NEW YORK – Mr Elon Musk said his prescribed use of ketamine alleviates periods of low mood and is in the best interest of investors in Tesla and the other companies he runs.

For Wall Street, “what matters is execution”, Mr Musk said in an interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon streamed on YouTube on March 18.

“From an investor standpoint, if there is something I’m taking, we should keep taking it,” he said, referring to Tesla’s success.

Mr Musk said he takes the drug as prescribed periodically to treat what he described as “chemical tides” that lead to depression-like symptoms.

An article in the Wall Street Journal in January said executives in the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive’s companies had grown concerned about his recreational drug use.

Mr Musk responded that he has not failed drug tests and, in a post on his X social network, said that “whatever I’m doing, I should obviously keep doing it!”

X has cancelled a planned partnership with Mr Lemon following the interview. BLOOMBERG