The Journal reported executives at SpaceX worried Elon Musk was on drugs after an “unhinged” all-hands meeting in which he slurred and rambled.

  • Uglyhead@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    This is the way he’s always been and it’s only getting worse.

    Employees have always had to manage him not the other way around; a perpetual petulant toddler banging his hands on the table; ruining everything he touches with his Reverse-Midas-Touch so they keep him at bay.

    • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      This is increasingly the characterization of so many rich and powerful people.

      Soooo weird…

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        If you have money, then in the business world you have intrinsic value.

        When you have enough, you reach the tipping point where it doesn’t just need to be the only thing you provide, but it outweighs others ways you hurt the business.

        The less your ideas are useful and the more money you hoard, the faster it changes.

        It can go quickly downhill when the CEOs wealth is tied to stock price.

        And ends disastrously when they go somewhere that workers aren’t used to them. Because the CEO was never told they used to be babysat just for their money, they legit believe they’re a genius

        • psud@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          It’s impressive then that the starship stack is stainless steel not carbon. Musk planned a giant carbon fibre rocket. The engineers he hired got him to change size and change material

      • Blackout@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        You have to think who gets that wealthy and is like “Let’s go to work!” You have to be psychotic to have more wealth than you can ever spend and not go fuck off somewhere and enjoy it. I would never go back to a job even if I was running the place, I’d just do whatever I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

        • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          See, idk if I could do that the rest of my life. I’m dreading retirement, even though it’s a long way off, as I have no idea how I’ll handle it…
          I could do maybe a month of nothing then I start getting antsy and depressed. Working gives structure to my life, and while I really hate getting up and going to it, it’s better for me than the alternative…even when I don’t have to worry about money.

          • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Yea, but would you pretend to be a business genius while in actuality being the world’s biggest spoiled dork? Like Tommy Boy but without the charisma and infinitely more needy for a positive reception. I think, even as delusional as I am, you and I would recognize we’d likely need a different role.

            Musky boy gives us the Cyber Truck, and a dancing jackass in a leotard and helmet for a robot…

            • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
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              10 months ago

              No, but I’m neither rich nor a narcissistic prick, just a regular asshole.
              Always thought Musk was a piece of shit, glad my initial thought is being proven correct.

          • elvith@feddit.de
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            10 months ago

            I feel you. On the other hand, you might find something different to pass/spend your time with. Maybe you return to your job. Maybe you start a new company, maybe you start to do arts and crafts, or…

          • elvith@feddit.de
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            10 months ago

            I feel you. On the other hand, you might find something different to pass/spend your time with. Maybe you return to your job. Maybe you start a new company, maybe you start to do arts and crafts, or…

          • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            That’s a pretty sad revelation. We’ve been so beaten down that we can’t imagine being happy pursuing whatever we’d like to do day after day without “creating value.”

            And we only get this one go at life. One life to live and we’ve been so sapped of the entire concept of “living” that work is our life. How sad that is.

            It just seems crazy. I don’t know, it just feels so wrong to hear people think this way.

            • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
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              10 months ago

              Ehhhh. I’m a Stone Mason working in conservation, my job is really satisfying and rewarding. I enjoy my work generally, and passing on the skills to the next generation is an extra bonus feel good. I wish I was able to structure my own life enough to not want to go to work if I was independently wealthy, but currently struggling with possibly adhd or autism spectrum stuff, and while I would love to be able to work on stuff for myself I need external structure…

              Yes, I know that last sentence was a bit fucky, I’m in bed and lazy, not changing it.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I enjoy it, but I prefer calling him Terrence Howard because he’s a fake iron man who is going to be replaced.

          • Uglyhead@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Mr. “If one times one equals one that means that two is of no value because one times itself has no effect. One times one equals two because the square root of four is two, so what’s the square root of two? Should be one, but we’re told it’s two, and that cannot be.” Terryology Howard?

            Refuting thousands of years of knowledge and science and saying we’ve, ‘been doing math wrong this whole time’ takes a whole nutter level of nutter.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              See? He and Elon need to get together and compare science notes. Imagine the new Tesla/SpaceX Cyber Rocket Truck those two could come up with together!

  • Buffaloaf@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    At SpaceX, where illicit drug use could jeopardize the billions of dollars of government contracts enjoyed by the defense contractor due to federal regulations, The Journal’s reports of Musk’s drug use put at risk nearly $1 trillion in assets held by investors, about 13,000 jobs, and the future of the US space program.

    And I thought Twitter was going to be his biggest fuck up.

