X

Elon Musk's strange, strange Ambien tweet

Commentary: This isn't the first time the Tesla CEO has suggested he tweets on Ambien. It may be the first in which he implies he's mixing it with alcohol.

Chris Matyszczyk
2 min read

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter

Trouble sleeping?

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

In these days of ambient tweeting, the important and the famous can Twitter about anything.

Fewer, though, tend to suggest that they're mixing Ambien and alcohol late in the evening.

Yet on Tuesday night, there was Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offering this tweet: "A little red wine, vintage record, some Ambien ... and magic!"

Naturally, not everyone was moved positively by this apparent form of entertainment. Y Combinator President Sam Altman, for example, worried: "ambien tweeting is a dangerous game."

To which Musk replied: "Once you add the vintage record player, it's all good."

This might all, therefore, have been humor. On the other hand, Twitterer Noah Tye inserted this scientific observation: "dude if you took ambien four hours ago shouldn't you be asleep."

Some Twitterers may not have been aware that Musk's tweet was a reflection of his words during Tuesday's Tesla annual shareholder conference.

The only transcript I could find has him talking about movies and then saying: "So yes, I hang out with my kids, see friends, normal stuff. Sometimes go crazy on Twitter. And it sort of little red wine, vintage record player, some ambience, magic, magic happens."

Could it be that he really said "Ambien"? Some agree that he did. Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn't the first time, however, that Musk has made a Twittered reference to Ambien use. Last year, he replied this way, after being asked whether he writes his own tweets: "I'm the only author, so, love or hate it, that's me. I've learned some lessons though, such as tweeting on Ambien isn't wise."

Just in case you had doubts, mixing alcohol and Ambien isn't something that results in magic

Technically Incorrect: Bringing you a fresh and irreverent take on tech.

Special Reports: CNET's in-depth features in one place.