What Supplements Does Elon Musk Take? A Doctor's Evidence Review

Who is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is a South African-born entrepreneur and engineer, best known as the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX and the owner of the social platform X. Born in Pretoria in 1971, he is one of the most-searched people on the internet — and, unusually for a technology executive, an unusually open one about his own health.

That openness is the reason this page exists. Musk has posted about his weight, his fasting, his sleep and his prescriptions to an audience of hundreds of millions. When he mentioned Wegovy in 2022, prescriptions and public interest in GLP-1 medicines rose sharply. So the question "what does Elon Musk take?" is not idle curiosity — it drives real behaviour, and it deserves an accurate answer rather than an invented one.

It is worth being clear about what Musk is not. Unlike Andrew Huberman or Bryan Johnson, he has never published a protocol, never named a dose, and has repeatedly described himself as indifferent to conventional healthy living. On Joe Rogan's podcast in 2020 he said he would rather eat tasty food and live a shorter life. He is not a longevity biohacker. He is a very busy man who uses prescription medicine.

What supplements does Elon Musk take?

The honest short answer: none that he has ever disclosed

After reviewing his public posts, recorded interviews and mainstream reporting from 2017 to 2026, there is no verifiable statement from Elon Musk that he takes vitamin D, magnesium, creatine, omega-3, NMN, a multivitamin, or any other dietary supplement. Not one.

This matters because dozens of pages rank for "Elon Musk supplements" while presenting a confident bulleted stack with doses and buy links. Those stacks are fabricated. They typically work backwards — take a plausible list of popular supplements, attach a celebrity name, and monetise the traffic. If a page tells you Musk takes 400 mg of magnesium glycinate at night, ask it for the interview, the timestamp or the post. There isn't one.

What Musk has actually confirmed himself

• Semaglutide (Wegovy), 2022. Asked on Twitter how he had lost weight, Musk replied with two words across two posts: "Fasting" and "And Wegovy." He said he was down roughly 30 lb.
• Tirzepatide (Mounjaro), December 2024. Posting a Christmas photograph captioned "Ozempic Santa", he clarified in a reply: "Technically, Mounjaro, but that doesn't have the same ring to it." He added that high doses of semaglutide had caused gastrointestinal side effects and that he found tirzepatide better tolerated.
• Intermittent fasting, 2022. He said he had started on a friend's advice, used the Zero fasting app, and felt healthier.
• Prescription ketamine, 2024. In an interview with Don Lemon he said he takes "a small amount once every other week", prescribed by a doctor, for depressive episodes he described as a negative chemical state not linked to external events.
• Zolpidem (Ambien), 2017–2018. He told the New York Times in 2018 that "it is often a choice of no sleep or Ambien." This is a historical disclosure; he has not confirmed current use.

Every item on that list is a prescription-only medicine or a dietary pattern. Not one is a supplement.

Supplement claims with no credible source — and the scam problem

Musk's name is one of the most heavily abused in supplement marketing. His likeness has repeatedly appeared in AI-generated video advertisements promoting products he has no connection to, and he has publicly disavowed endorsements attributed to him. Before buying anything that carries a celebrity endorsement, check three things:

• Is there a primary source? A dated post, a video with a timestamp, or an on-record interview. A screenshot is not a source.
• Does the product exist independently of the endorsement? Legitimate supplement brands sell on formulation and testing, not on a face.
• Can you see a certificate of analysis? Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis explains what to look for.

Elon Musk's documented regimen at a glance

The table below covers only items Musk has confirmed himself. Doses are what he stated publicly, or the licensed range where he did not state a dose — not a recommendation. "Evidence level" refers to the strength of clinical evidence for the intervention in general, not to the appropriateness of it for him or for you.

Compiled from Musk's own public statements, 2017–2025. Nothing in this table is a recommendation. Prescription-only medicines must be assessed by a clinician.

Why he takes each one — and what the science says

Tirzepatide and semaglutide: the GLP-1 medicines

Both drugs mimic gut hormones released after eating. Semaglutide acts on the GLP-1 receptor; tirzepatide acts on both GLP-1 and GIP receptors. The practical effect is the same in outline: appetite falls, gastric emptying slows, and people eat less without the constant hunger that derails conventional dieting.