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        10 months ago

        Fuck Them! They can’t blackmail me to stop taking drugs!

        —Musk, probably

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        10 months ago

        Really though, what’s the point of having “fuck you” money if you don’t tell people “I don’t care. Fuck you” every once in a while? (Or… daily)

        • friend_of_satan@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I always thought of “fuck you” money as a statement being made up the chain. Saying “fuck you” to all the employees below him is not cool.

          • bitwaba@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            the point of having “fuck you” money is that you can say “fuck you” to anyone and it won’t impact you. If you would like to say it to the people up the chain, that’s fine. If you’d like say it to someone else, that’s fine too. Who gives a shit? You certainly don’t. You’ve got “fuck you” money.

    • derphurr@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I don’t think Twitter was a fuck up. It’s likely he had $20B or something insane in cap gains (maybe from selling Tesla shares or other investments).

      He took Twitter private sold it on paper to same private shareholders, now can claim $17B or whatever it is in losses. Now he pays nothing in taxes, has one of the largest Internet mouthpieces he can use to sway elections, etc. The only people who took losses are banks he used to swing purchase and the twitter landlord he is refusing to pay.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I mean, it single-handedly ruined everyone’s understanding of who he is and what he can do in the most humiliating ways imaginable. But if you want to spin it as a tax write off supermove, okay. It can be two things I guess.

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    10 months ago

    We can excuse the racism, the transphobia, and the antisemitism, but we draw the line at drugs!

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      10 months ago

      That can lose them their security clearance and government contracts, so kind of a big deal.

      The racism and transphobia and everything else can be ignored because it doesn’t affect their bottom line in the society we live in.

    • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      10 months ago

      Don’t you see? All of those other things were BECAUSE of the drugs! It’s exactly like what happened to Roseanne and her Ambiens!

      • xenoclast@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        He’s always been a racist, homophobic, sociopathic capitalist. Aligning with fascists is the trajectory of most like him. The drugs just make it more obvious…

        (Yes is read the /s but I still felt an opportunity to get a jab in because fuck this guy)

    • zbyte64@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      10 months ago

      Oh, they’re probably okay with certain drugs, but slurring speech indicates he’s taking the wrong kind.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    with one executive describing the event to the outlet as “nonsensical,” “unhinged” and “cringeworthy.”

    This is different from normal?

    Also:

    SpaceX also began cracking down on illegal substances at the company by bringing in drug-sniffing dogs, sources told The Journal.

    How much do you want to bet those dogs are never allowed up in the executive suites?

    • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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      10 months ago

      What kind of company has such a bad drug problem that they need to bring in dogs to find it? Absolutely ridiculous.

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          10 months ago

          In normal corporate environments I’ve seen people abuse everything from codeine headache tablets to crystal meth.

          Not defending Edolf Twitler, I’m just saying it’s not unusual for these environments to be so toxic that people look for ways to manage.

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            10 months ago

            I don’t find the drug use abnormal so much as them bringing in drug sniffing dogs to catch it rather than dealing with it on an individual basis.

            • Optional@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Probably less for actually finding drugs than for checking a tickbox on an insurance form for “taking measures to combat drugs” or something. It’s probably just Ricky from HR’s dobie-doodle mix.

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        10 months ago

        I don’t think it’s that they had such a rampant drug use problem. I think it’s just that they wanted to appease Uncle Sam so they could keep sucking on that taxpayer teat. Uncle Sam’s a bit of a stickler about such things, especially when it comes to people who build rocket ships.

    • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Well the smart money can only go inverse, and tripling down with a “I’ll see your bet and raise it 500%” that a drug dog absolutely will find a shit ton of drugs in the executive areas. I’d take out the largest loan I possibly could, then go to a loan shark and do a blood contract, and absolutely muster every possible cent I possibly could after whoring my own ass out, on THAT bet.

    • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      I don’t know, this might make a few kids skip taking drugs. Maybe his cringeworthyness is finally doing something good.

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    … Musk’s drug use, which includes LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and ketamine, …

    Explains…soooo much. Still an asshole, though.

    • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Yea… You kinda’ have to be a real piece of shit to be on that many drugs and still be an asshole. Good ol’ musky.

    • GoofSchmoofer@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Sounds like the man is really bored with his life and all he has left are drugs to keep him entertained

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I mean, with that kinda dough, you kinda run out of normal things to do.

        Drugs are probably the most normal thing he does.

        Which is why dumbasses pay millions to go see the wreck of the titanic and have pedo orgies in private islands.

