Glitches and Cyber Attack Allegations Plague Trump-Musk Interview on X

Elon Musk’s recent interview with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump faced significant technical challenges, which Musk attributed to a cyber attack. The interview, which Musk intended to target “open-minded independent voters,” started more than 40 minutes late as many users struggled to join the livestream. Musk, who owns X (formerly Twitter), claimed that a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack had overwhelmed the platform’s data lines.

The two-hour conversation was marked by Musk’s strong endorsement of Trump, urging moderate voters to support the Republican candidate. Musk expressed optimism about the future under a Trump presidency, despite the shaky start of the interview.

During the event, as users experienced difficulties accessing the livestream, Musk attributed the issues to what he described as a “massive DDoS attack.” These types of attacks aim to flood a website with traffic, rendering it unusable. However, the exact cause of the technical problems remains unclear, as does the identity of any potential attackers. Anthony Lim, Director of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and International Studies in Singapore, noted that DDoS attacks typically affect more than just one service or feature, suggesting that the issue could have been due to a large number of people trying to listen simultaneously.

Musk later stated that the system had been tested with “8 million concurrent listeners” prior to the event, although X Spaces only showed about one million participants during the actual conversation.

This rocky beginning drew comparisons to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ entry into the presidential race in May 2023, which also encountered technical glitches on X.

The interview comes at a critical time for Trump, who is attempting to rejuvenate his re-election campaign. Polls indicate a tightening race between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who has gained momentum since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. The Harris campaign is expected to receive a further boost from the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Throughout the interview, Musk and Trump engaged in a cordial discussion, a stark contrast to their past online disagreements. Trump, who has previously criticized electric vehicles, praised Tesla during the conversation and acknowledged Musk’s influence in swaying his support for EVs. Musk, in turn, offered to assist a potential Trump administration with a proposed “government efficiency commission.”

The event also marked Trump’s return to X, a platform from which he was banned following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Despite this, it remains unclear whether Trump will continue to be active on X, as his primary social media presence has been on Truth Social.

The conversation touched on a variety of topics, including an assassination attempt on Trump, his desire for an “Iron Dome” missile defense system in the U.S., and his campaign’s focus on immigration. Trump also suggested that, if elected, he might dissolve the federal Department of Education, transferring its responsibilities to the states.

Following the interview, the Harris campaign criticized Musk and Trump, dismissing them as “self-obsessed rich guys” who are out of touch with the middle class and highlighting the technical failures of the livestream as emblematic of their inability to lead effectively.