Elon Musk is refuting the recent New York Times report that he regularly resorts to drugs, though he did concede to trying prescribed Ketamine.
The X CEO took to his microblogging platform on June 1 to push back on the claims that he frequently ingested ketamine, ecstasy, and mushrooms during President Trump's bid for election last year.
"Also, to be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their a*s off," Musk tweeted. "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."
Elon Musk refutes drug allegations as several news outlets call him out: Read more
The report came out earlier that same day, and it cited over a dozen sources close to Elon Musk, 53, all of whom claimed he would abuse ketamine far more "intensely than previously known."
Per the outlet, Musk, who donated about $275 million to the president's campaign, allegedly told people he was ingesting so much ketamine that it affected his bladder, which is a common effect of the potent anesthetic. Apart from the Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, he also roamed around with a box of about 20 pills, some of which included Adderall, the outlet claimed.
As reported by Complex, Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the New York Times, said in a statement that they gave the SpaceX owner a chance to speak up, but he refused:
"We gave Mr. Musk multiple chances to respond. He declined. Instead, he tweeted, without offering any counter-evidence."
Elon Musk's claims come on the heels of his decision to step down from his advisory role as part of the Department of Government Efficiency program, which aimed to cut down excessive government spending.
Just this Friday, he was questioned about the article during an Oval Office press briefing, prompting him to question the newspaper's integrity:
“Wait, wait, The New York Times, is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on Russiagate? Is it the same organization?” Musk replied. “Let’s move on.”
However, as pointed out by The Independent, this Sunday, Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz slammed Elon Musk for dodging the question, noting that he
“decided to talk about something from five years ago involving the Pulitzers because he knew that he did not want to answer that question. That’s my take.” "That's called deflection," he said.
Later that day, a video of Musk toying with his silverware during his March visit to President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey went viral. Molly Ploofkins, a “retired army medic," uploaded the video and captioned it:
“Musk playing with his silverware while tripping on ketamine at Bedminster.”
The video elicited a reaction from computer scientist and writer Paul Graham, who tried to defend Elon Musk by noting that he plays with his silverware the same way.
“You don’t need ketamine to make these. I always make them. In our family we call them ‘Robert towers,’ after Robert Morris, who also makes them," he penned in response.
Elon Musk, however, decided to issue yet another curt response:
"I’m not on ketamine ffs."
However, in the past, Musk has conceded to using a "small amount" of ketamine to treat his depression during an interview with former CNN host Don Lemon last year, The Independent has pointed out.
“If you’ve used too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done, and I have a lot of work,” he said at the time.
The bombshell New York Times article also claims that Musk used ketamine every two weeks for his ailment, as he told his biographer, “I really don’t like doing illegal drugs.” The outlet also accuses him of resorting to the drug daily, and even mixing it with other stimulants.
President Trump was recently asked if he was aware of his friend's alleged drug use, to which he said on Friday night, "No I wasn't. I think Elon is a fantastic guy."