    • jayrhacker@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      Yeah, and sure he can pass a drug test if you consider:

      LSD: 12 hour wash-out time for a blood test
      Cocaine: 24 hour wash-out time for a blood test
      MDMA: 24-36 hour wash-out time for a blood test
      Ketamine: 24 hour wash-out time for a blood test, and it’s easy to get a prescription for off-label use to treat depression

      So basically, do all the drugs you want Friday night, by Monday morning you’ll be clean enough for a blood test.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        You think musk worried about drug tests? Interesting.

        What are they gonna do? Fire him?

  • qooqie@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    It’s news sure but is anyone thinking it’s groundbreaking news that Elon musk might be on drugs most of the time?

      • gullible@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        100% an upper or “microdosing” on a hallucinogen. Just a nibble of psilocybin every day before impregnating a secretary and after bed.

        This is entirely unrelated, aside from the stupidity of the subject, but I’m reminded of that fella who repeatedly injected mushrooms to try to get high. He sterilized the mushrooms by boiling, then blended, loaded into a hypo, and slowly plunged the mixture into his arm. He ended up with a complete systemic fungal infection but survived. I wish Musk would get creative with it.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        No. We’re saying the SpaceX board is not on enough of them. Because they’re going to light up the whole business by leaving him in place rather than figuring out what it’s going to take to launch him into the sun. I mean remove him.

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    10 months ago

    I will admit, him being on drugs did not occur to me as a possible explanation for his ‘taking tesla private’ tweet that torpeedoed his networth, but having been confronted by it now I am having a hard time not believing it.

    • athos77@kbin.social
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      Musk’s drug use, which includes LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and ketamine, according to people familiar with the matter, is at the center of an extensive new report from The Journal that details how executives at several of the billionaire’s companies have struggled to manage his substance use and erratic behavior.

      • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Just FYI

        According to people familiar with the matter

        Means “We have no source for this and are probably making it up”

        Business Insider is a tabloid shitrag these days

        • athos77@kbin.social
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          10 months ago

          Just FYI, “according to people familiar with the matter” generally means people who are speaking on background and asked to have their identifies protected. I guarantee you that the reporters and their editor(s) know the people involved and have good reason to believe they’re familiar with the situation and are reliable sources of information.

        • stopthatgirl7@kbin.socialOP
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          10 months ago

          This is based on a Wall Street Journal report (which I didn’t link because it’s paywalled), so your strange anger at BI is a wee bit misplaced.

          • Uglyhead@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Dude is hanging out in a dedicated misogyny porn community.

            10 to 1 a MuskRat and just angry his man is being talked about badly.

            • renzev@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              “Hey there nice post. Unfortunately, here is some bullshit I dug up from your comment history which clearly demonstrates that you are unworthy of expressing your opinion”

              Not defending that guy, just really wish this type of behavior would just die along with the rest of r*ddit already. Something something ad hominem falacy

              • Uglyhead@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Oh I tend agree, if I was arguing directly against him it would be foul.

                However looking through peoples past comments and where they tend to hang out can infer a lot about the person.

          • Ooops@kbin.social
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            10 months ago

            No. Media bullshit is sitting at the core of a lot of today’s problems and the massive polarisation on basically any topic.

            Anger at low level journalism rags and even more at outlets trying to look respectable while actually having a similiar quality (and that definitely includes Business Insider ever since they were bought by the shithole of journalism that is Axel Springer SE) cannot be misplaced at all.

            • Optional@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              I mean, I’m all on board with anger at BI. It’s not that. It’s the WSJ article is the OP topic, it’s like ranting about Star Trek at a Star Wars convention. Not that it’s wrong, just misplaced or at least out of context.

  • Aceticon@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    The guy was a decent salesman, heavilly empowered by daddy’s money and connections, who had a bit of luck, even though he only had one kind of salesmanship technique - the Techbro Brew: heavy on selling “high-tech” and “innovation” as inherently good and always trumphing other considerations - and kept walking the grey legal area between lies, exageration and Fraud.

    However he seems to have started believing his own schtick that he’s a special golden boy whose farts smell of roses, and here we are now.

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Know this: having that amount of money is deeply not normal. None of us could do it. We’d save people. We’d build things that helped instead of giant toys. Billionaires are a type of sociopathy. And this guy’s got it bad.

      100% tax after 999 million. Full stop.

      • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        “One tiny step for mankind and one giant leap for me personally” – Jason Alexander during a skit about piece of shit billionaires making dick shaped rockets going out into space.

        • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          The irony of course is Jason, Jerry, Julia, and Larry are all billionaires.

          edit: apparently Jason only has a net worth of 50 mil despite being on the most popular sitcom of all time and the comparative net worths of his colleagues. I guess he got nothing on the back end for syndication. Shitty.

          • nomous@lemmy.world
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            Julia was rich before Seinfeld even aired.

            Larry and Jerry definitely got paid but I doubt either of them are billionaires.

            edit: She’s the daughter of French-born business magnate Gérard Louis-Dreyfus.

          • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            In comparison, that’s absolutely shitty and I agree. On the other hand I look at his net worth though and it reminds me of a recent article about Tesla’s cofounders, and how out of 5 only two “got rich”. Within that same article the guy with the lowest net worth was still worth 200 million. Jason’s hilarious and I love his work, but at the same time if he “only” is worth 50 mil, congrats to the guy for getting rich anyway.

            Good point though about the irony of it.

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Exactly. Musk and Trump are the poster children for why you shouldn’t leave your kids everything if you’re wealthy. It’ll ruin their lives and the lives of their children.

        • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Not trying to defend excessive wealth, but Trump and Musk were both ruined by their fathers.

          The regular model for self aware billionaires is to keep your head down. How much do you know about the Johnson and Johnson heirs? Or the Walmart heirs? They know their necks will be on the chopping block is they’re well known and a revolution comes.

      • psud@lemmy.world
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        Musk spent a lot of money trying to teach people that that doesn’t work.

        He’s a billionaire because he owns the majority of Tesla and Tesla is very valuable. He has no taxable income unless he draws a salary or liquidates some of his Tesla shares

        He demonstrated it by liquidating some shares and getting a tax bill

        Billionaire spending money comes from a deal with a bank - the billionaire gets as much credit as they like, the bank is paid back by their estate upon death

    • Ibex0@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      However he seems to have started believing his own schtick that he’s a special golden boy whose farts smell of roses, and here we are now.

      Yeah, that’s the problem. Honestly, a lot of people would do this. That’s why corporations are supposed to have checks and balances.

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      10 months ago

      I have a couple of acquaintances that are PayPal Mafia and what I’ve put together from them and anecdotes around the Valley is pretty much spot on what you’ve got here. He’s not special. Life just had a course that worked out for his douche ass.

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          10 months ago

          I’d typically respond “aren’t they all?” But the MF has more money than God. I really don’t know what to make of him. I think he’s just a legitimate piece of shit incel king edge lord who lost the thread and doesn’t know he’s no longer just a troll. Maybe the daddy issues are so bad he cant see his own power. Why else act like this?

          • postmateDumbass@lemmy.world
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            He grew up as a child of an emrald miner in South Africa under the aparthied regieme.

            Super rich kid in a historically notoriiously dehumanizing society.

            Its like perfect conditions for a narcisistic mental disorder.

            So im not really suprised by his bizzare conservative appeals against poor people, employees, regulators and the like.

            Comic books need villains too.

            • blazeknave@lemmy.world
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              Nailed it. They always think they’re the victim hero saving us from ourselves. Who needs Kang and Doc Oc when you have jabronis like this guy and orangeman

  • CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world
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    And? Its only a crime when regular people do it, for rich people its just ‘eccentric’

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      Until it starts hurting the other rich people- the investors. Eventually, Musk’s erratic behavior will have to be dealt with. He will never be anything but a multibillionaire, but he may not be CEO of his companies much longer at this rate.

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    Has there ever been an all-hands meeting where the CEO was not cringeworthy?

    I just assume it’s the minimum amount of yearly cringe you have to endure to stay employed.

      • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Somebody hands him drugs, and in that moment they are one of the most powerful people in the world who is changing the short term course of mankind.

          • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            The action of supplying drugs to be ingested by one of the richest men on earth, destroying their rationality on a whim and for profit, is in itself the cause for the empowering feeling I described above. None of that shit you just said changes this context.

    • Barack_Embalmer@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I heard some of the really wealthy Silicon Valley types kit out their own private laboratory and hire chemists.

      • Kbobabob@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I heard aliens are real. That doesn’t exactly make it true. I doubt anyone with half a brain would have a full blown narcotics lab. At least, I’ve never heard of such a thing.

        • Uglyhead@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Small batch boutique narcotics are a market just waiting to be milked in Silicon Valley.

          The purest of pure cocaine,…charge 10x the price of the best on the street.

          Any and all RC’s you’d ever want at your fingertips, etc etc.

