In a glass mansion in Bel Air, as the clock strikes 3:00 AM, the only light comes not from the moon, but from Elon Musk’s computer screen. The man holding the fate of SpaceX and Tesla sits there, his eyes bloodshot, his breathing heavy. Around him are no expensive wine bottles, but rather small vials of medication and spreadsheets of data dancing in a never-ending loop.

Few know that the billionaire who wants to put humanity on Mars is fighting a “monster” within: Level 4 Stress—a condition doctors warn could cause his nervous system to collapse at any moment.

1. A “Hell” Named Success

The story traces back to 2018, the year Tesla teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Elon slept on the factory floor, showered at the office, and worked 120 hours a week. But physical exhaustion wasn’t the most terrifying part—it was the mental devastation.

Musk’s stress isn’t just common anxiety. It is a form of “Survival Syndrome.” When you carry the expectations of millions of shareholders, the lives of astronauts, and the dreams of humanity on your shoulders, the brain automatically switches to a permanent “fight or flight” mode. For Elon, this switch has been stuck in the “on” position for over 20 years.

“It’s like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death,” Musk once described the pressure. To cope with this nightmare, he had to turn to a “remedy”—but it wasn’t purely traditional medicine.

2. Ketamine and the “Boundary-Pushing” Medications

In the elite circles of Silicon Valley, rumors have long circulated about Elon Musk’s use of Ketamine—a medication prescribed by doctors to treat severe depression and psychological crises. Musk hasn’t denied it. He once shared on social media that for some, “turning off” the chaos in the brain with chemical help is necessary to maintain peak performance.

Whenever stress pushes him into the darkness of despair, these doses help him detach his emotions from a harsh reality. However, the price is steep. While the medication keeps him alert enough to make million-dollar decisions, it often makes his personality volatile, explosive, and at times, chillingly cold toward his subordinates.

3. The Real Drug: “Crisis as a Painkiller”

But if you ask those closest to him, they will tell you that Ketamine or sleeping pills are merely temporary fixes. The real “drug” Elon Musk uses every day is Crisis.

It sounds counterintuitive, but Elon is addicted to stress. Instead of fleeing from pressure, he chooses to “fight fire with fire.” The moment a project stabilizes, he immediately creates a new crisis: acquiring Twitter (now X), accelerating the Starship timeline, or announcing Neuralink milestones.

By constantly placing himself in “make or break” situations, his body produces massive amounts of adrenaline. This is his self-generated “medication” that helps him forget fatigue. For Musk, peace is the enemy. Without pressure, stress begins to eat him from the inside out.

4. White Nights and the Price of Greatness

Yet, the human body is not a machine made of stainless steel. Migraines, sleepless nights, and profound loneliness have begun to leave their mark. Fans worry when they see Musk appearing gaunt, or making impulsive, uncontrolled statements on social media. These are the symptoms of a brain under severe overload.

Medical experts have warned: “This level of stress is a ticking time bomb. If he doesn’t learn to stop, his heart or his brain will stop for him.”

The price of changing the world is the sacrifice of your own peace. Elon Musk chose that path. He accepts the daily medications and the state of extreme tension in exchange for giving humanity a chance to settle among the stars.

5. A Warning for the Next Generation

Elon Musk’s story is a costly reminder. Massive success and wealth don’t just come with glory and private jets. They come with pill bottles on the desk, midnight panic attacks, and an endless war with one’s own mind.

Trying to build wealth by torturing your own health is a high-risk gamble. Elon Musk may be an outlier in terms of endurance, but he is also a painful example of how wealth cannot buy a good night’s sleep.

Conclusion: When we look at Elon Musk’s hundreds of billions, we must remember that he is paying a massive “invoice” for his mental health every single day. As it turns out, at the top of the world, the one thing the richest man on Earth craves most is a single moment of letting go—without the need for a pill.