The highly anticipated interview between Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump got off to a rocky start. Scheduled to begin at 8 PM ET on X Spaces, the interview experienced technical difficulties that caused the Space to crash immediately. It wasn’t until 42 minutes later that the conversation finally began, leaving many eager listeners frustrated and waiting.
Those who were fortunate enough to gain access to the Space reported that the interview kicked off with lo-fi techno music playing from Trump’s account for approximately 30 minutes. Musk later claimed that X was under a “massive DDOS attack,” attributing the delay to this alleged cyberattack. However, sources within the company revealed that there was no actual denial-of-service attack, casting doubt on Musk’s claims. In fact, one X staffer went as far as to say there was a “99 percent” chance that Elon was lying about the attack.
In a series of posts on X, Musk boasted that the company had tested the system with 8 million concurrent listeners on Monday. Despite this claim, only 915,000 people were reported to be listening to the Space at the time the interview was supposed to begin. Musk reiterated the DDOS attack allegation when the conversation finally started close to 8:40 PM ET, stating, “There’s a lot of opposition to people just hearing what President Trump has to say as this massive attack illustrates.”
The failure of the interview to launch smoothly drew comparisons to a previous incident involving Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s 2023 announcement on X Spaces that he was running for president. That event also encountered technical difficulties at the onset, which Musk attributed to overloaded servers. This recurring pattern of technical mishaps raises questions about the reliability and integrity of platforms like X Spaces for hosting high-profile events.
The botched “conversation” between Elon Musk and Donald Trump served as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of live online events. From false claims of cyberattacks to inflated listener numbers, the incident highlighted the challenges faced by platforms like X Spaces in delivering seamless experiences for users. As technology continues to evolve, it is essential for companies to prioritize transparency and accountability to maintain trust among their audience.
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