Drug claims overshadow Elon Musk's farewell with Trump in the Oval Office
Elon Musk faced accusations on Friday that he used so much ketamine on the 2024 campaign trail that he developed bladder problems, as the billionaire gave a farewell press conference with US President Donald Trump.
A New York Times report that Musk's drug use had caused concerns was published just hours before he appeared with Trump in the White House on his last day as the US government's cost cutter-in-chief.
The newspaper said the world's richest man also took Ecstasy and mushrooms and travelled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
The South African-born tech tycoon, the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 election campaign, told people that ketamine, an anaesthetic that can cause dissociation, had affected his bladder, the Times added, noting that it was a known effect of long-term use.
Space X and Tesla boss Musk did not immediately comment, but the White House played down the report. Asked if he was concerned about alleged drug use by Musk, Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters: 'The drugs that we're concerned about are the drugs running across the southern border.'
Musk has previously admitted to taking ketamine, saying he was prescribed it to treat a 'negative frame of mind' and suggesting his use of drugs benefited his work.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Springtime for China's engineers and scientists. In US, not so much
Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT which side is winning the chip war. It replied that it was too early to say, characterising it as 'a complex and ongoing situation with no clear winner yet'. Impressive! Advertisement But while that may be true at a competitive national level, it seems pretty clear that individually, engineers and researchers in chips and other related tech fields have received a great boost in career and prestige in China, likewise the firms and research institutes that hire them. It's rather different in the United States. The situation is not an accident, but rooted in the respective national or state policies of Beijing and Washington. Consider the technical or industrial responses of China to Washington's chip war. They involve increased domestic production in the semiconductor industry to achieve self-sufficiency; reducing reliance on foreign technology, especially from the US; massive resource commitment to advanced chip research and manufacturing; strategic state subsidies; and ramping up even legacy and less advanced chips. The latter is necessary both to try to squeeze the most computing power out of older chips – in the absence of the most advanced ones – and to counter US restrictions that now target even less powerful chips and software. China therefore needs more and more engineers and researchers. Contrast that with US chip policy, which focuses on trade restrictions, sanctions and regulations, not to mention the White House's crackdowns on elite universities. Advertisement They aim to deny China's access to advanced chips, technology, and manufacturing equipment, and are being applied not only to US firms but those of allied countries such as the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. As a result, they severely hamper their business in the world's biggest chip market, as well as their ability to fund future research and development. The latest trade restriction against China will reportedly cover chip design software, also known as electronic design automation. Germany's Siemens, a big player in this specialised field, will be affected.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Harvard Chinese student's graduation speech strikes a chord as Trump leads crackdown
A Chinese student's graduation speech at Harvard University emphasising 'shared humanity' and calling for global unity has gone viral, days after the Trump administration pledged to ' aggressively ' revoke the visas of students from China. Advertisement Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang is the first Chinese woman selected to be the student speaker at a Harvard graduation ceremony. Her emotional speech on Thursday was delivered on the same day that a federal judge blocked a Department of Homeland Security order seeking to prevent the Ivy League university from enrolling international students. US President Donald Trump's showdown with Harvard – which the White House accuses of maintaining ties with the Chinese Communist Party – unfolds against the backdrop of deepening US-China tensions The US State Department announced last week that it would intensify screening and 'aggressively' revoke student visas for Chinese nationals, including 'those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields'. Advertisement The move is widely believed to stem from Washington's long-standing concerns that Chinese students enrolled in advanced science and engineering programmes could be involved in espionage activities that bolster Beijing's military capabilities, posing a significant national security threat.
The Standard
3 hours ago
- The Standard
Local universities admission applications surge after U.S. ban on foreign students at Harvard: Ex-financial chief
Download The Standard app to stay informed with news, updates, and significant events - The upgraded app is now available on both iOS and Android platforms.
