TLDR
- Elon Musk interviewed Donald Trump on X (formerly Twitter) Spaces
- The interview was delayed due to alleged technical issues
- Crypto and Bitcoin were not mentioned during the two-hour interview
- Over 1 million listeners tuned in to the interview
- Prediction markets had bet on whether crypto would be mentioned
On Monday evening, X CEO Elon Musk hosted former President Donald Trump for a wide-ranging interview on X Spaces, the platform’s live audio feature.
The event, which lasted about two hours, attracted over 1 million listeners despite a delayed start.
The interview, scheduled for 8:00 PM Eastern Time, began roughly 30 minutes late. Musk claimed this delay was due to a “massive DDoS attack” on X.
He stated, “As this massive attack illustrates, there’s a lot of opposition to people just hearing what President Trump has to say.”
However, a report from The Verge questioned this claim, citing a source who said there was a “99 percent chance Musk was lying” about the attack.
There appears to be a massive DDOS attack on š¯•¸. Working on shutting it down.
Worst case, we will proceed with a smaller number of live listeners and post the conversation later.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
During the conversation, Trump and Musk covered various topics including illegal immigration, the economy, artificial intelligence, and global warming.
Notably absent from the discussion was any mention of cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, despite Trump’s recent appearance at a Bitcoin conference and Musk’s well-known interest in Dogecoin.
This absence of crypto talk came as a surprise to many, particularly those participating in prediction markets. On Polymarket, bettors had given a 65% chance of “crypto” being mentioned during the interview, with over $600,000 staked on the topic.
Another market for the mention of “bitcoin” peaked at 69% likelihood, with approximately $330,000 in bets. These predictions proved incorrect, resulting in significant losses for some bettors.
One Polymarket user, ‘bama1234’, correctly bet on most words Trump did or did not say during the interview. Their largest stake was on Trump not saying “crypto”, which netted them $336,918. In total, this user walked away with just over $1 million in winnings.
The interview’s content focused largely on Trump’s campaign talking points. He discussed what he saw as an attempt on his life, criticized illegal immigration, and attacked President Biden and Vice President Harris. Musk, for his part, mostly allowed Trump to speak without significant pushback or follow-up questions.
Prior to the interview, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union, warned Musk that the interview carried “a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content” and reminded him to comply with EU laws.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino responded, calling Breton’s letter “an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US.”
This is an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US. It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions. https://t.co/RmxL4VFuvV
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) August 12, 2024
Despite the technical difficulties and controversies, the interview succeeded in drawing a massive audience. Musk claimed that X had tested its system earlier in the day with eight million concurrent listeners, suggesting the platform was prepared for even higher attendance.
The interview’s focus on traditional political topics, rather than emerging technologies like cryptocurrency, highlights the current priorities in the US political discourse as the 2024 presidential race begins to take shape.
