On May 30, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, announced that his stint with the Donald Trump administration had come to an end.
The former “special government employee” sought to downplay his reported differences with the President, and said that he hoped to “continue to provide advice whenever the President would like”.
Also of interest was his appearance on the day – he sported a black DOGE cap, a black t-shirt with the text “The Dogefather” and, it was widely noticed, a black eye.
Earlier that day, The New York Times had published a report alleging that Musk’s time in the White House was marked by uncontrolled drug use and family drama. These resulted in his “erratic behaviour, insulting cabinet members, gesturing like a Nazi and garbling his answers in a staged interview”, the report said.
Asked about the claims in the report, Musk was dismissive and questioned The NYT’s credibility. Here is what the report said.
Escalating drug use
As Trump’s close ally on the campaign trail and in the White House, Musk reportedly engaged in extensive drug consumption. In the past, he has been open about his mental health struggles, even writing that he experiences “great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress”. Musk has denounced traditional therapy and antidepressants.
According to the report, he told people he consumed the anaesthetic drug ketamine so frequently that it affected his bladder. Sources cited by The NYT said he used ketamine often, “sometimes daily, and mixing it with other drugs”, and blurring the lines between medical use and recreation. Musk has previously told reporters that he was prescribed ketamine for depression, and consumed it once in two weeks.
Ketamine use is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration only as an anaesthetic in medical procedures. Its use to treat disorders is a recent development, and it is regarded as a “dissociative anaesthetic hallucinogen” because it creates a feeling of detachment from pain and the environment.
Drug abuse is a real risk, with long-term users facing the risk of addiction and problems with bladder pain and control. The drug was identified as the cause of actor Matthew Perry’s death in October 2023.
On occasion, Musk also took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms at private events countrywide and in one foreign location, the report said.
He also reportedly travelled with a medical box that carried 20 pills, including one speculated to be Adderall, a drug commonly prescribed in the US to treat ADHD.
The report also alleged that he was made aware of surprise drug checks at his company SpaceX ahead of time, in violation of rules to be followed by a federal contractor, as well as company policy.
Musk’s pro-natalist ideas
Since 2022, Elon Musk has tilted towards pro-natalism, encouraging people to have children amidst fears that the world’s declining birth rates would lead to the end of all civilisation. By his own admission, he has attempted to lead by example, fathering at least 14 children with at least four women he was involved with.
The NYT article described the messy dynamics these ideas engendered, with Musk fathering children with multiple women at the same time. The article described the contentious custody battle underway for the past three years between him and Claire Boucher, the musician better known as Grimes. The article attributed the deterioration of this relationship to his pro-natalism quest, as well as the lack of communication about the whereabouts of their children, whom he would travel with without advance notice.
Elon Musk, center, carries his son X following a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec. 5, 2024. (The New York Times)
Boucher has complained of Musk’s behaviour over the last year, objecting to taking their five-year-old son, known as X, to White House events and high-profile gatherings worldwide. She has said that this violated the terms of their custody settlement, which involved keeping all their children out of the spotlight. According to the report, she has expressed concern about the child’s safety and health from frequent travel and sleep deprivation.
The report also mentioned Musk’s relationships with Shivon Zilis, an employee at Neuralink, which he owns, as well as MAGA writer Ashley St Clair, both of whom parented his children.
In February, St Clair alleged that Musk offered hush money to keep the paternity of their child a secret, which she disagreed with. Since then, she has sued him to acknowledge paternity and for emergency child support, the report said. She also alleged that he had sought a gag order in New York to prevent her from coming public.
Increasingly erratic behaviour
Musk’s antics over the past year have caused concern among those close to him, according to The NYT report. Sources familiar with his lifestyle told The NYT that he plays video games for hours, struggles with binge eating, and posts all day on the social media platform he owns, X (formerly Twitter).
While these raised some eyebrows, his antics at public rallies for Trump – from jumping on stage at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania last October to the emphatic Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration rally this January – increasingly drew concern. The report mentions author Sam Harris, once a close friend, who explained the end of their friendship over Musk’s use of X to “defame people and promote lies”.
Neuroscientist Philip Low, also a close friend at one time, expressed his objection to the fascist salute and wrote, “Elon has pushed the boundaries of his bad behavior more and more”, the report said.
Elon Musk with President Donald Trump during a joint news conference after Musk announced his departure from his role as a special government employee in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, May 30, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
Elon Musk, center, carries his son X following a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec. 5, 2024. (The New York Times)
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