Here's what to know about Musk's interview with Trump on X, their 'white boys' bromance

The relationship between the tech tycoon and the Republican nominee has been a while in the making, say reports. Though, Elon Musk was privately gathering support for Trump’s second bid to become US President, he came out in public to endorse Trump only after the assassination attempt on the former US president on July 13.

Earlier, Musk had openly said Trump was “not the right guy” for the country. But, Musk explained his dramatic turnaround saying he admired the way Trump after getting shot, with blood streaming down his face was fist-bumping.

Musk tweeted his endorsement of Trump less than an hour after the shooting, sparking off a wave of other Silicon Valley endorsements.

He even helped launch America Political Action Committee, to support funding for Trump’s campaign. Also, the Tesla chief, regularly interacts with fringe, far-right figures and pro-Trump accounts on his own platform, amplifying their reach.

Now, Musk, is all set to interview Republican presidential candidate Trump on the X social media network on Tuesday, 5 am, India time and it promises to be explosive. Musk has already tweeted, 'Entertainment guaranteed'.

It could set off fireworks and stir up a storm in an already turbulent US presidential elections, say political experts.

Here’s the backdrop to their bromance and what you need to know about the interview:

Why is Trump doing the interview?

For the former president, Donald Trump, this is an opportunity to seize the limelight especially when his campaign seems to be sagging. And also what with his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris racing ahead having wiped out Trump's lead in opinion polls, Trump needs something to stir things up a bit for his campaign. Even as Harris seems to have energised Democratic voters with a series of high-energy rallies.

Why is Musk supporting Trump?

Musk also has his reasons for supporting Trump. Firstly, Musk, is bitter about the Biden administration after White House failed to invite him for an high-profile electric vehicle summit in 2021. Also, there is a slew of investigations against Tesla and a separate probe into X, the social platform he had bought in 2022.

However, a second Trump administration can probably ease up Tesla’s regulatory path to come up with a fully autonomous personal vehicle — which is key to the company’s $700 billion valuation. Also, Trump can stop the scrutiny of Tesla and X, as well as a National Labor Relations Board investigation into allegations of harassment at SpaceX.

Moreover, Musk is dismissive of Democrat candidate Kamala Harris and often posts unflattering videos of Harris making her seem ineffectual and clueless about running the country.  

Were Trump and Musk always chums?

Trump and Musk think differently on a few subjects. Climate change and electric vehicles being examples.

In 2017, Musk stepped down from two of Trump’s presidential advisory councils to protest Trump’s decision to step out of the Paris climate agreement. “Climate change is real,” he tweeted. “Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.” And in the 2020 election, Musk favoured Biden.

Trump has been opposed to electric vehicles for many years. In a move to win over traditional manufacturers, Trump promised at the Republican National Convention to “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one.”  This will save the US auto industry “from complete obliteration” and save consumers thousands of dollars, he said.

However, Trump seems to have changed tracks after Musk's endorsement.

"I'm for electric cars. I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So I have no choice," Trump said at an early August rally. At a news conference he later said: “I respect Elon a lot. He respects me.” And, they both love their country and the concept of this country, he added. And, both fear the country is in danger.

"Like me, he says this country is in big trouble, it’s in tremendous danger,” Trump said.

What time is the interview and where will it be hosted?

The interview, scheduled for Monday, 8 pm Eastern Time (0000 Tuesday GMT), and 5.30 am on Tuesday, India time.

The interview will be hosted live using Trump's official X account. Interestingly, Trump's access to his account, @realDonaldTrump, had been restored just a month after Musk took control of X. Trump had been suspended by the platform's previous owners after the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress by his supporters.

Unscripted and highly entertaining “This is unscripted with no limits on subject matter, so should be highly entertaining! If you have specific questions & comments, post them under the chat,” he wrote in another post.