government.”

Lynch said the Trump Administration has ignored two previous letters seeking information about Musk’s background and drug use.

“In May, Committee Democrats twice requested information from the White House, Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence relevant to Elon Musk’s background, including his reported history of drug use. The White House and members of your Administration have refused to respond to these requests,” Lynch wrote.

Previous Reports

Musk created a stir when he smoked a combination of tobacco and marijuana during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast in September 2018. Because SpaceX is a major federal contractor, the company is required to maintain a drug-free workforce and administer random drug tests to employees.

On Jan. 6, 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that officials at SpaceX and Tesla Motors were concerned about Musk’s use of much more powerful illegal drugs. “Some executives and board members fear the billionaire’s use of drugs—including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine—could harm his companies,” The Journal reported.

The Journal wrote a follow-up story on Feb. 3, 2024. “[Tesla] Board members have reaped hundreds of millions from stock awards and separate investments, even as some have done drugs with Musk; former Tesla director Larry Ellison offered him a chance to dry out,” the Journal reported.

Journal reporter Rebecca Elliott — who researched and co-wrote both stories — discussed what the team of journalists discovered about Musk’s drug use with The Journal podcast host Kate Linebaugh.

Kate Linebaugh: Musk has also said he has a prescription for ketamine, a psychedelic like drug and a Wall Street Journal investigation in January found that Musk has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms often at private parties around the world. The reporting team found that Musk has consumed drugs with multiple current or former members of Tesla's board. Those members are Antonio Gracias, Steve Jurvetson and Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk's brother. That's according to people who have witnessed their drug use and others with knowledge of it. Elon Musk and his attorney have said that he has never failed a drug test at SpaceX. Others at Tesla have worried that the board isn't doing enough to rein in Musk's drug use.

Rebecca Elliott: There's been concern for years about whether Tesla's board was sufficiently standing up to Elon or putting up guardrails around what is certainly highly unusual behavior for a CEO. My colleagues reported earlier this year about Elon's use of illegal drugs, and this is something that some at his companies have been concerned about over the years. And a real question is, what has the Tesla board done in response?

Elliott said the answer to that question was basically nothing. Some Tesla board members were worried about Musk’s drug use, but the board neither investigated it nor recorded the concerns in minutes of board meetings.

In response to the Journal, Musk and his attorney said he never failed a drug test at SpaceX, which are scheduled randomly. However, The New York Times reported last week that Musk “has received advance warning of the tests, according to people close to the process.”

It should be noted that Musk is accused of doing drugs with SpaceX board members. Gracias and Jurvetson are members of the board. Kimbal Musk was on the SpaceX board from 2002 until 2022.

On Dec. 15, 2024, the Journal reported that Musk did not have the highest government security clearance “to avoid questions about his drug use and contact with foreign officials,” which included Russian President Vladimir Putin. Musk risks losing his existing clearance if he is rejected for a higher one. The top-secret clearance that Musk holds does not give him access to information about some of the defense payloads that SpaceX launches.