CC™ VideoSpective
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Former Tesla director Larry Ellison invited Elon Musk to Hawaii to 'dry out' from drugs, report says
CC™ Business Interest
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert and Lloyd Lee
Elon Musk's drug use so worried his business associates and company board members that they asked him to go to rehab and even take a break from working to "dry out" from various substances, including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and ketamine, a new report from The Wall Street Journal said.
Larry Ellison, Musk's close friend, a former Tesla director, and the billionaire cofounder of Oracle, went so far as to urge Musk to travel to Hawaii during winter 2022 to pause his work and avoid drugs, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the offer.
Ellison's proposal came amid increasing concerns among Musk's friends and associates that Musk's drug use was getting worse, some of those people told the Journal.
At a party in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles around the time of Ellison's suggestion, the report added, one person who attended the event said Musk drank ecstasy in "liquid form" from a water bottle after having his personal security clear the floor for privacy.
The Journal reported the "volume" of Musk's drug use had contributed to a culture of peer pressure among Musk's friends and board directors of his various companies that created an "expectation" for them to use drugs alongside him to maintain the social status gained by being close to the billionaire.
Musk, Ellison, and their lawyers Alex Spiro and Christopher Muzzi did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The Journal previously reported Musk, who is reportedly one of several executives in Silicon Valley to try his hand at psychedelics such as ketamine, had also indulged in LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and "magic" mushrooms.
Despite proclaiming that he doesn't "like doing illegal drugs," Musk's drug use has previously put him and his companies on notice.
After he smoked marijuana on an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, NASA made SpaceX pledge in writing that the company was following federal guidelines on drug use in the workplace. The company spent $5 million in taxpayer money to properly train its employees on the rules, the Journal reported.
The billionaire also said on X that he had a prescription for ketamine, which research has suggested can be used to treat depression.
Experts previously told BI that the combination of hard drugs Musk is said to have used came with several health risks, especially at his age of 52.
Those include irregular heartbeat and incontinence, as well as psychosis if the user has bipolar disorder. In 2017, CNBC reported Musk suggested to his Twitter followers that he had the disorder.
Friday
Toxic Culture: Elon Musk's company directors are said to feel an 'expectation' to use drugs with him to avoid upsetting the billionaire
Elon Musk smokes weed on an episode of the Joe Rogan experience. |
Elon Musk is said to have created a culture of peer pressure among some of his friends and business associates that encourages them to use drugs with him, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal that details how board members and directors of his various companies either participate in or enable his substance use to stay close to the billionaire.
The Journal reported that at parties in recent years, Musk had been spotted taking ketamine recreationally through a nasal spray and drinking liquid ecstasy from a water bottle, citing people who witnessed the drug use or were briefed about it.
Current and former Tesla and SpaceX directors and board members— some of whom have invested tens of millions of dollars in Musk's companies or have significant stock options tied to their roles — had also used drugs with him, the Journal reported.
Sources told the Journal that the "volume" of Musk's drug use had created a culture wherein his closest business associates feared losing their wealth and social status by upsetting the billionaire if they refused to use drugs with him.
Musk, his lawyer Alex Spiro, and representatives for Tesla and SpaceX didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Following a January 6 report by The Journal that said the 52-year-old had used cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, and magic mushrooms over the years, Musk said in a post on X: "Whatever I'm doing, I should obviously keep doing it!"
After the January report, which could jeopardize Musk's security clearance as well as the billions of dollars of government contracts enjoyed by SpaceX as a defense contractor because of federal regulations on drug use, NASA said in a statement: "The agency does not have evidence of noncompliance from SpaceX on how the company addresses the drug- and alcohol-free workforce regulations."
Musk's reported drug use has been at the center of recent controversies after the Journal reported that a former director at Tesla was so concerned about Musk's drug use and unpredictable behavior that she chose not to stand for reelection to the electric-car company's board.
The Journal also reported that SpaceX executives worried Musk was on drugs during a "cringeworthy" all-hands meeting, in which the billionaire arrived nearly an hour late, rambling and slurring his words for about 15 minutes before the meeting was taken over by the spacecraft manufacturer's president.
