Elon Musk has unquestionably become the new oracle.
The billionaire and CEO of Tesla (TSLA) is without doubt the most influential voice of an era dominated by the tech he masters and shapes.
He seems to have taken by force the baton from the Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett. While Buffett remains a respected figure, the center of gravity seems to have shifted to Austin, Texas where Musk resides.
All eyes are now on the microblogging site Twitter (TWTR) where the richest man in the world gives advice, confronts his opponents, seeks opinions, announces major financial transactions, plays HR, and shares his states of mind. And especially, Twitter is the place where he is building the Musk brand. Musk is about to acquire Twitter for $44 billion.
And above all, Twitter has become the place where the serial entrepreneur is building the Musk brand. The CEO of Tesla wants to be perceived and seen as the biggest visionary of the current century and is no longer content to see his name attached to Tesla, the world leader in electric vehicles; SpaceX, his aerospace company whose goal is to conquer Mars; Neuralink or The Boring Company and its revolutionary tunnels supposed to solve the traffic problem of big cities. Musk decided himself to become the chief communicator or chief marketing officer of the Musk brand.
Musk the 'Doctor'
Part of this strategy is to tackle all subjects, whether he is an expert or not. But the merit of this tactic is to make the 50-year-old appear close to the people.
Musk on April 29 on Twitter recommended staying as far away as possible from amphetamines like Adderall which are, according to him, dangerous. It is important to emphasize that Musk is neither a doctor nor a scientist so a priori he is not an expert on health issues.
He, however, has more than 89.3 million followers on Twitter who adore him.
The billionaire was responding to a question from Tech entrepreneur and investor Marc Andreessen asking: "What % of the laptop class is on Adderall?"
"Adderall is an anger amplifier," Musk commented. "Avoid at all costs."
This advice has raised some criticism from users.
"So now you have medical and/or pharmacological degrees?" commented a user. "Those are things you have to take years studying for, not just buy. I would advise not practicing medicine without a license."
Adderall is approved for the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including having a short attention span and/or being hyperactive and impulsive. It is a stimulant drug that can sometimes be prescribed off-label as an add-on treatment for treatment-resistant depression.
Side effects can be serious, doctors warned. Stimulant drugs carry serious heart risks, including the risk of sudden death for children and adults with pre-existing heart conditions.
The exchange between Musk and Andreessen had started a little earlier with a post from the second questioning the studies attributing to tech the current ills of our society.
"Everyone thinks our present society was caused by social media," Andreessen wrote first while commenting an article. "I'm wondering whether Adderall plus ubiquitous Google searches have bigger effects."
"Wellbutrin is way worse than Adderall imo," Musk commented two hours after his first post about Adderall. " It should be taken off the market."
The billionaire added that: "Every time that drug has come up in conversation, someone at the table has a suicide or near suicide story."
Musk Has a Controversial Solution to Antidepressants
When a user comments asking what he thinks of Ritalin, Musk gives a somewhat ambiguous response.
"What do u think about Ritalin? Is that a good replacement for Adderall & Wellbutrin?" the user asked. "Ritalin works sooner and reaches peak performance more quickly than Adderall does."
"I have not heard bad things about Ritalin, which is not good to say it’s good, just haven’t heard bad things about it," Musk responded.
Twenty minutes later, he gives a follow-up to this text and recommends caution.
"A friend just emailed me about her bad Ritalin experience. Best to be cautious with all neurotransmitter drugs," Musk said.
Wellbutrin, also known as Bupropion, it is an antidepressant approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It's also used as an aid for people who want to quit smoking.
Taking this drug may cause you to have changes in behavior such as hostility, agitation, depressed moods, or suicidal thoughts, according to health website eleanorhealth.com. The potential risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior is higher in children, adolescents, and young adults who consume bupropion.
As for Ritalin, it is a stimulant that is used in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Hours later, Musk touted psychedelics, following a post calling for their prescription instead of amphetamines
"I’ve talked to many more people who were helped by psychedelics & ketamine than SSRIs & amphetamines," Musk commented referring to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), the common prescribed antidepressants.
