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SpaceX and Elon Musk's Drug Use Allegations: NASA's Response and Investigation · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
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  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that
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  shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
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  and I'm your host, Will Walden. NASA has recently addressed
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  claims about SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's alleged illegal drug use,
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  stating that they have no evidence of non compliance
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  regarding drug and alcohol free workplace regulations.
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  Now this statement was a direct response to inquiries about Elon
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  Musk's behavior which has been under scrutiny, especially
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  following his on air weed use in 2018 and his public endorsements
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  of substances like ketamine and psychedelics for public mental
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  health treatments are The allegations against Musk include
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  unverified insider claims of his use of substances ranging from
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  cocaine to LSD. Now, these reports have raised
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  concerns about his leadership and behavior, and in response,
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  NASA, which has significant contracts with his rocket
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  company SpaceX, has had to examine these allegations
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  closely due to federal government standards regarding
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  drug use, and according to NASA, it's contracted companies like
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  SpaceX are responsible for ensuring their employees comply
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  with drug free workplace regulations.
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  This includes employees in sensitive positions, which would
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  presumably include Musk given his high profile role and
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  influence within SpaceX. Now there's speculation about
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  the process SpaceX uses to collect and test Musk drug
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  samples, though the speculation includes questions about the
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  reliability and the integrity of the testing processes,
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  essentially considering Musk's high status within the company.
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  Now, Business Insider had a report last month, and a further
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  investigation revealed that NASA has been somewhat secretive
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  about the findings of their drug use probe as SpaceX.
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  This secrecy has led to more speculation that if Musk is
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  using drugs, he's managing to do so without detection by
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  government authorities. Now, NASA spent three months
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  reviewing Spacex's adherence to a drug free workplace following
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  Musk's appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast in 2018, where he is
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  seen smoking marijuana. Results of this investigation,
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  obtained by Business Insider through the Freedom of
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  Information Act, were heavily redacted, leaving the findings
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  very unclear. The Organizational Safety
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  Assessment by NASA was initiated after reports surfaced that Musk
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  was micro dosing ketamine, and the Wall Street Journal's report
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  on this matter prompted new questions about Musk's drug use.
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  NASA initially denied having records of the assessments
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  results. However, after Business Insider
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  pointed out the $5,000,000 taxpayer funded probe, NASA
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  released some documents related to the investigation.
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  But they were heavily censored and the probe, which included
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  interviews with 296 SpaceX employees, covered SpaceX
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  facilities across the United States.
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  Despite its extensive nature and the high cost, the results were
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  kept confidential with NASA concerns over harming Spacex's
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  competitive posture or business interests.
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  Now, William Gerstmeyer, the NASA administrator who requested
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  the review, emphasize the importance of safety in the
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  United States space program and the need for SpaceX to maintain
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  a drug free workplace. Now, Gerstenmeyer later joined
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  SpaceX as the Vice President of Build and flight Reliability,
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  and Elon has publicly responded to allegations of drug use,
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  particularly in light of the Wall Street Journal report.
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  He stated that three years of random testing found no traces
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  of drug use in his system. Musk criticize the Wall Street
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  Journal report, dismissing it as very inaccurate, and concerns
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  over Musk's drug use are not just limited to external
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  reports. Senior figures within Musk's own
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  companies have expressed worries, with a Tesla board
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  director reportedly stepping down due to these concerns.
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  And incidents like Musk's tweet about taking Tesla private have
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  also raised questions about his state of mind during significant
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  business decisions. Musk's appearance on Joe Rogan's
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  podcast where he smoked weed, led to a $5,000,000 NASA
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  investigation at a drug use at SpaceX in.
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  The results, and the implications of the
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  investigation remain largely unknown to the public, and
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  following the Rogan incident, Musk and SpaceX employees were
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  now subject to random drug tests for a year.
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  This was in compliance with federal requirements for
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  companies working with the government, highlighting the
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  strict, very strict standards that federal contractors must
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  adhere to. And Musk has maintained that he
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  does not engage in illegal drug use, emphasizing his dislike for
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  such substances. This claim stands in contrast to
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  the various reports and allegations that have surfaced
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  over the years, creating a dichotomy between Musk's public
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  persona and the rumors surrounding his personal life.
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  The controversy surrounding Musk's alleged drug use and
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  NASA's response illustrates the complex relationship between
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  high profile individuals, their personal conduct, and their
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  professional responsibilities, especially when government
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  contracts and public safety are involved.
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  And the odd growing scrutiny of Musk's behavior in NASA's
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  investigation into Spacex's drug free workplace compliance
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  continue to be subjects of interest both within the space
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  industry and among the general public and reporters as well.
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  And the outcome of these investigations and Musk's
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  responses will likely have significant effects on Spacex's
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  future operations and its relationships with NASA.
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  As of right now, Elon and the rest of the SpaceX crew are free
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  and clear to continue doing what they do Now, while NASA's
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  statement and the subsequent investigations have not
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  definitively resolved questions about Elon Musk's alleged drug
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  use, they've highlighted the importance of maintaining
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  stringent standards in high stakes industries like space
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  exploration. The issue remains a topic of
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  public and professional debate, reflecting the challenges of
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  balancing personal freedoms with professional responsibilities in
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  highly regulated sectors. Hey, thank you so much for
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  listening today. I really do appreciate your
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  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
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  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 6:18
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero and
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  please take care of yourselves and each other.
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  I'll see you tomorrow.