--- title: "NASA Responds to Elon Musk Drug Allegations" description: "Following a week of continuing fallout about Elon Musk's alleged use of illegal drugs, NASA has responded." date: "2024-01-12" modified: "2024-01-12" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-elon-musk-drug-response" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "drugs" - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "urine" --- # NASA Responds to Elon Musk Drug Allegations ![Following a week of continuing fallout about Elon Musk's alleged use of illegal drugs, NASA has responded.]() *\Image: Antonio Masiello via Getty / Futurism\* Following a week of bold claims about SpaceX CEO [Elon Musk's alleged illegal drug use](), NASA has responded. "The agency does not have evidence of non-compliance from SpaceX on how the company addresses the drug- and alcohol-free workforce regulations," NASA told *Futurism* in an emailed statement that seems to indicate that when Musk and [his employees]() were drug tested, none of them failed. This response came days after we requested information from the agency about the allegations about Musk's drug use — which could, as many have [suggested](), [put his NASA contracts in jeopardy]() because the federal government is infamously close-minded about drugs. Those reports spurred on our own speculation about the [chain of custody]() of his, er, samples sent for analysis. To be fair, referring to the reports as "allegations" is a bit of stretch considering that Musk [smoking weed on-air with Joe Rogan]() in 2018 led to some serious consequences, including a seeming increase in [his government-mandated drug testing]() to begin with. Since then, he's also [endorsed ketamine]() and [psychedelics]() as treatments for mental health issues like depression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e88KUtpM9s8 Nevertheless, recent years have seen still-unverified insider claims that the South African-born tech mogul uses all kinds of substances, from cocaine to LSD to [Special K](), which has allegedly affected his behavior as a leader so much that it concerns those around him. According to NASA's statement to *Futurism*, the companies the agency contracts with are "responsible for tracking and determining which of their employees are working on particular contracts and considered to be 'employees in a sensitive position.'" Reading between the lines, it seems that NASA is admitting what we, upon a brain blast from [*Bloomberg*'s Matt Levine](), [have deduced](): that there's someone at SpaceX, or a group of someones, whose job it is to collect Musk's urine samples and get them to the proper authorities for testing. Whether that person or persons can be trusted to actually be testing the big boss' pee? Well, that's the billion-dollar question. As [*Business Insider* reported last month]() and as we discovered this week, [NASA is staying mum]() about what exactly those pee cups may have revealed — but reading between the lines, it seems that if Musk is partying hard, he's doing so without the government catching on. **More on Musk:** [*Elon Musk Cosigns Racist Claim That Black Students Have Low IQs*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()