Elon Musk on Friday dodged a question on a report of his regular illegal drug use while campaigning for US President Donald Trump before his 2024 election.
“Let’s move on… next question,” he said, when asked about the report that alleged that the Tesla CEO used illegal drugs during his campaign trail with Trump.
Musk joined Donald Trump in an Oval Office press conference as he stepped down from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hours after The New York Times reported on his alleged drug use.
“Is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on Russiagate,” he shot back as a reporter asked him a question about the article.
“That New York Times? Let’s move on.”
The newspaper said that Elon Musk used so much ketamine during the 2024 campaign that he developed bladder problems. It further alleged he was also taking ecstasy and psychoactive mushrooms, and travelled with a pill box last year during the campaign.
Musk was immediately asked about the report. He did not reply directly and instead denounced The New York Times over its previous coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election before moving to the next question.
Livemint has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the report.
Donald Trump bids adieu to Elon Musk
Donald Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to cut federal spending during a joint press conference in the Oval Office on Friday, as the Tesla CEO departs the administration after a chaotic tenure that saw the elimination of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in contracts.
Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency, disrupted numerous agencies across the federal bureaucracy but ultimately fell far short of the massive savings he had initially promised. A White House official said on Wednesday that Musk would be leaving the administration.
“Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations,” Trump said from behind the Resolute Desk, as Musk stood to his right, wearing a black DOGE hat and a t-shirt that read “The Dogefather” in the style of the movie “The Godfather.”
Trump said of Musk: “I have a feeling it’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”