Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has finally brought former President Donald Trump back to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In a highly anticipated Trump-Musk interview yesterday, the two billionaires rattled off their thoughts in what was intended to be more of what Musk called a “conversation” than an actual interview.
Impressively, TSLA stock has moved 5% higher today on this news, with some investors appearing to link X’s potential and business to that of Tesla. In a way, this view could make sense since a better-performing social media platform could free up some of the billionaire’s time to focus on what used to be his primary company: Tesla.
Donald Trump is also the CEO of his own social media platform, Truth Social, via his ownership of Trump Media (NASDAQ:DJT). DJT stock is down about 3% today and has been tending downward all week.
Trump and Musk covered a wide range of topics with Musk during their discussion last night. Let’s hone in on a few topics, what was discussed, and what investors and those who may simply be following the current political discourse may want to make of this discussion.
Trump-Musk Interview Highlights
It’s important to note off the bat that this interview didn’t initially go as planned. Plagued by glitches, with the meeting starting 40 minutes after the scheduled start time due to what Musk called a “DDoS attack,” the nearly 900,000 users who initially signed on to hear the conversation were forced to wait quite a long time for the discussion to take place. The numbers reportedly on the call were also far less than the numbers Elon Musk claimed were trying to join it. Nevertheless, the conversation ultimately provided some interesting sound bites.
In this interview, Donald Trump was asked about his assassination attempt and spoke at length about his views on how and why everything went down the way he did. He said, “…if I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now, as much as I like you.” He followed that up with some surprisingly positive commentary on the Secret Service.
Trump also repeated many of his usual, often exaggerated claims about border issues and claimed he was the right person to solve them. He called President Biden the “worst president in history,” also repeating his rhetoric on that front. And asserted that he wants to “close up” the Department of Education.
Mostly Trump, Some Musk
In effect, most of the commentary on this interview was dominated by Trump, with Musk struggling to get a word in. Musk did offer to join a “government efficiency commission” ( an idea he first floated during a different interview earlier this month) if Trump won a second term. Trump “loved” the idea, but no specific details were discussed.
However, it’s clear that in courting Trump, Musk is wading deeper into the political waters. Right now, investors appear to think that’s a good thing for Tesla, though some aren’t so sure.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
