The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that some Tesla board members felt pressured to do drugs with CEO Elon Musk at the risk of upsetting him if they didn't participate.
In a follow-up report to a January article that detailed Musk's alleged use of illicit drugs and the concerns of executives and board members about the health of Musk and his companies, the newspaper on Sunday detailed the deep personal and financial ties that Tesla executives have with Tesla. The company and Musk, including parties, vacations, and large investments in each other's companies.
According to the magazine, most of Tesla's directors received stock options worth hundreds of millions of dollars during their tenure, far more than board members at other companies. The report cited corporate governance experts who said such close relationships could interfere with the independence of directors.
The report also said that some current and former Tesla TSLA board members,
SpaceX has direct knowledge of Musk's drug use, but has not taken action to address the matter.
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According to the magazine, the extent of Musk and some board members' drug use — which reportedly included cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, magic mushrooms and prescription ketamine — had become alarming.
The newspaper said that some of Musk's friends and company managers feel that they expect drug use at the parties he attends, and they feel pressure not to refuse because he has brought them a lot of money and a desire to remain in his good graces.
The newspaper also reported that in 2022, Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison, a friend of Musk and a former Tesla board member, offered Musk the use of his Hawaiian island to relax and get rid of drug use. Around the same time, other friends reportedly urged Musk to go to rehab.
However, board members have taken no public action to rein in Musk's apparent drug use.
The board's lack of opposition to Musk came to the fore last week when a judge in Delaware invalidated Musk's $56 billion compensation package, ruling that the board did not act independently and that Musk had close relationships with the directors charged with negotiating. On behalf of Musk. From Tesla.”
Musk and board members' potential drug use raises a number of red flags that could impact companies, including erratic behavior, potential violations of the law, and exposure to extortion. It could also violate multi-billion-dollar contracts with SpaceX and affect security clearances.
NASA said last month that it had no evidence of drug use at SpaceX, according to Bloomberg News, and Musk's lawyer told the newspaper in January that the CEO had never failed a drug test.
Tesla, which disbanded its media relations department in 2020, did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. SpaceX also did not respond to a request for comment.
