Musk Was ‘Under the Influence’ During New York Times Interview: Report

• Elon Musk shocked Tesla shareholders in 2018 when he announced his desire to take the company private.
• A new Wall Street Journal report revealed that some board members were concerned that he was using drugs while tweeting.
• Musk may have been “under the influence” during an interview with The New York Times after the tweet.

Tesla board members were particularly concerned that Elon Musk may have been using drugs when he tweeted that he was considering taking the electric car company private in 2018, sources familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal.

Musk, who was still Tesla’s chairman at the time, shocked shareholders in August 2018 when he suddenly announced on Twitter that he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420” — a figure he referred to as marijuana.

He added, “Financing is guaranteed.”

The Journal reported that board members were surprised by Musk’s letter, despite previous reports claiming that the Tesla CEO had brought the matter up to the company’s board a week before the tweet.

Now it appears that some board members have also privately expressed concerns that Musk was tweeting while high on drugs, and have considered asking him to take a leave of absence, according to the newspaper’s report.

In an interview with The New York Times following the tweet, Musk said driving Tesla was “painful” and that last year was “the most difficult and painful year” of his career.

The interview also included a report on how concerned Tesla’s board is about Musk’s use of Ambien and whether it could be contributing to his late-night tweeting habits.

Musk may also have been “under the influence” during the interview with The Times, sources familiar with the matter told The Journal, adding that Tesla’s communications team didn’t even know he planned to sit down with a reporter.

Although Musk has said he doesn’t like taking illicit drugs, the billionaire is known to have used recreational drugs like marijuana and small doses of ketamine to treat depression.

The newspaper reported that Musk took several acid tablets at a party he hosted in Los Angeles, and psychedelic mushrooms in 2019 in Mexico.

Drug use may be common in the sphere of Silicon Valley’s power players, as the Journal reported last year. However, illegal drug use could be a cause for concern for someone like Musk, whose rocket company SpaceX relies on multibillion-dollar government contracts.

To get these contracts, companies must adhere to the Drug-Free Workplace Act, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The 2018 tweet also came with a host of consequences.

The Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating Musk’s statement and quickly filed a lawsuit that resulted in $40 million in fines. Musk also agreed to step down as Tesla’s chairman while Tesla appointed independent directors to its board of directors.

Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent over the weekend.