Thursday
The ten best football (soccer) players of all time
There is no question that 'the beautiful game' has been blessed with some of the most glorious talent ever assembled in any sports, over the generations. Here are the ten best football (soccer) players of all time according to a consortium of ardent analysts and personalities in the game.
The list allows many fans of the beautiful game to offer their own opinion and suggestions on the veracity of the rankings.
1) Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Pelé (Brazil) - RIP
Peak: 1958-70
2) Diego Armando Maradona (Argentina) - RIP
Peak: 1985-90
Getty Images |
Getty Images |
Wednesday
Flashback: Black lives matter; All lives matter
The horrific suffocation of George Floyd, by the knee of Officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, has not only shocked and enraged the world it has once again brought the surface the degree of hatred, prejudice and wickedness inspired by race that still exist in the hearts of some human beings.
Tuesday
Monday
Sunday
Flashback: Nigeria - Sultan of Sokoto condemns Boko Haram crackdown
CC™ Editor's Flashback
The sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, has condemned the military crackdown against the Islamist Boko Haram sect.
"We cannot solve violence with violence," Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar told a meeting of religious leaders.
The Boko Haram, based in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, says it is fighting for Islamic rule.
It has been behind recent assassinations of prominent figures and a wave of bombings.
Two years ago, Nigeria's security forces brutally suppressed an uprising by the sect, destroying its compound in Maiduguri - the capital of Borno state - and then capturing and killing its leader Mohammed Yusuf.
Instead of disappearing, the group, which opposes Western education and is fighting for Islamic rule, re-emerged last September and vowed to avenge its leader's death.
Last month, it said it had carried out an attack on the headquarters of the Nigerian police in Abuja, which killed at least six people.
But the response of the security forces has led to criticism from rights group and the governor of Borno state.
Correspondents say many residents of Maiduguri are now more scared of the army than they are of Boko Haram.
"That problem can never be solved by drafting soldiers into cities where there is [a] problem - and in the process innocent lives were lost," said the sultan, who once served as military officer.
It is the first time the sultan has spoken about the Boko Haram insurgency.
Muslim clerics who have criticised the sect have been among those targeted for assassination in drive-by shootings over the past year.
The sultan also said the five policemen who have just gone on trial this month for the killing of Mr Yusuf should not be given bail.
Boko Haram's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".
But residents of Maiduguri, where it was formed in 2002, dubbed it Boko Haram.
Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden.
Boko Haram sees such education as corrupting Muslims.
Nigeria - Africa's most populous nation - is split between the predominately Muslim north and largely Christian south.
Editor’s Commentary - This piece was published on July 29, 2011 and another Southerner, Goodluck Jonathan was President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sultan Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar has always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In the piece in question from 2011, he (Sultan Abubakar), the leader of Nigeria’s Northern Muslims, vehemently opposed the military crackdown on the terrorists at the time, particularly because it was being led by a Southern Chief of Army Staff, a South-Easterner (Retired Lieutenant general Azubuike Ihejirika) to be precise, and it was also yielding results in terms of decimating the insurgents in a devastating way.
Sultan Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai and ex-president, Muhammadu Buhari are religious and ethnic Fulani irredentists, who secretly and overtly (as El-Rufai did as Kaduna State Governor) subscribe to the tenets of Fulani supremacy and dominance by any means necessary. The hypocrisy of the Sultan of Sokoto is not debatable and he lacks (and will always lack) credibility when it comes to the twin issue of ethno-religious intolerance in Nigeria, as it relates to the ethnic cleansing in the Middle-Belt and other parts of Nigeria by the Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram.
Saturday
A troubling trend that has gone unchecked for ages: Nigeria lecturer suspended after being exposed in 'sex-for-grades' film
The University of Lagos has suspended a lecturer (also said to be a Lead Pastor of the local Foursquare Church) who was caught on film propositioning and sexually harassing an undercover BBC reporter.
The church has reportedly condemned the actions of Boniface Igbeneghu and suspended hm from all ministerial/pastorial duties.
