Technical Glitches Disrupt Musk-Trump Conversation on X

Elon Musk’s highly anticipated conversation with former President Donald Trump on the social media platform X faced significant technical difficulties. The event, which was meant to showcase an in-depth interview, started over 40 minutes late as users encountered issues accessing the livestream. Despite the technical hiccups, the dialogue proceeded, with Musk and Trump engaging in a friendly exchange on topics like immigration and inflation.

The discussion, which was expected to be a high-profile event, became notable for its lack of challenging questions or critical discussion. Trump made several unverified claims, which went unaddressed during the conversation. Musk, who has publicly supported Trump, used the platform to reiterate his endorsement as Trump gears up for a rematch with Vice-President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election.

Musk attributed the livestream problems to a supposed cyber-attack, though experts were skeptical. According to Anthony Lim, Director of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and International Studies, it is unlikely that a DDoS attack—an attempt to overload a website with traffic—would affect only a single feature of a site. Instead, Lim suggested that the issues might have been due to a high volume of users trying to access the stream simultaneously.

In contrast, Andrew Hay from the IT firm Damovo proposed that a cyber-attack could indeed be the cause of the disruptions. The technical issues echoed those experienced during Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign launch in May 2023, which also suffered from livestream malfunctions.

The conversation between Musk and Trump marked a notable return for Trump on X. After being banned from the platform following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Trump’s account was reactivated by Musk in 2022. However, Trump had only made sporadic posts since then, including a recent campaign advertisement and a mug shot. It remains uncertain if Trump will become more active on X, given his frequent activity on his own platform, Truth Social.

During the conversation, Trump praised Tesla, the electric vehicle company owned by Musk, despite his previous skepticism about electric vehicles and his promises to eliminate federal subsidies for them. Trump’s change of stance, attributing it to Musk’s influence, highlighted the mutually beneficial nature of their relationship.

Overall, the event served as a platform for Musk and Trump to reinforce their political alignments and personal rapport, despite the technical issues that marred its execution. As Trump seeks to rejuvenate his campaign in the face of a new Democratic challenger, Musk continues to leverage his influence in the political sphere, with both figures using X to further their respective agendas.