Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s Live Conversation on X: Technical Glitches and Engaging Dialogue

Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s Live Conversation on X: A Bumpy Start

At 8:35 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, a much-anticipated live audio stream on X featuring a conversation between Elon Musk and former President Donald J. Trump flickered to life, albeit not without complications. The event faced a significant delay of 35 minutes before Mr. Trump’s microphone was activated, only for it to abruptly cut off after a brief moment filled with background noise. In an unexpected twist, Mr. Musk’s account, which had been logged in and prepared for the discussion, vanished from the conversation entirely for a short period.

After a suspenseful seven-minute wait, the technical glitches appeared to be resolved, allowing the discussion to commence. The two influential figures quickly exchanged warm greetings, referring to each other as “Donald” and “Elon.” The ensuing dialogue delved into various topics, including immigration policies, economic strategies, and critiques aimed at President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to be the Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidential election.

The conversation extended over two hours, drawing in an impressive audience of more than one million listeners at its peak, according to statistics from X. “I congratulate you,” Mr. Trump remarked to Mr. Musk, acknowledging the substantial viewership. “Do I get paid for this or what?” he quipped, adding a touch of humor to the proceedings.

This conversation between Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump had been heralded as a significant milestone for the platform, which Mr. Musk acquired in 2022. He has made concerted efforts to encourage Mr. Trump to become more active on X again, a platform that the former president once utilized as a powerful communication tool before his ban in 2021. Mr. Musk played a key role in reinstating Trump’s account, which added to the anticipation surrounding this event.

However, the rocky start of the livestream served to highlight both the challenges and the potential of X under Mr. Musk’s leadership. The technical difficulties encountered during the initial moments of the event raised concerns about the platform’s capacity to host high-profile interactions. In a statement lacking supporting evidence, Mr. Musk attributed the glitches to a “massive” distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, a cyber threat characterized by overwhelming a website with excessive malicious traffic, thereby disrupting its normal functioning.