Elon Musk was accused of 'crashing out' during a recent interview with The Economist's editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, after she pressed him about his public image and suggested people loathe him. Musk, the world's first trillionaire with 241 million followers on X, responded by boasting about his popularity and deflecting to the interviewer's own reputation.
Interview exchange
Beddoes remarked, 'I mean some people do loathe you,' which Musk acknowledged while insisting he didn't care. She then asked, 'But do you understand why? Do you think what you're doing is helpful for Western democracy?' According to Washington Post data from 2025, only 4% of Democrats and 32% of independents approved of Musk's efforts, compared to 73% of Republicans—still behind Trump's 83%.
Musk's response
Instead of addressing the question, Musk said, 'Maybe some people do loathe me and that's probably true. I don't care. But the fact that a quarter billion people follow me is that I think a lot more people actually like me than don't.' He then turned the tables: 'And I think a lot more people hate you, and the media, more than you realise. The shoe is on the other foot. They hate you far more than they hate me.' He added that only 15% of people have a favourable view of journalists.
Reaction
Viewers were divided. One person wrote, 'Absolute crash out from Musk after he's presented with the reality that many, many people f***** hate him.' Another said, 'It's pretty cool how it's abundantly clear that the richest man on earth is living in a hell in his own mind.' Others applauded Musk, with comments like 'You have got to love Elon's brutal honestly' and 'BOOM! ELON does not back down. He's right!'
