Seoul Gazette - Drug claims overshadow Musk's Oval Office farewell

A New York Times report that Musk's drug use had caused concerns was published just hours before he was to appear with Trump in the White House on his last day as the US government's cost cutter-in-chief.

The newspaper said the world's richest man also took ecstasy and mushrooms and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The South African-born tech tycoon, the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 election campaign, told people that ketamine, an anesthetic that can cause dissociation, had affected his bladder, the NYT added, noting that it was a known effect of long-term use.

Space X and Tesla boss Musk did not immediately comment, but the White House played down the report.

Asked if he was concerned about alleged drug use by Musk, Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters: "The drugs that we're concerned about are the drugs running across the southern border."

Trump's administration has pledged to crack down on migration and the flow of the opiate fentanyl from Mexico.

Miller separately told CNN when asked if Musk had been drug tested while working for the White House: "You'll have the opportunity to ask Elon all the questions you want today yourself."

Musk has previously admitted to taking ketamine, saying he was prescribed it to treat a "negative frame of mind" and suggesting his use of drugs benefited his work.

- 'Terrific' -

The latest claims will add to the challenge of putting a positive spin on Musk's departure after just four turbulent months.

Trump has announced a joint press conference in the Oval Office at 1.30 pm (1730 GMT). The president praised the "terrific" Musk on Thursday and insisted that his influence would continue despite him returning to his companies.

"This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

But the news conference will be a far cry from Musk's first appearance in the Oval Office in February, when he brought his young son with him and outshone even the attention-seeking president himself.

At the time the 53-year-old was almost inseparable from Trump, glued to his side on Air Force One, Marine One, in the White House and at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Yet Musk is now leaving Trump's administration under a cloud, after admitting disillusionment with his role and criticizing the Republican president's spending plans.

- 'Disappointed' -

The right-wing magnate's DOGE led an ideologically-driven rampage through the federal government, with its young "tech bros" slashing tens of thousands of jobs.

It has also shuttered whole departments including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), leading to huge cuts in foreign aid that critics say will hit some of the world's poorest people and help US rivals.

But DOGE's achievements fell far short of Musk's boasts when he blazed into Washington brandishing a chainsaw at a conservative event and bragged that it would be easy to cut two trillion dollars.

In reality, the independent "Doge Tracker" site has counted just $12 billion in savings while the Atlantic magazine put it far lower, at $2 billion.

Musk's "move fast and break things" mantra was also at odds with some of his cabinet colleagues, and he said earlier this week that he was "disappointed" in Trump's planned mega tax and spending bill as it undermined DOGE's cuts.

Musk's companies, meanwhile, have suffered.

Tesla shareholders called for him to return to work as sales slumped and protests targeted the electric vehicle maker, while Space X had a series of fiery rocket failures.

J.Gong--SG