Elon Musk does not think his investors should be concerned with his prescription drug use — particularly ketamine — as long as his businesses continue to be profitable.
“What matters is execution,” the tech mogul, 52, said on “The Don Lemon Show” Monday — prior to ending his partnership with host Don Lemon over how the overall interview went down.
“Tesla is worth about as much as the rest of the car industry combined … so that’s pretty good,” he added, pointing out, “From an investor’s standpoint, if there is something I’m taking, I should keep taking it.”
Musk told Lemon, 58, that he only takes ketamine “once in a while” when he is in a “negative chemical mind state, stating he typically consumes a small dose every other week. “It’s not a common thing.”
The SpaceX founder then raved about how the dissociative anesthetic — which he said was prescribed to him by a medical doctor — is “helpful for getting one outside of a negative frame of mind.”
Musk hesitated confirming that he has been diagnosed with depression, but said rather there are “times when [he has] sort of a negative chemical state in [his] brain like depression.”
The X owner — who also shared in the interview that he doesn’t normally do hard drugs or drink alcohol — said sobriety is not an issue for him and that his work corroborates that.
“If you use too much ketamine you can’t really get work done and I have a lot of work,” he explained.
“I’m typically putting in 16-hour days. That’s normal for me, and it’s rare for me to take off even a weekend day, so I don’t really have a situation where I can be not mentally acute for an extended period of time.”
Musk concluded, “I can’t really get wasted because I can’t get my work done.”
Others stars like Pete Davidson have reportedly also turned to ketamine to help with mental health issues.
However, the drug can be harmful and even deadly if not used properly, as was the case for Matthew Perry.
For more Page Six you love…
In December 2023, it was revealed the “Friends” alum died from the “acute effects of ketamine” after 3,540 ng/ml were found in his peripheral blood source and 3,271 ng/ml were in his central blood source.
The autopsy report also showed that drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, an opioid, contributed to his passing.
Dr. Bankole Johnson, one of the leading neuroscientists and physicians in the world, told Page Six at the time, though, that Perry was likely using ketamine in a recreational manner given the findings.
“It would be questionable medicine to provide ketamine to someone also using buprenorphine — a true recipe for disaster,” he noted.
Johnson also pointed out the benefits, however, adding that ketamine is “generally safe when administered by trained health professionals in a medical setting for the treatment of depression or post traumatic stress disorder.”