          It’s just far too lucrative to think nobody is doing it.

          • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
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            10 months ago

            Esp when you consider that most street drugs are laced with fentanyl/carfentanil.

            That almost guarantees the rich and famous have their own supply line.

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              10 months ago

              Esp when you consider that most street drugs are laced with fentanyl/carfentanil.

              I’ve been wondering how this could make sense as I’ve seen it claimed more and more often (feels very similar to the original war on drugs hysteria of the 80s and 90s), and I admit I haven’t looked too deeply, but it seems this is once again something being overblown due to the war on drugs.

              **But according to experts, nationwide drug studies, and the DEA’s own data, fentanyl contamination in non-opioid drug supplies is exceedingly rare, and largely centered on a specific, highly-vulnerable subset of users. **Critics say this is why the alarm raised by health officials and law enforcement is so concerning: Authorities stoking broad, misleading fears of fentanyl poisoning the non-opioid drug supply marks a damaging mission creep in the battle to stem the opioid crisis. As we’ve seen previously in the War on Drugs, narratives based on fear, not data, distract policy makers, public health advocates, and even first responders away from those who are at real risk.

              There is lots more info on the article linked, I just cherrypicked these two summary statements.

              So why the misleading claims about recreational coke and cannabis users being at such a high risk?

              On one hand, public health officials are doing what they’re meant to do: warn the public about health risks. On the other, the scale of the concern around fentanyl contaminating the entire US drug supply is a very familiar narrative in the War on Drugs: the belief that dealers are governed not by economics but by malice, that users are helpless addicts, and that drug eradication is the only solution to these problems.

              There’s far more detail in the article.

              https://www.vice.com/en/article/8xyzkp/the-truth-about-drug-dealers-lacing-cocaine-with-fentanyl

              • mob@sopuli.xyz
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                10 months ago

                Obviously, you aren’t around drugs/drug users that often. Fent definitely is a real issue. A lot of my drug using friends(that are still alive) have conspiracies about why its in everything thats “not natural”(weed/shrooms/etc) for lack of better term… But it has started to show up in everything the last decade. Uppers/downers/psychs. Shits ridiculous

                But for anyone dabbling… Test strips are cheap. Use them. Mix the shit up good and test, even if you gotta break down the rock. Your friends and family dont want to find you dead covered in your own shit, piss and puke cause you were to lazy and cheap to test the shit.

              • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
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                10 months ago

                in non-opioid drug supplies

                That’s the qualifier. I have no idea why anyone would think marijuana would be contaminated with fentanyl.

                • be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social
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                  10 months ago

                  Fair, but that qualifier seems to be missing on billboards I see and even in this statement:

                  Esp when you consider that most street drugs are laced with fentanyl/carfentanil.

                  This gives the impression that cannabis, LSD, shrooms, etc etc are also at risk here.

                • frezik@midwest.social
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                  10 months ago

                  Especially when there are (semi-) legalized dispensaries that have to go through certified laboratories. Hey, maybe that’s the solution.

        • EightLeggedFreak@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I don’t know… Some of us common folk put a lot of what money we have into little hobby pot farms and greenhouses. If a billionaire just keeps throwing money at it, they can have a pretty nice setup of whatever drug manufacturing they want.

          You’re right, though. Never heard of it, but I won’t be surprised if we ever do.

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    What would be scarier is if he wasn’t on drugs. Being on drugs means that there is a “normal state” for him to return to.

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    10 months ago

    Companies perform drug checks for a reason. People who lead large organizations while regularly getting off on drugs are usually the biggest psychopaths around.

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      10 months ago

      The higher up you go, the less likely it is that you’d be tested for drugs. We could empty board rooms if we insisted on drug testing at that level.

      • TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Yes, but I’m not really arguing against that claim. The higher up you go, the more psychopaths you have as well. They can have all the drugs they want, the real work usually doesn’t depend on them, and psychopathy helps them make money if not contribute to society.

    • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      10 downvotes on this comment, because they either mis clicked, they’re guilty of the same thing and the truth hurts, or they’re bootlicking scab motherfuckers.

      • thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev
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        10 months ago

        Probably because routine mandatory tests are bad, and the comment you replied to is an endorsement to it. It’s a gross violation of your constitutional rights under the 4th amendment. Also, why do you care to make assumptions on why people downvoted if you’re not even making an effort to broaden your views?

        https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/mandatory-drug-testing-public-sector-employees-constitutional

        • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          No argument there, I’m not an advocate for drug testing against any intrinsic right as spelled out in the constitution, but there are many situations where companies need some type of enforcement against people who get high and go to work. Industries from utility, security, heavy manufacturing, or construction are just a few off the top of my head that the public trust demands those employees be “fit for duty” regardless of the public/private sector distinction due to the potential for fatal harm and/or destruction of property.

