Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk publicly defended himself against allegations of drug use, taking to Twitter to criticize the Wall Street Journal’s reporting.
What Happened: Musk, in a post on Sunday, said he had agreed to undertake three years of random drug testing at the behest of NASA, with no traces of any drugs or alcohol found.
“After that one puff with [Joe] 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,” Musk said, reacting to a series of posts about the report. “@WSJ is not fit to line a parrot cage for bird [poop].”
The Wall Street Journal report raised concerns about Musk's alleged drug use, prompting unease among his associates.
Linda Johnson Rice, a former director at Tesla Inc. TSLA, reportedly did not seek re-election to the board citing concerns about Musk's substance use and unpredictable behavior.
According to the report, Rice informally suggested that the board should consider investigating Musk’s purported drug use, which allegedly involved substances like ketamine, LSD, cocaine, and ecstasy. However, her concerns were not acted upon, as per the Journal.
See Also: Everything You Need to Know About Tesla Stock
Why It Matters: Musk's tweet is the latest in a series of public defenses against various allegations and controversies.
In November, he apologized for an antisemitic tweet during an interview at the New York Times DealBook Forum, while saying that the media had ignored his attempts to explain the situation. But he also lashed out with profanity against companies that paused their advertising on X, saying it was akin to "blackmail" and an attempt to silence him.
Musk famously smoked weed with Rogan during a podcast in 2018, which prompted NASA to conduct a safety review of SpaceX and require drug tests for the entire company for a year.
Despite the controversies, Musk's leadership at Tesla and SpaceX continues to see both companies making significant strides in their respective industries.
The report prompted Musk’s supporters to defend him on social media. One of them, Omar Qazi, remarked, “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.”
Musk responded, saying, “Couldn't ask for a higher compliment,” accompanied by laughing emojis.
Photo courtesy: Thomas Hawk on Flickr
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