Tech problems mar launch of Trump-Musk interview

The relationship between the two men has shifted over the years and they have traded online barbs in the past.

But Monday’s conversation between the two was chummy and never adversarial.

Trump, who has been sceptical of electric vehicles and previously vowed to roll back federal subsidies, praised car-maker Tesla, which Mr Musk also owns.

He recently said he had “no choice” but to support EVs because of Mr Musk’s endorsement and called the Telsa product “great” on Monday.

Mr Musk said he would be willing to offer a Trump administration help on a proposed “government efficiency commission”.

Ahead of the high-profile conversation on the social media site, which could be accessed by European users, EU industry chief Thierry Breton told Mr Musk in a letter that he must comply with EU digital content law.

The EU suspects X of breaching its rules in areas including countering illegal content and disinformation.

In response, X chief executive Linda Yaccarino called it “an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US”.

“It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions.”

Monday marked something of a return to X/Twitter for Trump, who was removed from the platform shortly after the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.

Besides a flurry of campaign advertisements on Trump’s account on Monday, he had only posted once – his mug shot and a link to his campaign site – a year ago after Mr Musk reactivated his X account in 2022.

It’s not clear whether Trump, who frequently posts on his Truth Social site, would continue to post more frequently on X.

Monday’s interview touched on a range of issues, from the assassination attempt on Trump last month at a Pennsylvania rally, to his wanting the US to get an “Iron Dome” missile defence system like the one in Israel, and a key plank of his campaign – immigration.

Trump also mused about closing the federal Department of Education and moving that responsibility to the states as one of his first acts if he wins the election in November.

The Republican candidate also spoke of Mr Biden’s decision to exit the race after a disastrous debate performance and pressure from vulnerable Democrats lawmakers, characterising it as “a coup”.

Mr Biden, in a weekend interview with CBS, said he left because feared that the intraparty battle over his candidacy would be a “real distraction” ahead of the election.

João da Silva contributed to this report