A conversation between Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump on X encountered a 42-minute postponement due to unforeseen technical difficulties. Scheduled for 8 PM ET on X Spaces, the session crashed immediately as it began.
Musk Points to DDOS Attack
Musk attributed the issues to a “massive DDOS attack,” suggesting that this disrupted the event. However, insiders from X have contradicted this assertion to The Verge. One employee outright denied any denial-of-service attack, while another estimated there is a “99 percent” likelihood that Musk's claim was inaccurate.
We tested the system with 8 million concurrent listeners earlier today https://t.co/ymqGBFEJX0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
Musk noted that their system had been stress-tested with up to 8 million concurrent listeners earlier in the week. At the start of the interview, X recorded 915,000 listeners. Musk maintained his stance on the DDOS claim at 8:40 PM ET when the conversation resumed, implying the attack aimed to silence Trump.
Historical Context of Technical Problems
These technical hiccups echo issues that occurred during Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's 2023 presidential announcement on X. Musk had previously blamed server overload for those problems.
According to The Verge, the rest of X's platform operated normally during the delay. The publication noted that some staff who managed to join the Space initially heard lo-fi techno music from Trump's account for about 30 minutes before the interview took place.
This is the long version. Shorter edit of highlights coming soon. https://t.co/Ksm6UqdIq6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
EU Issues Warning Letter
The European Union sent a warning to Elon Musk regarding potential harmful content in the interview. The Hill reports that The letter emphasized concerns over misinformation and its effects on public discourse, urging Musk to comply with regulatory standards to mitigate the spread of harmful information.
In his letter, Breton stated, “With great audience comes greater responsibility,” highlighting the necessity for steps to curb “the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including livestreaming.”
