Elon Musk will interview Donald Trump on social media platform X.
Mr. Musk mocked the “live conversation” with Mr Trumpsaying it would be “unscripted” and therefore “very entertaining”.
The former US president, whose X account (when it was known as Twitter) was suspended in 2021 after his followers stormed the US Capitol, returned to the platform before the event and made several posts.
Here’s what you need to know about the conversation and history between the couple.
Tensions between Trump and Musk
Much of the pair’s initial disagreements revolved around Musk’s electric car maker, Tesla, because Trump has long been a critic of electric vehicles.
Tensions first arose in June 2017, five months into Trump’s presidency, when Musk resigned from White House advisory panels because the administration withdrew from the Paris Agreement, a landmark 2016 treaty intended to address global climate problems.
“Climate change is real,” Musk wrote at the time. “Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”
Musk changes his stance on Biden
After Trump lost his 2020 reelection bid, Musk said he was “super excited” about US President Joe Biden’s climate change agenda and optimistic “about the future of sustainable energy.”
The South African-born billionaire had previously suggested that he voted predominantly Democratic after becoming a US citizen in 2002.
But it was apparently Musk’s frustrations with Trump’s successor that turned out to be the catalyst for his political turnaround.
In 2021, he began distancing himself from Biden when the White House did not invite Tesla to a meeting of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, and in 2022 he claimed that he had “reluctantly voted for Biden instead of Trump” in the election. of 2020.
Musk overturns Trump ban, but fails to stop disputes
In May 2022, before he owned X, Musk said he would revoke Trump’s permanent ban on the platform.
It was a promise he kept once his $44 billion acquisition of X was completed.
Musk and Trump speak at a SpaceX launch in 2020. Photo: Reuters
However, it was not enough to calm tensions between the two, as Trump targeted Musk during a rally in July 2022.
He claimed that the Tesla owner had told him in a private conversation that he voted for him and not Biden in the 2020 election.
“Another shitty artist,” Trump said of Musk, who denied voting for him and tweeted saying, “I don’t hate that man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset.”
In 2023, Musk was asked how he would vote if Trump and Biden faced off again in the 2024 election.
“I don’t think I would vote for Biden,” he said, but he stopped short of endorsing Trump, simply saying, “This is definitely a tough election here.”
Musk steps up the rhetoric
In a moment, Musk revealed that he would support Republican Governor Ron DeSantis if he were to run in the 2024 presidential race. But DeSantis, who was competing with Trump for the Republican presidential candidate position, suspended his campaign in January 2024 after the former president won a record victory in the Iowa GOP caucuses.
Musk began to intensify his rhetoric on social issues over time, commenting and sharing content on topics such as immigration and transgender rights, and his views seemed to align more with right-wing ideals.
He also became increasingly critical of the Biden administration.
Read more:
Biden reveals the reason he withdrew from the presidential race
Musk v Starmer: What they have accused each other of
In March of this year, Trump met with Musk and other wealthy donors.
In response to the reports, Musk posted on
In May, Musk also denied media reports that there had been talks about a possible advisory role for him in any Trump presidency.
“My crowd was bigger than Martin Luther King’s.”
Musk endorses Trump
Musk formally expressed his support for Trump right after The Republican presidential candidate was shot in an assassination attempt. at a campaign rally last month.
Days later, it was reported that Musk was going start donating around $45 million a month to a political group working to elect Trump called America PAC.
Trump has also changed his stance since Musk’s endorsement, saying at a rally earlier this month: “I’m for electric cars. I have to be, because Elon backed me very strongly. So I have no choice.”
When is the interview and how can people tune in?
It is scheduled for 1am UK time and will be featured on Mr Trump’s Page X, @realDonaldTrump.
The platform has had issues with Spaces, a feature that allows X users to have live audio conversations with other users, crashing during high-profile moments, including when DeSantis used it to officially announce his presidential bid in May.
Spaces was overwhelmed by the more than 400,000 people who tried to score and finally gave in to the pressure.
But Musk has posted on
The owner of
It also invited X users to post their own questions and comments during the interaction, which will take place through the site’s audio-only Spaces format.
Trump returned to X before the interview. In addition to promoting the event, he wrote: “Are you better off now than when I was president? Our economy is destroyed. Our border has been erased. We are a nation in decline.
“Make the American dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT again!”
The last time Trump posted on X was in August of last year, when he shared a photo of his mugshot after being charged with 13 counts of voter fraud in Georgia.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