Ironically, the church (Foursquare Church) he serves as a flock leader is a global church that was founded by an American woman, Aimee Semple McPherson.
Friday
Putin warns West it is leading the world towards a potential nuclear confrontation
CC™ Headline News
President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday of a “real” risk of nuclear war if the West escalates the conflict in Ukraine, offering a defiant and emboldened stance in his annual speech to Russians.
Speaking in Moscow, Putin said his soldiers were advancing in Ukraine and warned the West of “tragic consequences” for any country that dared to send troops to Kyiv.
They have announced the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine… The consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic,” he said in his address to the nation.
“They should eventually realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. Everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilisation,” said Putin.
His comments appeared to be a response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal earlier this week to rule out sending troops to Ukraine — a stance that drew swift rejection from other leaders in Europe.
Nevertheless, the debate has struck a nerve in Moscow, which has long seen its conflict with Ukraine as part of a wider “hybrid war” being waged against it by NATO.
Western leaders have repeatedly criticised Putin for what they see as his reckless use of nuclear rhetoric.
After pulling Russia out of arms control treaties with the United States and previously warning he was “not bluffing” when he said he was ready to use nuclear weapons, Putin had appeared in recent months to dial down his nuclear threats.
But the fresh warning comes with the Kremlin buoyed by recent gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, but also an economy that has largely defied sanctions and ahead of an election certain to extend Putin’s term in the Kremlin until 2030.
- Russian forces ‘advancing’ -
The current state of affairs marks a sharp reversal in fortunes for Moscow over the last 12 months.
Last year at this time, Russian troops were reeling from Ukrainian counteroffensives that pushed them back in northeastern and southern Ukraine.
But after a Ukrainian campaign in the summer of 2023 failed to bring similar results, Kyiv is back on the defensive.
The initially strong Western support for Ukraine also appears to be fraying, with a $60-billion US aid package stalled in Congress.
Outgunning Ukrainian forces on the battlefield, Putin’s troops seized the eastern stronghold of Avdiivka and are attempting to build on their advances.
Putin on Thursday pointed to recent successes.
“The combat capacity of our armed forces has increased many times over,” he said.
“They are advancing confidently in a number of areas,” he added, without providing details.
Flanked by Russian tricolour flags and standing alone on stage at the Gostiny Dvor Palace near Moscow’s Red Square, the Russian leader reeled off his country’s arsenal of advanced weapons, including the Zircon and Kinzhal supersonic missiles.
But he slammed reports Russia was preparing to deploy a nuclear weapon in space as a “ploy” by Washington to draw Moscow into arms control talks “on their terms”.
- Election campaign -
Putin also touted Russia’s strong economic performance at home and outlined a number of small-scale domestic reforms as part of his pitch to Russians ahead of next month’s presidential election.
His speech was broadcast not only on state television but also on large digital screens and free of charge in cinemas across the country.
On the economic front, he said Russia was faring better than many expected.
Massive investment in military production, as well as high salaries and benefits for soldiers, has largely shielded the economy from the worst consequences of Western sanctions.
There is little doubt on the outcome of the March 15-17 vote, with all genuine opposition candidates barred from standing and the Kremlin’s most vocal critic Alexei Navalny now dead.
But Putin has still been campaigning, traveling around the country and making numerous media appearances since the start of the year, including recently flying a Russian bomber.
The 71-year-old former KGB officer, in power since the final day of 1999, is the longest serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin — a record he is set to pass during his next six-year term.
Even before Putin ordered forces into Ukraine in February 2022, he had increasingly portrayed himself as a defender of Russian values against a decadent, liberal and expansionist West.
He has used the military campaign to escalate a crackdown on domestic opponents, with hundreds prosecuted for criticising the Kremlin and its military offensive.
The speech came on the eve of a planned funeral for Putin’s top opponent Navalny, who died in prison on 16 February in unclear circumstances.
Putin, who famously never referred to the opposition leader by name, has remained silent on Navalny’s shock death that prompted outrage at home and abroad.
AFP