Article: The repercussions of Musk’s drug scandal: How far can top management go? | Reuters

January 8: US entrepreneur Elon Musk is under scrutiny over new issues. Representative photoshoot in London in 2023 (2024 Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) – U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk is under scrutiny over new issues. Executives and directors of six companies owned by Musk, including electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA.O) and space development company SpaceX, say they are concerned about Musk’s addiction to illegal drugs, as reported on the 6th by Wall Street Journal.

Drug use is on the rise in the United States and internal corporate laws and regulations are being relaxed, but the problem is that drug use is spreading not only among Musk but also among senior executives. It’s hard to know where to draw the line, especially considering they work virtually 24 hours a day.

With the legalization of recreational marijuana use in most U.S. states, employer attitudes have changed in recent years. Data collected by the US Department of Labor shows that in 2021, only 16% of private companies were drug testing their employees, less than half the rate in 1996. Even government agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are loosening rules for new hires, citing fears that this could affect their ability to recruit young talent, New York reports.・The Times reported this in April last year.

Meanwhile, results from companies testing the drugs on their employees show widespread use. Quest Diagnostics (DGX.N) analyzed millions of tests in 2021 and found that the positivity rate was the highest in 20 years. However, as the number of cases where ketamine is prescribed to treat mental illness increases, companies can no longer take a tough stance on employee drug use outside of working hours.

Musk himself has revealed that he uses ketamine to relieve his depression. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the startup that developed ChatGPT, a conversational artificial intelligence (AI), is pushing for greater use of psychedelics to treat addiction and other illnesses.

However, drug use by executives can pose a number of risks. For example, the use of marijuana, which is federally prohibited, could jeopardize a large government contract. Furthermore, every word communicated has the potential to move the market, and it is difficult for busy business executives to determine when their working hours will begin and end.

Like alcohol, the effects of drugs on performance are subjective and difficult to determine. For the average tech worker, off-duty drug use probably doesn’t even get the employer’s attention.

However, in the case of powerful senior executives, the board may be justified in drawing a firmer line through periodic inspections and mandatory disclosure of information. This way, you can spot the problem of illegal drug abuse before it becomes a problem.

●Background news

*The Wall Street Journal reported on the 6th that entrepreneur Elon Musk regularly uses illegal drugs such as cocaine, citing several people familiar with the matter. Executives at several of Musk’s companies are reportedly concerned about the negative impact on their businesses.

*According to the article, Musk’s representatives say he submits to drug tests regularly and has never had any problems.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. This column is written based on the personal opinions of the author.)

*For related information, please see the “Related Content” menu on the right side of the screen.

Our Code of Conduct: The Thomson Reuters “Trust Principles”.

The author is a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. This column is written based on the personal opinion of the author.

2024-01-09 15:51:54
#Article #repercussions #Musks #drug #scandal #top #management #Reuters