Trump’s ‘interview of the century’ with Elon Musk: As it happened

With the interview seemingly concluding, Musk explained to independent and undecided voters why he decided to endorse Trump.

”I’ve not been really political before…and it’s not like I'm some dyed in the wool long-term Republican,” he said, adding that he feels the upcoming election marks a “critical juncture for the country.”

“A lot of people thought the Biden administration would be a moderate administration but it’s not, and I think we’re going to see an even further left administration with Kamala,” he continued. “We want to have a future that is prosperous. You are the path to prosperity, and Kamala is the opposite.”

“That endorsement meant a lot to me,” Trump replied.

“Biden actually did something that was impossible. Both sides hate him,” Trump said, referring to the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

“She’s going to be worse than him,” he continued, referring to Harris. “If you're a person who is very pro-Israel and you vote for her, you ought to have your head examined.”

Harris has attempted to court the Democratic Party’s pro-Israel establishment wing and its pro-Palestine progressive wing, with mixed results. When one of her rallies was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters last week, Harris shushed the demonstrators, telling them “I am speaking now.”

“Biden is close to vegetable stage, in my opinion,” Trump jeered, referring to photographs of the president taken in Delaware at the weekend. “He couldn’t even lift the chair. The chair is meant for children and old people. He couldn’t lift it.”

Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden’s mental acuity, saying earlier in the interview that he had a "very low IQ 30 years ago," but now he "might not have IQ at all."

Musk’s first major difference with Trump is on the subject of climate change, with the Tesla CEO arguing that the US needs to “lean toward” sustainable energy without impeding on Americans’ living standards, and Trump arguing that fossil fuels are essential in manufacturing and charging electric cars.

”Even to create your electric car and create the electricity needed for the electric car, you know, fossil fuel is what really creates that at the generating plants … so you sort of can’t get away from it at this moment,” Trump declared. However, Trump and Musk both agreed that nuclear power is an “underrated” form of green energy.

Trump has vowed to close the Department of Education if elected, and pass responsibility for education back to the states. The former president complained that despite spending more money per pupil than any other developed country, the US regularly appears at the bottom of most league tables for academic performance.

Musk has called on Trump to set up a “government efficiency commission” to ensure that taxpayer money is better spent, offering to help out with such a commission. Trump replied that Musk would be ideal for such a role.

Trump issued a grim pronouncement on Ukraine’s prospects of success against Russia, reminding listeners that Russia managed to defeat the might of Nazi Germany, while Ukraine has been reduced to “using young men and very old men to fight.”

"You don’t read about how bloody Ukraine is. Just between the two armies you’ve lost half a million people... Ukraine now doesn’t have enough men," he said. "I could have stopped that... but we had a president saying stupid stuff, and this could end up in WWIII."

Trump said that he watched Russia’s troop buildup on the Ukrainian border in 2022 and thought Putin was attempting to gain leverage with the US. “Then Biden started saying such stupid things,” like publicly declaring that Ukraine “can be a NATO country,” Trump continued. “He said things that were so stupid…that war had zero chance of happening if I were there.”

Musk and Trump have turned to foreign relations, with Musk insisting that the US must have an “intimidating” president in order to deter “evil dictators” around the world. Trump took the opportunity to talk up his relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump recalled his “little rocket man” dispute with Kim in 2017, laughing as he recalled how after lobbing insults at the North Korean leader, “all of a sudden I got a call from him… and we got along great.”

“She’s incompetent, and he’s incompetent, and frankly I think that she’s more incompetent than he is,” Trump told Musk, referring to Harris and Biden. Trump slammed Harris for promising to secure the US’ border if elected president, despite having been in power for three years already.

Musk concurred that the US should have a “smooth and efficient” legal immigration system, and that border security is “a fundamental existential issue for the United States.”