Elon Musk might lose his federal security clearance over his public pot smoking


Six months later, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is still dealing with the fallout of an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast.
Musk's federal security clearance is currently under review by the Pentagon because of his 2018 appearance on a Joe Rogan Experience episode, which featured Musk and Rogan smoking pot, Bloomberg reports. The form Musk filled out to get his clearance, the report says, "requires a federal employee or contractor seeking a clearance to acknowledge any illegal drug use over the previous seven years."
A lawyer told Bloomberg that smoking pot is "absolutely" grounds for the loss of clearance if the person "currently" does so. The report does say it's possible Musk will simply need to have his record updated, though, and he said on the Rogan episode he doesn't regularly smoke pot. Musk is the CEO of SpaceX, which has contracts with the federal government.
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This is not even the first probe sparked by the Rogan interview, as NASA last November launched a review of SpaceX's safety practices because of Musk's "recent behavior" including his Rogan appearance, which The Washington Post reported at the time reported "rankled some at NASA's highest levels."
All of this comes as Musk is also feuding with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which recently asked a judge to hold him in contempt over a 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private. Experts told CNBC this tweet could result in his suspension as Tesla CEO.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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