Elon Musk, in November.POOL (via Portal)
Billionaire Elon Musk is facing a new test. Some executives and board members of the six companies he owns, including electric vehicle maker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX, are concerned about his drug use, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 6. In the article, he notes that he has taken LSD and cocaine , ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, among others.
A lawyer for Musk told the WSJ that Musk regularly submits to random drug tests at SpaceX and has “never failed one.” The executive's tendencies are not uncommon in the United States, where drug use is on the rise and business laws and regulations are being relaxed. However, the increasing drug prevalence among CEOs is problematic. It's hard to know where the line is, especially because they're always working.
Attitudes among business owners have changed in recent years as most U.S. states have legalized recreational marijuana use. Data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in 2021, only 16% of private workplaces surveyed tested their employees for substances, less than half the number in 1996.
Even government agencies such as the CIA and FBI have relaxed hiring rules, and some officials have expressed concerns about their ability to attract young talent, according to a New York Times article published in April 2023.
Those who study the habits of their employees find that they are used more frequently. Laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics analyzed millions of tests conducted in 2021 and found that the global positivity rate had risen to its highest level in two decades.
With the increasing prescription of medications such as ketamine, including to treat mental health conditions, companies can no longer take strict action against employees who take these medications outside of work hours. Musk himself has said that he uses ketamine to treat his depression. Other tech company executives like OpenAI's Sam Altman are promoting companies that encourage increased use of psychedelics to treat addiction and other illnesses.
Still, substance use by managers could pose risks. On the one hand, the use of federally banned drugs, including marijuana, could jeopardize public contracts worth millions of dollars. Furthermore, it is difficult to determine what constitutes working hours for a constantly busy CEO whose every word can move markets.
As with other mood-altering substances such as alcohol, the influence of drugs on performance can be subjective and difficult to assess. Tech executives who pride themselves on alternative thinking may think it's OK to take drugs. For the average office technician, after-hours consumption probably isn't worth their employer's attention either.
But when it comes to senior executives, boards would have the right to set stricter boundaries, such as conducting regular testing or requiring transparency. If anything, that would alert them that a drug problem is brewing before it begins.
The authors are columnists for Portal Breaking Views. The opinions are yours. The translation by Carlos Gómez Abajo is the responsibility of Five days
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