WSJ: Musk used drugs with Tesla and SpaceX advisors – 02/04/2024 – Market

Members of the board of Tesla and SpaceX consumed illicit drugs with the majority shareholder and co-founder of the two companies, Elon Musk, according to a Wall Street Journal report published this Saturday (3).

Musk’s alleged consumption of LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms already worried executives from the electric car manufacturer and the aerospace company. According to another WSJ report from January, Musk allegedly used illegal acts at private parties, where guests signed confidentiality agreements and handed over cell phones to enter.

The board of Tesla and SpaceX, however, did not conduct investigations into the matter, nor document any concerns, the newspaper said.

According to the text published this Saturday, which mentions people close to the billionaire, some friends and directors felt they had to consume illicit drugs with Musk, to avoid upsetting him. They also didn’t want to risk “losing the social capital” of being in the Tesla and SpaceX owner’s circle.

The report also mentions deals worth billions of dollars between Musk and Tesla and SpaceX advisors. These relationships could be considered a problem because, according to rules from the SEC (commission that oversees the American stock market), the board of companies listed on the US stock exchange must maintain administrative independence in relation to the majority shareholders, in order to maintain operations that do not harm their shareholders. .

Musk and his lawyer, Alex Spiro, did not respond to WSJ’s requests for comment. Tesla and SpaceX also did not respond to the company’s requests for information. Sheet.

Previously, Spiro told the WSJ that Musk was regularly and randomly tested for drugs at SpaceX and had never failed a test.

Musk’s relationship with his directors had already been criticized by a Delaware judge this week. She cited the board’s conflicts of interest in her decision that Musk’s $55 billion compensation package was excessive.

Musk’s use of illicit drugs was known to several current and former directors of Tesla and SpaceX, according to the Wall Street Journal. The billionaire has already smoked marijuana in the videocast of comedian and sports commentator Joe Rogan, in an episode broadcast in September 2018.

At the time, Tesla shares fell 9% and the Pentagon reviewed the federal security authorization linked to Musk’s position as CEO of SpaceX, a company certified by the American government to provide satellites to national security agencies.

NASA also demanded guarantees that SpaceX was in compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act, which is federal and mandatory for companies that provide services to the American government. The space satellite company is the only one in the United States authorized to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

“After that single puff with [Joe] Rogan, I agreed, at NASA’s request, to do three years of random drug testing. Not even traces of alcohol or drugs were found,” Musk wrote on X on October 7th.

On the occasion of the first publication of the Wall Street Journal on the 6th, however, Musk changed his approach in a new response. “Whatever I’m doing, I obviously have to keep doing it,” he wrote. He also mentioned Tesla and SpaceX as the most valuable car and aerospace development companies in the world.

“If the drugs really helped improve my net productivity over time, I would definitely take them,” he added.

Musk currently runs six companies: Tesla, SpaceX, X, tunnel contractor The Boring Company, brain implant developer Neuralink and artificial intelligence startup xAI.