--- title: "Elon Musk’s Drug Use Means He Isn’t Allowed to Enter Certain SpaceX Buildings" description: "According to the Wall Street Journal, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk isn't allowed inside buildings where spy satellite work is being carried out." date: "2024-12-18" modified: "2024-12-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-spacex-buildings-classified" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "starshield" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk’s Drug Use Means He Isn’t Allowed to Enter Certain SpaceX Buildings ![According to the Wall Street Journal, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk isn't allowed inside buildings where spy satellite work is being carried out.]() *\Image: CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Locked Out SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's lawyers are advising him not to pursue higher security clearances. As the [*Wall Street Journal* reports](), that's because the mercurial entrepreneur could risk having to reveal his frequent contacts with foreign nationals, most [notably Russian president Vladimir Putin](). Sources also told the newspaper that Musk's long-rumored drug use — said to range from [ketamine]() to [LSD]() — could be an issue if the CEO were to apply for a higher security clearance than his current "top secret" status, which allows him to see some of SpaceX's clandestine government work, but not all of it. As a result, Musk isn't able to do some surprisingly basic things — unlike roughly 400 SpaceX employees who have permissions for "sensitive compartmented information." According to the *WSJ*, Musk isn't even allowed to enter most facilities where work related to SpaceX's [Starshield spy satellite program]() is being carried out — a strange situation for the man running the company. ## Let Me In Musk also isn't clued into what exactly his space company is launching when it comes to classified cargo. That sets him apart from his peers. According to the *WSJ*, CEOs at competing companies, including Boeing, the United Launch Alliance, and Lockheed Martin, have the necessary authorizations to get a peek. Musk currently holds a "top-secret" clearance, something that took him "years" to obtain, according to the newspaper's sources. That's at least in part because of the time he [publicly smoked marijuana with podcaster Joe Rogan]() back in 2018, which is technically illegal according to federal laws. Meanwhile, a seemingly afraid-to-be-left-out Musk argued that highly classified information should be made public. "Most of the stuff that I’m aware of... the reason to keep it top secret is it’s so boring," he said during an October town hall meeting, as quoted by the *WSJ*. "We don’t want to give exact instructions on how to make a nuclear bomb or something like that, but unless there’s a genuine risk to the country, all the information in the government should be public." However, now that he has the [ear of the president of the United States](), the situation could soon look different. After all, getting a top security clearance shouldn't be too difficult when the richest man in the world pairs up with the most powerful one. **More on Musk's security clearance:** *[Elon Musk's Drug Use Becoming a Problem for Government Security Clearance]()* ## 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]()