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Elon Musk held a conversation with Donald Trump Monday evening on Musk’s social media platform, X. But despite starting on time, the X Space Musk had prepared for the conversation ran into technical problems, leaving many users unable to hear what was said.
It’s the first such public conversation between the two men after Musk endorsed Trump following the former president’s attempted assassination in July.
On Monday, Trump’s account posted on X for the second time since he was banned in 2021. Musk reinstated his account in 2022.
The conversation could help Trump bring in a section of Silicon Valley-adjacent voters who, like Musk and noted Republican tech mogul Peter Thiel, see potential in the Trump-JD Vance ticket to push for a roll back of regulation around tech.
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The tech billionaire had previously voted Democrat, including in 2020, but his personal politics have shifted toward the right. During President Joe Biden’s tenure, Musk became increasingly critical of left-leaning policy points, particularly unionized labor (which he has opposed in his Tesla factories) and immigration.
And Musk is no stranger to hosting right-wing political figures on X — he has held multiple live conversations with Republican primary contender Vivek Ramaswamy and helped to launch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential bid on the platform, a debut that was also marred by technical difficulties.