Elon Musk has struck back at claims that he was regularly using drugs, but the billionaire may have made a critical error that endangers his privacy.
The 53-year-old CEO of SpaceX and Tesla posted a fresh drug test on X Wednesday, confirming for the second time in a week that he was clean.
In the post, Musk attacked the ‘fake journalists’ at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal for their reports claiming he used various drugs and that the habit was beginning to impact his health.
The new hair follicle test revealed that Musk did not have any traces of 16 different substances, including amphetamines, cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, or opioids.
Drug tests using hair samples are known for their accuracy and ability to detect drugs in a person’s system even several months later.
However, the tech mogul made one major mistake while rushing to prove the media wrong: he leaked his own Social Security number.
The results of the hair sample test performed at Fastest Labs of South Austin in Texas appeared to include the last four digits of Musk’s Social Security number (SSN), a vital piece of personal identification in the US.
The last four digits of an SSN, when combined with other personal information like your name, birthdate, and address, can increase the risk of identity theft or fraud when used by hackers or scammers.
Since sharing the revealing lab results on Wednesday, Musk has not commented about the possible leaking of his social security information or removed the post.
Musk also posted the results from a urine sample on Tuesday, which revealed he tested negative for 22 substances, including ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, opioids, cannabis, and fentanyl, but did not reveal any private information in that picture.
The new hair sample results provided even more convincing evidence that the billionaire is indeed drug-free.
Although the urine drug test also came back negative, a urine sample can only detect substances for anywhere from one to seven days.
Meanwhile, hair follicle tests can detect substance abuse for up to six months. That’s because drugs and their metabolites are distributed into the hair shaft as it grows, creating a long-term record of substance use.
Still, hair tests may miss very recent drug use (within the past week) because it takes time for drugs to reach the hair follicles.
‘Now let’s see their drug test results. They will fail,’ Musk wrote in his Wednesday post that has already been viewed more than 17 million times.
The two drug tests come weeks after a bombshell New York Times report claimed Musk was taking so much ketamine that it had begun to negatively affect his bladder.
Ketamine is a medicine used by doctors to help patients feel less pain or go to sleep during surgeries or emergencies. It’s also sometimes used to help people with severe depression when other treatments don’t work.
However, some people misuse it as a drug to get high, which can produce dangerous side effects like dizziness, rapid heart rate, breathing problems, and paralysis.
The report also alleged that he took ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and travelled with a daily pill box that contained roughly 20 different drugs, including Adderall.
The test results show Musk took the two exams on June 11, just days after his explosive war of words with President Donald Trump, who called Elon a ‘big-time drug addict.’
In June 2023 and January 2024, the Wall Street Journal also alleged that Musk regularly used drugs, including ketamine, LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms at private parties.
According to the reports, Musk allegedly had attendees sign nondisclosure agreements or hand over their phones until they left.
The WSJ also alleged that Musk’s drug use had been a concern for some Tesla and SpaceX executives, with some leaders reportedly feeling pressured to use drugs with him to maintain their status within the companies.
Following the claims in the WSJ’s 2024 report, Musk posted: ‘Whatever I’m doing, I should obviously keep doing it!’
He has previously defended trying ketamine in the past, posting on X that he used ‘prescription ketamine a few years ago’ to get out of ‘dark mental holes’ but had not taken the drug since.
Along with Tuesday’s post showing the results of his urine sample, the billionaire simply wrote ‘lol.’
Following the post, a spokesperson for the NYT defended their claims, saying: ‘Elon Musk is continuing to lash out because he doesn’t like our reporting. Nothing that he’s said or presented since our article about his drug use during the presidential campaign was published contradicts what we uncovered. We stand by our journalism.’
At this point, Musk has not filed any lawsuits for defamation against the Wall Street Journal or New York Times over their allegations of drug use.
