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- The Wall Street Journal reported that executives at Elon Musk's company were concerned about his drug use.
- At SpaceX, the outlet reported that executives privately worried that Musk was high during an “unhinged” staff meeting.
- According to The Journal, Musk was an hour late and spoke for 15 minutes before the SpaceX president took over.
After Elon Musk showed up nearly an hour late to an all-hands meeting at SpaceX and rambled and slurred his words for about 15 minutes before the meeting was taken over by the spacecraft maker's president, company executives secretly worried whether Musk took drugs. according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported that Musk was unusually incoherent when he took the stage in front of his SpaceX employees to discuss the development of the company's Big Falcon rocket prototype. A senior executive described the event to the outlet as “nonsensical,” “unhinged” and “disgusting.” .”
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell had to step in for Musk and take over the meeting, according to The Journal.
Musk's drug use, which includes LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, according to people familiar with the matter, is the focus of a detailed new report from the Journal that details how executives at several of the billionaire's companies struggled to control his drug use Managing substance use and erratic behavior.
At SpaceX, where illegal drug use could jeopardize the billion-dollar government contracts the defense company has under federal regulations, the Journal's reports on Musk's drug use threaten nearly $1 trillion in investor assets, about 13,000 jobs and more, jeopardizing the future of the U.S. space program.
Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Alex Spiro, Musk's lawyer, told The Journal that his description of the tense meeting was “incorrect, as confirmed by countless people in attendance.”
Previous reports had pointed to Musk's drug use, including ketamine to treat depression, and raised concerns among board members. However, one particularly public incident landed the billionaire in trouble after he smoked marijuana on an episode of a Joe Rogan podcast.
After the episode aired, according to The Journal, NASA insisted that SpaceX promise in writing that the company would follow federal guidelines on drug use in the workplace and spend $5 million in taxpayer money to train SpaceX employees.
SpaceX also began cracking down on illegal substances at the company by deploying drug-sniffing dogs, sources told The Journal.
His alleged drug use has also caused frustration among executives at his other companies, including former Tesla director Linda Johnson Rice.
According to the report, the director was so concerned about the effects of his drug use that Rice did not seek re-election to the company.
Rice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent over the weekend.
Some Tesla board members have also speculated whether Musk may have been using drugs when he tweeted in 2018 that he wanted to take the company private, shocking shareholders and triggering an SEC investigation.
The incident resulted in $40 million in penalties and Musk temporarily resigning from his role as CEO of Tesla.
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