Elon Musk, the notable billionaire, recently made a post on social platform X that has been sparking some intrigue. On the 17th of June, Musk took it upon himself to publicize the outcome of a drug test he undertook on the previous day, June 16th. It appears likely that his motivation stemmed from allegations of his involvement with hard drugs during the 2024 campaign of President Donald Trump, and the sustained use throughout the presidential tenure.
The latest wave of drug-related accusations hurled at Musk originated following his public criticism of President Trump on June 5th, in a series of postings. Post-Musk’s remarks, many online observers felt that Musk’s behavior indicated a likelihood of substance involvement. This conjecture was fueled by the perception that his social media behavior had treaded past acceptable boundaries.
The test results that Musk revealed indicated a negative result for various hard drugs that had been linked with him. These include ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine, and several others. The implication here is that these are the drugs he was alleged to have consumed.
U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), who currently serves as the acting ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, drafted a letter addressed to President Trump. In the letter, Lynch sought any information that the President or any other administration officials might possess regarding the consumption of illegal substances by Musk during his management of DOGE.
Included in Lynch’s letter were references to articles in esteemed outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. These articles pointed to evidence that Musk had partaken in illegal drugs such as ketamine, psychedelic mushrooms, and ecstasy, while offering his support to Trump during his campaign. The Washington Post also offered coverage on the allegations made by President Trump about Musk’s possible drug usage, following Musk’s critical posts about the President on social media platform X.
The disclosed test results reveal that Musk submitted to a urine test for drug usage. This method of testing captures only a narrow timeframe of potential drug consumption. Urine samples are known to detect substances used within a few days prior to the test, while a hair sample allows for detection of substance usage dating back several months.
Among the drugs Musk was accused of using, ketamine possesses the longest detectable lifespan and can be spotted in a urine sample up to 11 days post-consumption. Meanwhile, ecstasy can be found within a five-day window following its usage. Psychedelic mushrooms, on the other hand, clear out of the system the fastest, often not detectable in urine beyond a span of 24 hours.
Musk made a bold assertion that Trump’s position as President was largely the result of his (Musk’s) assistance. Without me, Trump would have lost the election; the Democrats would have taken the House, and Senate would show a 51-49 tilt in favor of Republicans, Musk proclaimed on platform X.
Following this affirmation, Musk spent a significant portion of the day expressing his disapproval of Trump’s spending bill, bringing to light past tweets by the President, leveling accusations against the President, and engaging with his followers. On the morning of June 11th, Musk extended an apology for his earlier outbursts against President Trump on the 5th of June.
Musk’s apology was a consequence of a personal conversation between him and the President, and it was during this exchange that he expressed his regret personally to the President. In a post on his preferred social media platform X, Musk stated: ‘I regret my recent posts about President Donald Trump. They were over the top.’ Musk, however, refrained from specifying which particular posts his apology referred to.
According to Fortune, Musk incurred a personal loss of $34 billion during his feud with President Trump. Upon the stock market closing on June 5th, shares of Tesla were valued at $284.68. This was a substantial drop from the opening value of $322.52 on the same day.
The market value of Tesla shares has since made a steady ascent, with shares closing at $329.13 on June 16th. Despite this recovery, current valuations are yet to reach the previous high of $332.05 that reigned on June 4th, before the discord between Musk and Trump became public.