Elon Musk underscores value of free speech during Don Lemon interview – Washington Examiner

Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk reiterated his commitment to providing an outlet for free speech in his latest interview, even if doing so would cost him financially.

Musk was asked about advertisers choosing to abandon X due to the billionaire allowing for more expression of free speech, a topic that created some controversy last year when he told advertisers to “go f*** yourself” for boycotting the social media platform. Former CNN anchor turned podcast host Don Lemon noted how Musk has said that advertisers could kill the website if they continued their boycott, though Musk contended that most advertisers have returned to advertising on X.

“I acquired X in order to preserve freedom of speech in America, the First Amendment, and I’m going to stick to that,” Musk said on the premiere episode of The Don Lemon Show. “And if that means making less money, so be it.”

The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk

TIMESTAMPS:
(02:23) News on X
(10:07) Donald Trump and Endorsing a Candidate
(13:04) The New Tesla Roadster
(16:46) Relaxation and Video Games
(17:54) Tweeting and Drug Use
(23:19) The Great Replacement Theory
(30:03) Content Moderation… pic.twitter.com/bLRae4DhyO

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 18, 2024

Lemon also asked Musk about a recent meeting the billionaire had in Florida with former President Donald Trump. Musk said he was with a friend and happened to meet Trump who was getting breakfast at the same location.

Musk was then pressed by Lemon to see if he would give an endorsement or financial donations in the 2024 election cycle, with Musk only saying that he could give an endorsement “in the final stretch.” He also noted that Trump did not ask for any money from him during their discussion in Florida.

Last week, Lemon announced that a partnership deal with Range Media Partners, hosted by X, was over, with the former CNN anchor suspecting that Musk was not happy with the interview he did with him. Musk said in his own post that he ended the partnership because Lemon lacked authenticity, describing his show as “just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work.” 

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In the interview, which was recorded on March 8, Musk expressed frustration that Lemon was not phrasing his questions as “cogent.” He also said the only reason he was doing the interview with Lemon was because of the partnership deal that Lemon had.

On Friday, it was reported that Lemon sent Musk a “wish list” for various things he wanted as part of his partnership with X, including an $8 million salary with a $5 million upfront payment, a Tesla Cybertruck, and having a role in changing policies on X. Lemon’s agent has denied these allegations.

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