Trump’s interview with Musk on X faces technical glitches

In the lead-up to the event, Musk mentioned that he was conducting system scaling tests to prepare for the conversation.

Musk, who has shifted politically rightward and endorsed Trump following an assassination attempt in July, had backed Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2020 election but has since become a vocal supporter of Trump. (AP)

A planned conversation between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Elon Musk on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, encountered significant technical issues on Monday evening, Reuters reported.

The event, which was anticipated to draw a large audience, saw some users struggling to access the live stream, with the page showing as “not available” shortly after the scheduled start time. Despite these problems, over 115,000 people successfully joined the stream.

watch | Musk-Trump Interview Live Updates: Trump blames assassination bid on ‘lack of coordination’ in chat with Musk marred by technical glitches

Elon Musk, who was hosting the event, clarified before it started that it was meant to be a conversation rather than a traditional interview. “Nobody is quite themselves in an interview, so it’s hard to understand what they’re really like,” Musk posted on X.

My use of the word conversation is deliberate.

This is so that people understand how @realDonaldTrump talks when it’s a conversation, rather than an interview.

Nobody is quite themselves in an interview, so it’s hard to understand what they’re really like. https://t.co/H6G0RuwIM4

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024

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Trump’s return to X marked his first activity on the platform in a year. Earlier in the day, he posted a video reiterating his claim that the four criminal charges against him are politically motivated.

Trump’s X account, which had been a key communication tool during his previous campaigns and presidency, was reinstated in late 2022 after being suspended following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/sVyrCxHqdt

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024

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The event was seen as a strategic move for Trump, allowing him to reach beyond his base of conservative supporters.

However, similar events on X have previously been hampered by technical difficulties, raising concerns about the platform’s capacity to handle high-traffic live streams.

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Also read | Donald Trump is returning to X for a live interview with the platform’s owner, Elon Musk

In the lead-up to the event, Musk mentioned that he was conducting system scaling tests to prepare for the conversation. Despite these efforts, technical challenges persisted, affecting the interview’s reach.

X and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to inquiries about potential pro-Trump advertisements that appeared during the event.

Meanwhile, Musk continues to face controversy, including his endorsement of an antisemitic post and ongoing disputes with the Anti-Defamation League, which he blames for a drop in advertising on the platform

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