Facing the fallout. Elon Musk found himself at the center of several scandals over the years — which the CEO has preferred to address himself.
During an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Podcast” in 2018, Musk shocked listeners when he decided to smoke marijuana amid the interview. The South Africa native’s reaction to the experience quickly became a social media meme.
Later that year, the investor admitted that he didn’t know what he was doing at the time. “I am somewhat impulsive. I don’t really want to try to adhere to some CEO template,” he told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes in December 2018. “I do not smoke pot. As anyone who watched that podcast can tell I have no idea how to smoke pot or anything.”
Musk later found the humor in the situation when he poked fun at the infamous moment during his Saturday Night Live hosting gig.
“A lot of times, people are reduced to the dumbest thing they ever did. Like one time I smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast,” he joked in the May 2021 episode. “And now all the time I hear ‘Elon Musk, all he ever does is smoke weed on podcasts.’ Like I go from podcast to podcast, lighting up joints. It happened once, it’s like reducing OJ Simpson to murderer.”
The businessman’s personal life has also made headlines throughout his career. Two years after sparking romance rumors with Grimes, Musk and the musician welcomed their son, X AE A-XII, in May 2020.
Amid challenges in their relationship, Musk opened up about the couple’s unconventional approach to romance. “We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,” he said in a September 2021 statement. “It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in L.A. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.”
The musician, for her part, later revealed that the pair expanded their family with daughter Exa Dark Sideræl Musk in December 2021. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” Grimes, who welcomed her second child via surrogate, told Vanity Fair in March 2022 about initially keeping the news private. “Whatever is going on with family stuff, I just feel like kids need to stay out of it, and X is just out there. I mean, I think E is really seeing him as a protégé and bringing him to everything and stuff.… X is out there. His situation is like that. But, yeah, I don’t know.”
At the time, the Canada native said her connection with Musk was “the best it’s ever been,” adding, “There’s no real word for it. I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we’re very fluid. We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time. … We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it.”
After the interview was published, the songwriter took to social media to clarify the duo’s relationship status. “Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article haha, but he’s my best friend and the love of my life, and my life and art are forever dedicated to The Mission now,” Grimes tweeted. “I think Devin wrote that part of the story rly well. Sique – peace out.”
Keep scrolling to relive Musk’s most controversial moments:
