Elon Musk has been warned by Nasa’s most senior figure not to repeat his weed-smoking, whisky-drinking antics on a recent podcast if he wants to continue working with the space agency.
Jim Bridenstein, the Nasa administrator, suggested that Mr Musk, an entrepreneur who is financing commercial space exploration, had acted inappropriately given his role with the company.
Mr Musk’s SpaceX is one of two firms contracted to build a shuttle that will fly US astronauts to the International Space Station from American territory – something that was ended in 2011.
Recent behavior by Mr Musk, who co-founded the online payment system PayPal and the car company Tesla, has triggered a slew of negative headlines in the media.
In September, Mr Musk inhaled a joint made from marijuana and tobacco while on the podcast Josh Rogan Experience which was filmed in California, where the drug is legal.
He added: “We’ve had a number of conversations. I will tell you, he is as committed to safety as anybody, and he understands that that was not appropriate behavior, and you won’t be seeing that again.”
Nasa has been working with SpaceX and Boeing to develop a new shuttle to fly US astronauts to the ISS from America, something that could happen as early as next year. The contracts are worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.
REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Mr Bridenstein has ordered a review, known as a cultural assessment, into the working practices of both companies ahead of the first launches. The review launch predated Mr Musk’s podcast appearance.
Mr Bridenstein said the review was ordered to help ensure that past space tragedies such as the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters would not be repeated.
The backlash came after Mr Musk’s bizarre appearance on the podcast, hosted by a American comedian and television host Joe Rogan.
In the episode, which was streamed live, Mr Rogan was seen smoking a joint. Mr Musk took a sniff of a joint, asked “‘I mean, it’s legal, right?”, and then took a drag.
He went on to discuss the impact the drug was having on him, saying: "It’s more like the opposite of a cup of coffee. It’s like a cup of coffee in reverse.”
At one point Mr Musk became contemplative. “I don’t think you’d necessarily want to be me,” he said. “I don’t think people would like it that much.”
It is not known exactly what the Nasa chief said to Mr Musk about the incident. SpaceX has been approached for comment.