Elon Musk’s ‘Intense’ Drug Use Detailed in Bombshell New Report: Ecstasy, Mushrooms and Ketamine That Led to Bladder Issues

Elon Musk’s time on the campaign trail for Donald Trump coincided with a period of increased drug abuse, according to new reporting by The New York Times.

The Times cites sources close to the 53-year-old tech billionaire, who allege that Musk admitted to using ketamine frequently, sometimes daily, to the point that it had started to damage his bladder. A September 2022 study by the National Institute of Health notes that “significant side effects on the urinary tract are associated with frequent recreational ketamine use.”

Musk also allegedly used ecstasy and hallucinogenic mushrooms, and was reportedly known to travel with a pill box that contained Adderall, the ADHD treatment drug, which can be a stimulant for some.

The Times‘ sources pin Musk’s drug abuse to 2024, as the SpaceX CEO was ramping up support for Trump’s reelection campaign, donating nearly $275 million. It’s unclear whether or not the alleged habits followed him to Trump’s White House, where he spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency over the past four months.

PEOPLE attempted to reach Musk and his lawyers for comment about the report.

In a March 2024 interview with Don Lemon, Musk admitted to using ketamine, but said he only did the “a small amount” of the drug about once every two weeks, as a prescribed treatment for depressive moods.

“If you’ve used too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done, and I have a lot of work,” he said at the time.

However, some friends and acquaintances remain skeptical about Musk’s well-being.

“Elon has pushed the boundaries of his bad behavior more and more,” said Philip Low, a neuroscientist and former friend of the tech guru, who previously criticized him for the Nazi-like gesture he displayed onstage during Trump’s second inauguration.

Whether or not Musk was using drugs while leading DOGE, his public displays of erratic behavior continued after he became a top White House adviser in January.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Musk wielded a chainsaw on stage, engraved with the slogan “Viva la libertad, carajo,” which is Spanish for “Long live liberty, damn it.” The power tool had been gifted to him by Javier Milei, the president of Argentina.

“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” he told the crowd.

The new reporting about Musk’s alleged drug use broke on the morning of Musk’s final day as an official member of the Trump administration, hours before he was scheduled to do a farewell press conference with the president in the Oval Office about his time with DOGE.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk posted to X on May 28. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

Musk’s time at DOGE always had an endpoint — his 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration expired on May 30. However, until his announcement on May 28, it was repeatedly said that he would remain heavily involved with the administration, merely stepping back to a less-central role.

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In an interview with  CBS Sunday Morning that will air in full on June 1, Musk expressed his displeasure with his time in the political sector, noting that he felt all his work with DOGE could soon be undercut by Trump’s sweeping budget legislation — titled the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — which passed in the House of Representatives on May 22.

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” he said.

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” is funding its tax cuts and military spending in part by cutting some federal health and energy programs. However, it is also poised to add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the national deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both,” Musk said.