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Elon Musk 'crashes out' after interviewer asks 1 question

Elon Musk was accused of 'crashing out' during a recent interview, after being told that people 'loathe' him, with the tech billionaire quickly turning the question around

[Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.]

Elon Musk was asked about his thoughts on people 'loathing him' during a recent interview (file)(Image: Getty Images)

Elon Musk has 241 million followers on X and is known as the world's first and only trillionaire. This much attention can bring people that adore you, while also attracting a lot of haters. Many people have claimed the CEO of Tesla 'crashed out' during a recent interview with The Economist's editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, after responding to allegations that people 'loathe' him.

The tech mogul discussed everything from racism - citing his mixed-race children with partner Shivon Zilis as evidence he isn't racist - to the possibility for civil war in the UK over immigration, plus behind-the-scenes details of collaborating with US President Donald Trump while leading the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.

But it was when Beddoes pressed him about his public image that matters took a turn for the worse and Musk turned the question onto him. "I mean some people do loathe you," Beddoes remarked, with Musk acknowledging this while insisting he wasn't bothered.

"But do you understand why? Do you think what you're doing is helpful for Western democracy?".

According to Washington Post data from 2025, a paltry 4% of Democrats expressed approval for Musk's efforts - exactly matching Trump's rating amongst this demographic. Only 32% of independents voiced approval. These figures contrast sharply with Musk's 73% approval amongst Republicans, though this still lags behind Trump's 83%.

Rather than addressing the question head-on, Musk proceeded to boast about his massive X/Twitter following of 241 million users as evidence that people actually favour him. He then deflected by shifting focus onto the interviewer's own popularity.

Musk said: "Maybe some people do loathe me and that's probably true. I don't care. Erm, but the fact that, er, as you pointed out, a quarter billion people follow me, is that I think a lot more people actually like me than don't."

He continued: "And I think a lot more people hate you, and the media, more than you realise. Do you realise the media is despised? Do you realise that journalists... the view of journalists is, like, a favourable view of journalists is like 15 per cent.

"The shoe is on the other foot. They hate you. They hate you far more than they hate me."

People quickly weighed in on the 'meltdown' as numerous viewers suggested the journalist had touched a nerve.

"Absolute crash out from Musk after he's presented with the reality that many, many people f***** hate him," one person wrote while sharing the video.

"It's pretty cool how it's abundantly clear that the richest man on earth is living in a hell in his own mind and every day is a new torture for him," a second person said.

"Elon Musk is not a genius and has the emotional capacity of a toddler.. However, others went on to applaud Musk for defending himself, with one person saying: "You have got to love Elon's brutal honestly."

"BOOM! ELON does not back down. He's right!" another user wrote.

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