--- title: "Elon Musk Responds to Health Concerns" description: "Elon Musk's many self-inflicted wounds are really starting to catch up with him. He's still suvering from \"severe back pain\" and a lack of sleep." date: "2023-02-07" modified: "2023-02-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/elon-musk-responds-to-health-concerns" categories: - "Developments" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Health & Medicine" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "mental health" - "sleep" - "tesla" - "twitter" --- # Elon Musk Responds to Health Concerns ![Elon Musk's many self-inflicted wounds are really starting to catch up with him. He's still suvering from "severe back pain" and a lack of sleep.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* Elon Musk's many self-inflicted wounds are really starting to catch up with him. According to a new [report in *The Wall Street Journal*](), the Tesla and Twitter CEO is struggling with insomnia and back pain — not to mention a social media company that has turned into a giant gaping money pit. Worse yet, Musk had to appear in court after [infamously making misleading comments]() about having secured funding for taking Tesla private over four years ago. "I had trouble sleeping last night, so unfortunately, I’m not at my best," the 51-year-old told a lawyer during the trial, as quoted by the *WSJ*. "I’m sorry for squirming around. I have quite severe back pain." According to the report, Musk has suffered from back and neck pain for years. He even had two surgeries to address the latter. As to the source of this pain, it may have been triggered by the time he tried to throw a 350-pound sumo wrestler to the ground around a decade ago, something that "cost me smashing my c5-c6 disc & 8 years of mega back pain," according to a [2022 tweet](). But it's not just physical pain causing him grief. Musk is yet again trying to turn around a company that is barely scraping by, something that he's already lived through with both SpaceX and [Tesla]() over the last two decades. His takeover of Twitter has been a disaster, to put it mildly. Musk, who has a strong tendency to micromanage, has pulled the company's purse strings extremely tight, [laying off thousands]() and forcing workers to come back to the office. The result: a mess of [unpaid bills](), angry workers, [lawsuits from landlords](), and even a [lack of toilet paper]() at the company's offices. That kind of hands-on approach is clearly wearing the billionaire CEO down. Of course, Musk sees himself as the cross-bearer, heroically fighting for the right to free speech and an interplanetary future — while, in reality, he has almost exclusively been the cause of his own stressors. "Last three months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties," Musk [tweeted]() in response to the *WSJ*'s report. "Wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone." Naturally, his army of followers has been coming to his defense, telling him he's "[on another level]()" and "[making the world a better place]()." But does the richest man in the world deserve that kind of sympathy here? Sure, chronic pain is no joke. But physical ailments aside, to paint himself as a martyr who has taken it upon himself to "save Twitter from bankruptcy" is a much tougher pill to swallow, as it's entirely a product of his own making. As some have argued, Musk's Twitter distraction could actually [allow Tesla and SpaceX some breathing room](), or some time alone from his dictatorial management style. Besides, being in charge of several multibillion-dollar companies at once isn't exactly conducive to quality sleep and letting your physical body heal — not to mention effective leadership. In other words, Musk's many headaches aren't going to magically go away any time soon. **READ MORE:** [When Does Elon Musk Sleep? Billionaire Speaks of Limits to Fixing Twitter and His Back Pain]() \[*The Wall Street Journal*\] **More on Musk:** *[Elon Musk's Twitter Is Reportedly Failing Miserably to Contain Horrific Child Abuse Content]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()