Is Elon Musk on drugs? Video of billionaire during Trump's inauguration speech raises questions over 'ketamine' use - while others say he 'malfunctioned'

The video of Musk has been doing the rounds on X, formerly Twitter, which shows a clip of hip turning his neck around and his eyes appearing to roll. Many questioned whether the tech billionaire is on drugs while others said it is because he is a “robot”. Others rushed to his defence, claiming that he has recently had “neck surgery”.

On the issue of drugs, one user wrote: “It’s just the combo of ketamine and being forced to stand still.“ Another said: “High as a kite!“. While a third wrote: “He openly admits to doing shrooms and ketamine“. The billionaire Tesla CEO previously discussed his use of the medication ketamine.

He told journalist Don Lemon: “There are times when I have sort of a … negative chemical state in my brain, like depression I guess, or depression that’s not linked to any negative news, and ketamine is helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind”. Musk added that he has a prescription for the drug from “an actual, real doctor” and uses “a small amount once every other week or something like that.”

Others blamed his weird behaviour at Trump’s inauguration speech to him being a “robot” and “rebooting himself”. One user said: “Neuro link malfunction.“ While another wrote on X: “He is rebooting himself”. A third added: “Tesla robot”.

Musk is reportedly recovering from neck surgery, with many users attributing this to his weird neck movements in the video shared online. Musk has recently revealed that the surgery was ‘necessary’, even though it was painful.

Speaking about the reason behind his injury, Elon Musk posted on X on 12 January: “Oh man, this is a long story. I’ve had 5 neck/back operations. The third one, a C5-C6 fusion, actually worked in improving the pain from excruciating to livable. However, the nerve exiting the right facet is inflamed and the orifice through which it exits needed to be increased. Basically, my spine got reamed.”

His weird behaviour comes as Musk was also slammed for making a ‘Nazi salute’ during his own speech at Trump’s inauguration. Musk shocked many - including those watching at Washington DC's Capital One Arena - when he put his hand on his chest, then stretched out his arm with an open hand. To many it appeared Musk had performed a fascist salute - familiar to most from their use by the Nazis in reverence to Adolf Hitler. Many interpreted it as resembling the Nazi "Sieg Heil" salute.

He posted the video of his speech on X, with one user responding saying: “That was definitely a Nazi salute. Big fan of Tesla Skeptical of Elon But that was the most awkward thing I’ve seen no matter how excited he was”. However, others have suggested he was merely gesturing that his "heart goes out" to the crowd.