Elon Musk defends drug use, says 'investors would want' him to keep taking ketamine

In an interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, which was posted on March 18, Musk confessed that he takes the prescription ketamine since it helps him manage a "negative chemical state" similar to depression. His depression is genetic, he admitted.

Using ketamine in small amounts

Explaining that there are times when he goes through "a sort of a negative chemical state in my brain, like depression I guess, or depression that's not linked to any negative news", Musk finds ketamine is helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind.

Further, he said that he takes ketamine in "a small amount once every other week" and he also a prescription from an real doctor for it. According to Musk if you use too much ketamine, you can't really get work done. And since he typically puts in 16-hour days, he cannot afford not to be mentally acute for an extended period of time.

Ketamine, which is used medically as an anaesthetic and for treatment-resistant depression, gives the user a “dissociative” experience which some call a “trip”. It soon caught on as a club drug, called K, Special K, Super K, and Vitamin K, etc., and party goers either inject or snort it, add it in their drinks, or add it to joints or cigarettes.

Adding value to investors

Claiming that his drug use should not impact his government contracts or investor relations, Musk also added that what matters most from Wall Street's point of view is whether he is building value for investors. And he pointed out that Tesla is worth about as much as the rest of the car industry combined...

And, he cockily added that "for investors, if there's something I'm taking, I should keep taking it".

Musk agrees to random drug tests

In 2018, Musk got into trouble with NASA after he was shown consuming marijuana on the Joe Rogan Show. This resulted in questions being raised about the effect of Musk's drug taking on the company and on government contracts. It eventually led to random drug tests of SpaceX personnel by NASA.

Musk has ostensibly agreed to NASA’s request for random testing for drugs for a period of three years. His lawyer, however, has said that he is "regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test".

According to US government rules, illegal drug usage will lead to violation of corporate regulations at both SpaceX and Tesla, and also break federal contracts. It also will cast doubts on Musk's capacity to lead at the publicly listed Tesla and his commitment to shareholders.

Earlier in the year, in January , A Wall Street Journal report, disclosed that a former director at Tesla, was fed up with Musk's erratic behaviour and his drug use and decided not to get re-elected to the board. According to the report, many people have seen Musk take LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms at private parties.

Notably, Lemon shared the recent interview on YouTube and X, after Musk cancelled an exclusive partnership with 'The Don Lemon Show' on X. The two men talked about subjects ranging from the political consequences of immigration and the benefits and negative effects of content moderation to Musk’s symptoms of depression and his use of ketamine to alleviate them.

In the interview, Musk also confessed that he is “almost always” sober when posting on X late at night. “I don’t drink, I don’t really, y’know….” he said to Lemon.