          The comment highlights the “rules for thee and not for me” mentality that C-suites have, to which I emphasize that while my viewpoint may seem narrow and extreme, it’s not due to a lack of broad views. I read that abstract and it’s a collection of concepts that does nothing to address some well understood concepts like “do you want a crane operator to be allowed to get high as a kite, jeopardizing lives?” as just one of many potential examples. If mandatory drug testing becomes ruled as illegal under the constitution, then we had damn well better amend it and figure this shit out…to which my and their point stands. I might even add that there are some ignorant assholes who apparently think it would just be great if we can all just be allowed to get high and kill people by accident. “It wasn’t a big deal, they just got some bad weed and the pilot killed himself and 200 people, what’s the big fucking deal?”

          • thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev
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            10 months ago

            My source discussed your concerns, I think you did not read it.

            “Most courts have ruled that mandatory urinalysis, at least in the absence of probable cause or reasonable suspicion, is invalid as a violation of the Fourth Amendment. While some courts have concluded that government workers may have a diminished expectation of privacy in comparison with the public at large, other courts have required some quantum of individualized suspicion before drug testing can be conducted. States have attempted to uphold mandatory drug testing by arguing that government employees voluntarily consent to drug testing and voluntary consent does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Courts have not accepted this argument, however, finding that consent obtained under the threat of disciplinary action is coercive and thus unconstitutional. The real issue in mandatory drug testing involves balancing individual versus government interests. Most courts hold that, absent probable cause or reasonable suspicion, individual constitutional rights are not outweighed by governmental interests”

            • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              I did, actually, so let’s break it down:

              The strongest and most often cited argument for rejecting mandatory urinalysis is that such testing is an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

              This is my issue right off the top, hence I bring up fit for duty requirements as a measure of preventing the loss of life and/or property. All reasonable suspicion and disciplinary issues arise after a major loss of life happens, and random UA testing has been viewed as a tool that functions preventatively in encouraging people not to show up under the influence of a substance, ie fit for duty.

              Had you displayed a modicum of understanding, you could see that point rather clearly, but it seems you like to use a stupid fucking red herring to detract from the point altogether. If it’s unconstitutional, then it ought to be amended, and while we’re at it, keep people accountable especially scumbag C-suite execs who are often making decisions that demonstrably lead to death and/or loss of property in various ways.

              • thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev
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                10 months ago

                Your reading comprehension is horrible, to say the least. Let me highlight the keywords for you so it’s easier.

                Most courts have ruled that mandatory urinalysis, at least in the absence of probable cause or reasonable suspicion, is invalid as a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

        • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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          10 months ago

          It’s only a violation of the 4th amendment for government employees, because only the government is bound by the 4th amendment. It’s still bad, but not because of the Constitution.

            • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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              10 months ago

              Yes, I have. Have you?

              The Bill of Rights is all about limiting what the government is allowed to do. The text of that particular amendment is more vague about who it applies to, but let’s say for the sake of argument it is the law that prevents private employers from drug testing you without your consent. What it absolutely does not do is prevent your employer from firing you if you don’t consent to a search they want to do.

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                10 months ago

                Thankfully, smarter people than you and I decide what the law “applies to.” That’s what the courts have ruled, there can be no “consent” if it’s a condition for employment. There must be articulated suspicion.

  • EnderMB@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Given that SpaceX is a private company, where Musk owns the vast majority of voting rights, I’m not sure what can be done here. The same goes for Twitter, and I doubt Musk is stupid enough to have bylaws in a company he bought 12 months ago that would oust him for drug abuse (although I would fucking love it!)

    Tesla, though, is only 21% owned by Musk (assuming Wikipedia is up to date). While it’s tight, I imagine the board could request he take a drug test, and if he refuses/fails, call a vote to remove him. Given that Tesla execs have been worried about his unhinged behaviour for years, it could be the blessing they’ve been hoping for.

    • qwertyWarlord@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Nothing, and nothing needs to be done. It’s his company, he can run it how he wants and that will result in how successful it is. Personally I wouldn’t be anywhere near him and unless I had a dire need not to, I’d quit working for whatever company he owns and find somewhere more sane to spend my time