1 of 2 | SpaceX chief Elon Musk announced on X that he will interview former President Donald Trump at 8 p.m. EDT on Monday, as the European Union warned against “illegal content” before what is expected to be a “major audience.” File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Billionaire Elon Musk will use his social-media platform X to interview former President Donald Trump on Monday night, as the European Union warned against “illegal content and disinformation” before what is expected to be a “major audience.”
The interview comes a month after Musk endorsed Trump’s re-election bid. Advertisement
On Sunday, the SpaceX chief announced on X that he will interview Trump at 8 p.m. EDT on Monday, and it will to be live-streamed on his social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He also made a call-out for questions and comments after Trump teased about an interview on his preferred media platform Truth Social.
On Monday, the European Union warned Musk in a letter against promoting “harmful content” and reminded him that X is subject to the EU’s Digital Services Act, a new law that regulates illegal content and disinformation on large social media platforms. Advertisement
“With great audience comes greater responsibility,” wrote Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for Internal Market, in a post on X as he reminded Musk that “formal proceedings are already ongoing against X under the DSA” for previous violations.
Musk endorsed Trump’s re-election bid shortly after July’s attempted assassination at a campaign event in Butler, Pa. Since that time, Musk has leveled a series of attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee running with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the Democratic National Convention approaches a week from now.
Musk did not otherwise specify what topics will be discussed in the Monday interview other than to say it will be “unscripted with no limits on subject matter.”
For his part, Trump on Monday made an X post for the first time in nearly a year by sharing a campaign advertisement in a posting that saw 4.8 million views in less than an hour. It marked only the second time Trump had posted on the social media platform since his account was “permanently suspended” just days after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol.
Musk was key in reinstating Trump’s then-Twitter account after he authorized a public poll on the website following his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022. Advertisement
A self-described “free speech absolutist” who has been criticized for a hands-off approach to censorship, Musk’s actions have been viewed by some as attempts to interfere in U.S. elections in a way to promote more authoritarian-leaning views. As examples, critics point to his ban on journalists on X who openly questioned the billionaire and even his profane altering of how the company responds to press inquiries.
Last year, he admitted that, since he took over the platform, it has seen a 50% drop in ad revenue and has carried a “heavy debt load.”
More recently, Musk was the recipient of a letter by the five secretaries of states who called on him to alter X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, after it gave out false election information to users across the United States.
That came after last year’s October warning by the European Union to Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over disinformation about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. That also was about the same time the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Musk in order to compel him to testify in a probe over his Twitter acquisition, which he agreed to do so later this year. Advertisement
