Concerned friends urged Elon Musk, the corporate billionaire and renowned entrepreneur, to consider rehabilitation as concerns about his rising drug usage arose. The 52-year-old Tesla CEO, recognized for his huge contributions to the tech industry, was apparently instructed to “dry out” of medications on billionaire Larry Ellison’s Hawaiian retreat in the winter of 2022, according to the Daily Mail. This advice came amid rising concerns among Musk’s inner circle about the impact of his extracurricular activities, which included incidents of drinking’molly water’ at high-profile Hollywood events.
The Wall Street Journal said that Musk’s close pals expressed worries following his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October 2022. Fears arose about the potential consequences of his drug-related activities for the six firms under his control, as well as the massive $800 billion in assets entrusted by investors. During this period, billionaire Larry Ellison, the fourth richest person globally and the owner of Lanaʻi island, reportedly issued an offer of aid. This gesture coincided with a reported incident at a Hollywood Hills party in which Musk drank a liquid form of MDMA from a water bottle, leading security to clear the area.
Aside from concerns regarding Musk’s personal decisions, associates apparently felt obliged to use illegal narcotics because they feared that not doing so would offend the billionaire. Last month, the Wall Street Journal highlighted Musk’s suspected use of illegal narcotics such as ecstasy and cocaine, creating concern among executives and board members at Musk’s different companies. Musk was said to have used narcotics such as LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms in exclusive private events across the world. Concerns now extend beyond Musk’s health to the possible consequences for his companies, which combined represent about $1 trillion in assets, tens of thousands of employment, and critical components of the United States space program.
In response to the charges, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, stated, “Musk is regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test.” Concerns about Musk’s drug usage have reportedly resulted in resignations from his business enterprises, including former Tesla director Linda Johnson Rice, who purportedly cited irritation with Musk’s behavior as a reason in her decision not to run for reelection in 2019.
Concerns were raised during a SpaceX meeting in 2017, when Musk allegedly slurred his words and rambled for fifteen minutes. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell took over the meeting, forcing officials to have private discussions about Musk possibly being under the influence. Musk’s public marijuana use with Joe Rogan in 2018 and his tweet about taking Tesla private sparked additional worries among board members, prompting an SEC inquiry and Musk’s temporary departure as Tesla chairman.