Elon Musk's tryst with drugs: From ‘good for investors' to only ‘tried prescription ketamine', here's what he's said…
Tech Billionaire Elon Musk on June 1 dismissed allegations of extensive drug use in a post on his self-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Responding to a user joking about the speculations, Elon Musk wrote that he used prescription ketamine 'a few years back' and has not had it since, claiming that the New York Times report on the matter, was 'lies'.
However, in previous statements on drug use, especially ketamine, the world's richest person had admitted to using drugs, claiming that it benefitted investors in his company.
Responding to a user on X, discussing mental health and drug prescriptions related to the condition, Elon Musk endorsed ketamine as the better option, compared to SSRIs.
Known in full as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, SSRIs are a type of antidepressant medication prescribed to ease symptoms of moderate to severe depression, according to the Mayo Clinic.
'Depression is overdiagnosed in the US, but for some people it really is a brain chemistry issue. But zombifying people with SSRIs for sure happens way too much. From what I've seen with friends, ketamine taken occasionally is a better option,' Elon Musk wrote on June 27, 2023.
Later, in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon, published on March 18, 2024, Elon Musk admitted to using ketamine and claimed that this is 'beneficial for investors' and that it helps him manage a 'negative chemical state'.
Ketamine is used to treat pain and depression and in heavy doses is used as a sedative.
'From the standpoint of Wall Street, what matters is execution. For investors, if there's something I'm taking, I should keep taking it,' Musk told Lemon.
Following an NYT report that Elon Musk used ketamine so heavily that it caused bladder problems, the Tesla and SpaceX chief again made his stance known more publicly, albiet with seeming u-turn on his previous admittance.
'… to be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their ass off. I tried *prescription* ketamine a few years ago and said so on X, so this not even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven't taken it since then (sic),' he wrote on June 1.
According to the NYT report published on May 30, Elon Musk's drug use was allegedly 'more heavy' than previously known. It claimed that he took ketamine often, and also occasionally used Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms.
Responding to queries from Bloomberg, Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the NYT defended the report as 'thoroughly sourced'. He added that reporters 'interviewed a dozen people' who know or worked with Elon Musk, and saw private text messages, legal documents and photographic evidence.
'We provided Musk with multiple opportunities to reply or rebut their reporting before publication and he declined, opting instead to try to distract with a social post and no evidence,' Stadtlander told Bloomber via email.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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