Elon Musk ‘took drugs during presidential campaign'
Elon Musk's consumption of ketamine led him to develop bladder problems around the same time he endorsed Donald Trump, according to people close to him.
Mr Musk, 53, the world's richest man, went on to become a central figure in the Trump White House, leading an initiative to slash spending and shrink the federal workforce.
He has spoken openly about his drug use, saying that he took 'a small amount' of ketamine, about once a fortnight, as a prescribed treatment for black moods.
Hours before he was due to appear in the Oval Office beside Mr Trump for a farewell news conference on Friday, The New York Times quoted multiple sources saying his drug use went much further.
He was using ketamine on an almost daily basis and mixing it with other narcotics, according to people familiar with his consumption.
He also took ecstasy and magic mushrooms, they said, blurring the line between medical and recreational use in a way that worried his friends.
They described how he travelled with a daily pill box, holding about 20 tablets, including ones that resembled the stimulant Adderall.
'Elon has pushed the boundaries of his bad behaviour more and more,' said Philip Low, a neuroscientist and former friend of Mr Musk's who spoke out against him after a 'Nazi-like' salute at a rally.
The report said it was unclear whether his drug use had followed him into the White House.
But the bizarre salute was just one element of his unusual behaviour as he moved to the centre of power. He publicly insulted cabinet members, garbled answers in an interview, and lost his train of thought during Oval Office appearances in front of the camera.
At the same time, he has been the subject of frenzied headlines about his complicated family life, with a growing number of children with multiple women.
He announced on Wednesday that he was leaving his role in government to return to his businesses.
Mr Musk and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
But he has in the past discussed his drug use, explaining how he had been prescribed ketamine for depression.
'I really don't like doing illegal drugs,' he told his biographer.
SpaceX, his aerospace company, is a major government contractor and is required to keep drugs out of the workplace. However, people close to the business claimed that Mr Musk had been given advance warning of supposedly random tests.
Board members at his electric car company Tesla also raised concerns about his use of drugs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Mr Musk played down any impact on his work. He told the reporter Don Lemon last year that he used 'a small amount' of ketamine.
'If you've used too much ketamine, you can't really get work done, and I have a lot of work,' he said.
Mr Musk threw himself into politics last summer, endorsing Mr Trump after the Republican candidate survived an assassination attempt.
They appeared together on stage in October, when Mr Musk bounded on to the stage, leaping in the air.
The two quickly formed a close working relationship. After the election, Mr Musk even lived in a cottage on the Mar-a-Lago estate, helping build the administration and fleshing out his plans for a tech-led effort to slash the federal bureaucracy.
Former friends began to raise concerns about his behaviour.
Sam Harris, a public intellectual, published a newsletter accusing him of using his social media platform to promote lies.
'There is something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality,' he wrote.
Stephen Miller, a key Trump aide, shrugged off concerns about Mr Musk's alleged drug use. 'The drugs that we're concerned about are the drugs running across the southern border,' he said when asked about the reports.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of ketamine only for medical procedures although doctors with a special licence are allowed to prescribe it for some medical procedures.
But its dangers were highlighted by the death of actor Matthew Perry in 2013.
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