Elon Musk has defended taking prescribed ketamine to treat his “negative frame of mind,” suggesting that his use of the drug is good for Tesla’s investors.

In an at-times tense interview with former CNN host Don Lemon, Musk said that he finds the anaesthetic helpful when he is suffering from a “negative chemical state”.

“There are times when I have… depression that is not linked to any negative news, and then ketamine is helpful for getting one outside out of a negative frame of mind,” Musk said during an interview released on X on Monday.

Asked if he thought he had ever abused the drug, Musk, who owns X and runs Tesla and SpaceX, said he did not think so and that he only takes a “small amount” once every other week or so.

“If you’ve used too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done and I have a lot of work – I am typically putting in 16-hour days. That’s normal for me,” Musk said.

“I can’t really get wasted because I can’t get my work done,” he added.