Leon Neal
Elon Musk is in the spotlight again, this time following a January 6 report that some SpaceX executives were concerned the billionaire was on drugs during an all-hands meeting in 2017.
Two days after the Wall Street Journal article, SpaceX released a lengthy recording of one of its all-hands meetings from the same year on X (also owned by Musk.) And while it's unclear whether the video is of the same meeting referenced in the Journal, it could be seen as a response to the story about Musk's alleged drug use.
The broader Journal report said that some executives at the rocket company had been troubled by Musk's behavior at a 2017 all-hands meeting when he "slurred his words and rambled for around 15 minutes." Some in attendance described the event as "unhinged" and "cringeworthy" to the newspaper.
In the video from SpaceX, Musk does appear to stumble over his words at several points. At one point he confuses the day for Friday instead of Tuesday and misstates the timing for a series of SpaceX flights. SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell casually corrects him both times. At a different point, Musk feigns a swoon at a picture of a rocket launch, telling the crowd he's "weak in the knees."
SpaceX completed 18 successful missions in 2017, launching flight-proven rockets and spacecrafts for the first time. It was a record-setting year and we were just getting started on our path toward a more exciting future.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 9, 2024
Watch the full company talk with @elonmusk: pic.twitter.com/L24bWkIBTf
"Sorry, I'm like slurring my words and I want to try to enunciate my words," Musk says at another point. "Sorry, I got almost no sleep last night, brain's not working properly."
During at least two points in the presentation, Musk appears to ask Shotwell for input.
"We didn't practice this, by the way," Shotwell says. "This comedy routine, it's all extemporaneous."
However, about fifteen minutes into the meeting Musk appears to get back on track and finishes the rest of the all-hands relatively smoothly.
The video does appear to be missing some points from the Journal's reporting, including Musk allegedly repeatedly referring to SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket prototype as "Big Fucking Rocket." Shotwell also never fully takes over the meeting. The Journal had reported Shotwell had taken over for Musk at the event.
Musk has denied the drug allegations, saying that "not even trace quantities" of drugs or alcohol were identified during three years of testing after he smoked weed during an interview with Joe Rogan in 2018. Spokespeople for Musk, SpaceX, and the Journal did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story from Business Insider.
In response to another user who linked the SpaceX footage to the Journal report, Musk also wrote on X: "Yeah, I was running on very little sleep for several days due to extreme work requirements."
The slightly chaotic nature of the meeting isn't unusual for Musk. The billionaire is known for his sometimes awkward and often rambling public statements — from outbursts at interviews to off-beat Tesla earnings presentations. Musk has made light of the issue in the past. In 2021, he said during a monologue on "Saturday Night Live" that he has Asperger's syndrome.
"Some people rarely know what I mean, that's because I don't always have a lot of intonation or variation in how I speak, which I'm told makes for great comedy," he said at the time.
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