Billionaire Elon Musk faces new scrutiny. Some executives and board members of the six companies he owns, including electric vehicle maker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX, are concerned about his drug use, the newspaper reported. Wall Street Journal on the 6th. The article states that he has taken LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, among others.
A lawyer for Musk told WSJ that Musk regularly undergoes random drug tests at SpaceX and has “never failed one.” The executive's inclinations are not uncommon in the United States, where drug use is on the rise and business laws and regulations are loosening. However, the increasing prevalence of drugs among CEOs It's problematic. It's hard to know where the limit is, especially because they are always working.
The attitude of business owners has changed in recent years, when most US states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that only 16% of private workplaces surveyed tested their employees for substances in 2021, less than half the number in 1996.
Even government agencies such as the CIA and FBI have relaxed rules for new hires, and some officials have expressed concern about their ability to attract young talent, according to a New York Times article published in April 2023.
Those that do examine their employees' habits are discovering more widespread use. Laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics analyzed millions of tests performed in 2021 and found that the global positivity rate had risen to its highest level in two decades.
With prescriptions of drugs like ketamine on the rise, including for mental health treatment, companies can no longer take a hardline stance against employees who use them outside of work hours. Musk himself has said that he uses ketamine to treat his depression. Other tech company executives, such as Sam Altman of OpenAI, are promoting companies that promote the greater use of psychedelics to treat addictions and other ailments.
Still, substance use by managers could pose risks. On the one hand, the consumption of federally prohibited drugs, including marijuana, could jeopardize multimillion-dollar public contracts. Furthermore, it is difficult to determine what is meant by working hours for a constantly busy CEO, whose every word can move the markets.
As with other mood-altering substances, such as alcohol, the impact of drugs on performance can be subjective and difficult to judge. Tech executives who pride themselves on alternative thinking may think it's okay to use drugs. For the average office tech worker, after-hours consumption probably isn't worth their employer's attention either.
But when it comes to high-level executives, boards of directors would be justified in drawing firmer lines, conducting regular tests, for example, or demanding transparency. If anything, that would alert them that a drug problem is brewing before it starts.
The authors are columnists for Reuters Breakingviews. The opinions are yours. The translation, of Carlos Gomez Belowit is the responsibility of Five days
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