NASA vs Elon Musk

Photo by Pixabay Published January 08, 2019 Updated May 13, 2020

Apparently NASA does not approve of Elon Musks' video podcast with Joe Rogan which features him puffing away on a joint. According to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, the world will never get to watch Musk puff another joint or sip another drop of alcohol, publicly.  While Bridenstine admitted to The Atlantic's report that Elon Musk is committed to workplace safety for his employees and astronauts but claimed that Musk portraying himself as a real human being who is able to enjoy the greener things in life was inappropriate.

Bridenstine took matters into his own hands and personally ordered a workplace culture and safety review of not only Musks SpaceX but Boeing as well.  NASA is working with both companies to provide passenger spacecraft to shuttle astronauts from America to the International Space Station, with test flights starting sometime in 2019. Combined the contracts are worth $6.8 billion and have stipulations that both companies are required to maintain a drug and alcohol-free workplace program.  This requirement was added to the contracts for an insurance measure to ensure that both companies would not be prone to accidents that would result in the deaths of astronauts caused by workplace safety, long hours, and stress. These concerns arose with Musk for NASA when Musk admitted to working long hours, hustling hard for his electric car company Tesla and his on-air marijuana use. 

Bridenstine informed reporters that the workplace culture and safety assessment was on his to-do list long before Musk burned on down with Joe Rogan at his California podcast studio, where recreational use marijuana is legal. This situation just prioritized the assessment. Bridenstine also stated that he is more concerned with cocaine and opiate use that would have serious impairment issues on SpaceX and Boeing employees. NASA is being proactive and using preventative measures before waiting for a serious disaster to occur by reviewing the workplace culture and safety procedures.