NASA chief: Elon Musk smoking weed during podcast recording ‘was not helpful’

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters Thursday that Elon Musk smoking marijuana during a podcast recording was “not appropriate behavior.” 

The agency last week ordered a safety review of Musk’s SpaceX and Boeing reportedly in response to the viral video that showed Musk smoking a joint during an interview for the podcast the “Joe Rogan Experience.” 

{mosads}“I will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organizations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organization that’s going to launch American astronauts,” Bridenstine said during a meeting with reporters, according to The Atlantic. 

Bridenstine said he had personally ordered the reviews, prompted not only by Musk’s behavior but also NASA’s history of tragic accidents. 

“Every single one of those accidents had a number of complications,” Bridenstine said, according to the magazine. “Of course, the technological piece was a big piece of it. [But] the other question that always comes up was, what was the culture of NASA?” 

The NASA chief also told reporters that Musk recently assured him that he would not be engaging in similar antics moving forward. “He understands that that was not appropriate behavior, and you won’t be seeing that again,” Bridenstine said.

NASA in a statement last week said that the reviews were “a cultural assessment” into SpaceX and Boeing’s conduct, “including the adherence to a drug-free environment.” 

Both SpaceX and Boeing are private companies hired by NASA to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

Musk has weathered multiple controversies in the past year, most recently reaching a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to step down as Tesla’s board chairman after a tweet claiming that he planned to take the company private.