The trial evidence is genuinely strong. In the STEP 1 randomised controlled trial, adults taking semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly alongside lifestyle intervention lost an average of about 15% of body weight over 68 weeks, against roughly 2.4% on placebo. In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide at the highest dose produced average reductions of around 21% over 72 weeks. These are the largest effects ever demonstrated by a weight-loss medicine outside surgery.

Musk's stated reason for switching brands — fewer gastrointestinal side effects — is a common clinical experience, though the reverse is also common. Nausea, reflux, constipation and, less often, gallbladder problems and pancreatitis are recognised risks with both. Neither is a cosmetic product: in the UK they are licensed for defined BMI thresholds and require clinical assessment. If you are considering them, start with our comparison of Mounjaro versus Ozempic and our explainer on tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro.

Intermittent fasting

Musk said fasting came before Wegovy in his own account, and the two are likely to have compounded. The evidence for time-restricted eating is weaker than its popularity implies. In a randomised trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2020, participants eating within an eight-hour window lost only a small, non-significant amount of weight compared with three structured meals — and, notably, a large share of the weight lost in the fasting group came from lean mass rather than fat.

That is the crux of the problem when fasting and a GLP-1 are combined, as Musk described. Both suppress intake. Neither protects muscle. Protein intake and resistance training are what protect muscle, and neither happens by accident.

Prescription ketamine

Musk's framing — a "negative chemical state" not tied to external events, helped by an infrequent small dose — reflects how rapid-acting antidepressant treatment is described in the literature. What his account does not convey is the assessment, monitoring and dosing structure that sits behind legitimate treatment. Ketamine carries real risks with repeated use, including bladder damage, dissociative effects and dependence.

Zolpidem, and the sleep problem underneath it

The 2018 disclosure is the most revealing thing Musk has said about his health. Framing the night as a binary choice between no sleep and a hypnotic is a description of chronic sleep restriction, not of good sleep management. Z-drugs such as zolpidem are licensed for short-term use — typically no more than four weeks — precisely because tolerance and rebound insomnia develop quickly.

Elon Musk's diet and nutrition habits

Breakfast

Musk's stated breakfast has changed over the years. In 2023 he responded to a post about sugar by saying he eats a doughnut every morning and is still alive. More recently he has described a typical breakfast of steak, eggs and coffee. He has also said he often skips breakfast entirely when working, and has previously described eating as an interruption to work.

Caffeine and soft drinks

He is a long-standing coffee drinker and a well-documented Diet Coke consumer. The relevant clinical point is not the drinks themselves but the interaction with his sleep timing: caffeine has a half-life of roughly five to six hours in most adults, so an afternoon or evening intake in someone already going to bed at 3 a.m. compounds the sleep problem rather than solving it.

What a GP would flag

• Protein is probably the priority, not calories. On a GLP-1, appetite falls across the board — including for protein. Muscle is the thing most easily lost and the hardest to rebuild.
• Fibre and fluid. Constipation is one of the most common reasons people stop GLP-1 treatment, and a low-volume diet makes it worse.
• Micronutrient coverage. Eating substantially less food for a year means eating substantially fewer micronutrients. This is where supplementation becomes a rational response rather than a fashion.
• Alcohol and sleep. Alcohol fragments sleep architecture even when it shortens sleep latency.

Exercise, sleep and lifestyle routine

Exercise: minimal, by his own account

Musk has said repeatedly that he does not enjoy the gym and rarely works out, and has attributed his weight loss to fasting and medication rather than training. He has mentioned occasional weight training and has a background in martial arts, but there is no structured programme on record.

From a clinical standpoint this is the single largest gap in the regimen. Resistance training is the main countermeasure to the lean-mass loss seen with rapid weight loss, and aerobic fitness is among the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality we have. If you take one thing from this article as a template, take that — see our guide to zone 2 training for longevity.

Sleep: around six hours, ending at 3 a.m.

Musk has described going to bed around 3 a.m. and sleeping roughly six hours, and has spoken about 80- to 120-hour working weeks during peak periods. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend at least seven hours per night for adults, with regular shorter sleep associated with cardiometabolic and cognitive harm.

The scientific evidence behind the regimen

Where the evidence is strong

GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists are supported by large, well-conducted phase 3 trials with hard weight outcomes, and semaglutide has additional cardiovascular outcome data in people with established cardiovascular disease and overweight. This is a genuinely important class of medicine.

