Several current and previous directors of Tesla and SpaceX were aware of Elon Musk’s habit of using “illegal drugs,” but none of them took any action because they didn’t want to lose the social capital that the billionaire’s circle offered, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Money relationships between Musk and a number of Tesla and SpaceX boards may have purchased their silence over his drug-related problems. The CEO of Tesla is said to have made investments in companies connected to venture capitalists Ira Ehrenpreis, Larry Ellison, Antonio Gracias, and former media mogul James Murdoch.
These individuals have, in turn, made financial investments in at least one of Musk’s six businesses: Tesla, SpaceX, The Coring Co., X, Neuralink, and xAI.
“Some current and former Tesla and SpaceX directors have knowledge of Musk’s illegal drug use but haven’t taken public action, according to people who have witnessed the drug use or were briefed on it,” the Journal reported.
The report stated that in addition to investments, Musk helped people advance in their careers, including Steve Jurvetson, who left DFJ Venture Capital in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment. Tesla kept him on as an independent director despite the accusations until his resignation in 2020.
The journal revealed the interaction between Musk and his directors one month after another story suggested that the billionaire’s overindulgence in drugs had impacted his productivity.
The billionaire has never failed a drug test, according to Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro, who also claimed that the story in the newspaper contained “false facts” without specifying what those things were.
