Elon Musk’s highly anticipated talk with Donald Trump on Musk’s platform, X, was disrupted by technical problems.
The discussion, which focused on topics like immigration and inflation, started over 40 minutes late because many users had trouble accessing it. Despite being billed as an interview, Trump made several unproven claims that went unchallenged.
Musk reiterated his support for Trump, who is running against Vice-President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election. Musk attributed the glitches to a cyber-attack, but some experts doubt this explanation, according to the BBC.
Trump is using this conversation to reset his re-election campaign as the race tightens with Harris joining the race.
Musk, who has become more politically active and recently supported Trump’s campaign, had a friendly exchange with Trump, discussing various issues, including Trump’s desire for a US missile defense system similar to Israel’s and potential changes to the federal Department of Education.
The conversation between Musk and Trump was notably warm and praised each other, marking a shift from their past online spats. Trump, who had previously criticized electric vehicles, praised Tesla during the discussion, calling it “great.”
The technical issues at the start were reminiscent of problems during Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign launch on X in May 2023.
Musk suggested a DDoS attack might be to blame, though experts are divided on this. Some believe the problems were due to the high number of people trying to watch, not an attack.
Trump, who had been banned from X following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, made his return with this livestream.
Although he posted campaign ads and his mug shot on X recently, it’s unclear if he will use the platform more often in the future.
The BBC reports that these ongoing technical issues highlight the platform’s challenges in maintaining smooth operations.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1k3mwy1ww3o