Where the evidence is moderate or mixed

Time-restricted eating produces weight loss mainly by reducing intake, and head-to-head trials against conventional calorie restriction have generally not shown an advantage. Ketamine has good short-term efficacy data in treatment-resistant depression but limited long-term data, and it is a controlled drug.

Where the evidence contradicts the routine

Habitual short sleep, very long working hours and minimal physical activity all run against a large and consistent body of evidence. Musk's regimen is best understood as a set of pharmacological workarounds layered on top of a lifestyle that is, on the evidence, working against him. That is worth stating plainly, because the implicit promise of "copy the billionaire" content is that the pharmacology substitutes for the basics. It does not.

Risks, limitations, and what is confirmed versus reported

Confirmed by Musk himself

Semaglutide (2022), tirzepatide (2024), intermittent fasting (2022), prescription ketamine (2024), and zolpidem (2018). Each is sourced in the reference list below.

Reported by third parties, not confirmed

Several major outlets have published reporting on broader alleged drug use, and there has been recurrent public speculation about hormone therapy. Musk has disputed elements of this reporting. Welzo does not treat contested journalism about a private individual's health as established fact, and neither should you.

Limitations of this article

• Musk may take supplements he has never mentioned. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence — but it is also not a licence to invent a stack.
• Public figures' statements are not medical records. Doses, frequencies and durations are largely unknown.
• Musk's circumstances — resources, access to private medical care, and a specific set of goals — do not generalise.

How to build a similar — but safer — routine

If what appeals to you about Musk's approach is the outcome rather than the method, here is what the evidence actually supports. This is the section most "celebrity stack" articles skip, because it does not sell exotic products.

Step 1 — Measure before you supplement

Guessing produces long, expensive stacks. Measuring produces short ones. A vitamin D blood test, an omega-3 and 6 test and a HbA1c test answer more questions than a shelf of bottles. Welzo runs at-home blood tests through accredited partner laboratories.

Step 2 — Fix sleep before optimising anything else

A consistent wake time, morning daylight, and a caffeine cut-off eight hours before bed will do more than any capsule. Sleep is the foundation the rest of the routine is built on.

Step 3 — Train, especially against resistance

Two to three resistance sessions a week plus regular aerobic work protects the muscle that fasting and GLP-1 medicines put at risk. This is the non-negotiable part.

Step 4 — Cover the foundational gaps

The four items below are the best-evidenced supplements for a UK adult with a demanding schedule. They are not "Musk's stack" — they are what the evidence supports for the situation he describes.

Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before starting, particularly if you take medication. See our supplement timing chart.

Step 5 — If you are on a GLP-1, protect your muscle

This is the most practically useful part of this article for anyone genuinely following Musk's path. Body-composition analyses from GLP-1 trials have consistently found that a meaningful proportion of the weight lost is lean mass — commonly reported in the region of a quarter to a third of total loss. Three things reduce that:

• Protein. Aim for roughly 1.2–1.6 g per kg of body weight per day during active weight loss. On a suppressed appetite this often needs protein supplementation to be achievable.
• Resistance training. Two to three sessions weekly. The stimulus is what tells the body to keep muscle.
• Creatine. Cheap, extremely well studied, and directly relevant during a calorie deficit. See creatine for longevity.

Also watch hydration and electrolytes during extended fasting, and micronutrient intake generally when eating substantially less. If weight loss stalls, our guide on why weight loss slows on Mounjaro covers the common causes.

Related Welzo supplements and blood tests

Listed only where they are genuinely relevant to what is discussed above.

• Vitamin D supplements — the one supplement UK public health guidance recommends for the general adult population in autumn and winter.
• Creatine and protein powders — muscle preservation during weight loss or fasting.
• Omega-3 supplements — if oily fish intake is below two portions a week.
• Magnesium and sleep and relaxation supplements — supportive, not a substitute for fixing sleep timing.
• Vitamin D blood test, magnesium blood test and full body health check — measure before you supplement.
• Mounjaro (tirzepatide) — prescription-only, subject to clinical assessment and UK eligibility criteria.
• Further reading: a minimal stack for busy professionals and how to start a longevity routine.

Frequently asked questions

References