Elon Musk bashes Wall Street Journal over hit piece intimating link between drug use and his 'contrarian views'

The Wall Street Journal targeted South African billionaire Elon Musk with a hit piece over the weekend, casting doubt on the world's richest man's competency and corporate compliance in light of allegations about his supposed drug use.

In his characteristic "contrarian" and "unfiltered" style — which the Journal insinuated might have something to do with drugs — Musk responded by belittling the publication and suggesting its effort was yet another attempt to "destroy X."

Through the grapevine

The Journal's Emily Glazer, working in conjunction with Kirsten Grind and a handful of unnamed editors, advanced the notion in a Jan. 6 article that "[i]n recent years, some executives and board members at his companies and others close to the billionaire have developed a persistent concern" that drugs are fueling Musk's "contrarian views, unfiltered speech and provocative antics."

"The world's wealthiest person has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, often at private parties around the world, where attendees sign nondisclosure agreements or give up their phones to enter, according to people who have witnessed his drug use and others with knowledge of it," said the article.

The Journal suggested that even if the alleged ongoing use of illicit drugs doesn't affect his health, "it could damage his business."

"Illegal drug use would likely be a violation of federal policies that could jeopardize SpaceX's billions of dollars in government contracts," said the article. "Musk is intrinsic to the value of his companies, potentially putting at risk around $1 trillion in assets held by investors, tens of thousands of jobs and big parts of the U.S. space program."

Besides Musk's consumption of cannabis on Joe Rogan's podcast and possible prescribed use of ketamine for depression, the Journal presented a number of incidents in which Musk may have been chemically compromised, such as when he gave a supposedly rambling speech at a SpaceX company event in 2017; when he tweeted about taking Tesla private the following year; and when he gave a heartfelt New York Times interview wherein Musk choked up, saying, "This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career."

Unlike the smoking incident on the Rogan podcast, which reportedly prompted random drug testing at SpaceX for at least a year, there does not appear to be any certifiable evidence or admission of drug use on the occasions referenced in the article. That has not, however, stopped anonymous sources from speculating.

"One former Tesla director, Linda Johnson Rice, grew so frustrated with Musk's volatile behavior and her concerns about his drug consumption that she didn't stand for re-election to the electric-car company's board in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter," said the article.

Rice had joined the board after Musk stood down as chairman as part of his $20 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tesla indicated that former Adweek DEI councilor Linda Johnson Rice's 2019 decision not to seek re-election was "part of a move to improve corporate governance of the electric car company," reported the New York Times.

Musk said of her departure Monday, "She served her term and that was it. No negativity at all with Linda!"

The Journal also referenced vague gossip about current Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm, suggesting she went to Musk's brother with concerns over the billionaire's behavior "without using the word 'drugs.'"

While the Journal made passing mention of the possibilities that Musk might alternatively suffer sleep deprivation, Asperger's, and/or bipolar disorder — all three of which he has laid claim to — it did not admit the possibility that the billionaire has come honestly by a worldview and style that is unfavorable to leftists and establishmentarians alike.

Extra to the presumption there must be an external cause for Musk's personality, the Journal also appeared confident that contra Musk's "unusual behavior," there is a standard of behavior to be expected of a multi-billionaire father of 11 who simultaneously oversees six major companies, including X, The Boring Co., Neuralink, and a new artificial intelligence outfit, xAI.

Musk's usual responses

Following the release of the article, Musk lashed out in a series of tweets.

"TMZ has vastly higher standards than the WSJ (actually)," he wrote in one instance. In another he stressed, "WSJ is trash."

One X user suggested that attacks on X by traditional media outfits will grow more frequent as they feel increasingly threatened by the platform. Musk responded, "To be expected. They will stop at nothing to destroy X."

The Journal's apparent effort to paint Musk as instable comes amidst the billionaire's fight with Media Matters, a George Soros-funded leftist group reportedly backed by Democratic megadonors that has targeted the X platform's advertising revenue ever since Musk took over.

When another X user highlighted how European media was playing up the drug scandal, Musk replied, "If drugs actually helped improve my net productivity over time, I would definitely take them!"

Concerning his consumption of marijuana on the "Joe Rogan Experience," Musk further indicated, "After that one puff with Rogan, I agreed, at NASA's request, to do 3 years of random drug testing. Not even trace quantities were found of any drugs or alcohol. @WSJ is not fit to line a parrot cage for bird [excrement]."

An attorney for Musk, Alex Spiro, told the Journal that Musk is "regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test."

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