Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that
shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink.
And I'm your host, Will Walden. Controversy surrounds Elon Musk,
the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla over allegations of drug use,
including incidents involving cocaine, LSD and ketamine.
Now these claims have raised concerns about Musk's well-being
and the potential impact on his companies and their
stakeholders. Musk, however, refutes these
allegations, sitting that three years of random drug testing by
NASA found no evidence of drug or alcohol use.
The situation gained traction after Musk smoked marijuana on
the Joe Rogan Podcast in 2018, and following this, NASA
requested that Musk undergo random drug testing for three
years, to which he agreed. According to Musk, these tests
showed no traces of drugs or alcohol.
Now this response comes amidst a Wall Street Journal report
suggesting ongoing drug use and abuse by Musk, a claim he
denies. A Musk's reaction to the WSG
report was dismissive and critical, labeling the report as
unworthy and using a poop emoji to express his disdain.
Despite his rebuttals, stories and speculations about his drug
use continue to surface. These include concerns expressed
by Tesla board members and reports of erratic behavior
attributed to drug influence, such as his tweet about taking
Tesla private. Now NASA's involvement escalated
after Musk's appearance on Rogan's podcast, leading to a
$5,000,000 probe into his drug use.
This investigation aimed to ensure compliance with the Drug
Free Workplace requirements of Spacex's $14 billion government
contracts. The results of this
investigation, however, remain undisclosed.
Representatives for Musk and his companies, including SpaceX,
Tesla, and X, formerly Twitter, have not provided immediate
responses to inquiries about these allegations.
Musk himself has been relatively quiet on the issue, aside from
his dismissive tweet following the WSG article.
Now, in defense of Musk, a post on X highlighted his compliance
with NASA's drug testing request, and Musk emphasized
that the test over three years found no trace of drugs or
alcohol. His attorney, Alex Bureau, did
not immediately respond to any requests from the Wall Street
Journal report either. Now, the Wall Street Journal's
reporting has stirred significant discussion, though,
with claims of Musk's use of various drugs, including cocaine
and ketamine. Now, despite these allegations,
the Journal stands by its reporting.
The situation has reportedly caused unease among senior
figures at Musk's companies, with a Tesla board director even
opting not to run for re election due to concern over
Musk's alleged drug use. The Wall Street Journal report
also suggested that SpaceX executives worried about Musk's
state during a company meeting, hinting at possible drug
influence. This incident, coupled with Musk
controversial tweet about Tesla going private, has escalated
concerns about his behavior and its potential impact on his
companies. Musk's admission of using small
doses of ketamine for depression and his infamous smoking
incident on Rogan's podcast prompted NASA to investigate his
drug use, and so far the results are unknown, and it was part of
NASA's commitment to ensuring that the place was drug free.
SpaceX was drug free. They're building rockets for the
Artemis program. They have to be drug free and
also they're sending people to the International Space Station
and satellites with their Falcon 9 rockets.
Now Musk has acknowledged SpaceX employees compliance with drug
testing requirements following the Rogan incident.
This adherence was crucial to SpaceX.
Being a NASA contractor had to uphold laws pertaining to drug
free workplaces. Musk's comments suggest his
awareness of legal and contractual obligations related
to drug use and NASA's investigation into Spacex's
workplace safety, including drug use, was extensive.
It covered multiple SpaceX facilities.
It involved interviews with a significant number of employees,
hundreds of employees, and despite the thorough nature of
this probe, the results have been heavily redacted, with NASA
citing confidentiality and competitive concerns.
Now, a report for the Business Insider and their efforts to
obtain details of the NASA probe face challenges, with initial
responses from the agency indicating no records of the
assessments Results. However, further insistence led
to the release of some documents.
Although heavily redacted, this has sparked further curiosity
about the investigation's findings.
Now, the probe scope included Spacex's commitment to safety
and health practices, particularly in the context of
transporting astronauts. The NASA letter initiated the
review highlighted the importance of safety in the US
space program and the need for compliance with industry
standards and legal requirements.
Despite the extensive nature and cost of the investigation, NASA
has opted not to publicly release all the results, citing
the proprietary nature of the information.
This decision has left many questions unanswered regarding
the findings of the probe in its implications for SpaceX and Elon
Musk. Now, William Gerstenmeyer, the
NASA administrator who requested the review, left the agency
after the conclusion of the probe.
He later joined SpaceX as the vice president of Build and
flight reliability, a move that adds an interesting twist to the
narrative surrounding this investigation And there's an
ongoing controversy surrounding Elon Musk's drug use.
And while Musk denies any wrongdoing, the context of the
allegations and the involvement of organizations like NASA show
that this issue remains an important and unresolved aspect
of his public and professional life.
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