What’s Happening to Elon Musk: He hasn’t given any proper interviews in over a year, has been unusually quiet in front of the media

From a famous outspoken person, Elon Musk suddenly became less noisy in the media.

In April 2023, just months after Elon Musk bought Twitter – now renamed X – the outspoken, outspoken billionaire embarked on a media “interview tour.”

Two years later, Musk continues to appear in the media — but now he chooses to do so in places that don’t embarrass him, often with hosts who praise him rather than asking critical questions about his government work.

Since joining the Trump administration in his official capacity, Musk has appeared five times on Fox News. He has also been on podcasts with Joe Rogan and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, where they have praised him and have not questioned his role in the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.”

Musk has also engaged with friendly political groups abroad, such as attending the far-right Lega party’s congress in Italy or conferences like the World Government Summit in Dubai. He has also recently participated in live chats on the X Spaces platform, mostly to support candidates or campaigns he cares about, such as failed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel.

While Musk has occasionally interacted with the White House press pool, he hasn’t sat down for a substantive interview in more than a year. The most recent and arguably most contentious came in March, when he appeared on Fox News and was grilled by host Bret Baier about calling Sen. Mark Kelly a “traitor.”

Musk’s most recent tough-talking interview was in March 2024 with former CNN host Don Lemon, during which Lemon grilled Musk about X’s increasingly right-wing platform, its spreading of conspiracy theories, and Musk’s controversial statements regarding diversity, transgenderism, and other issues.

Musk, however, was clearly not pleased with the questions, and Lemon—who was set to launch a new show on X with the same interview—was quickly notified that the broadcast deal had been canceled.

Musk has long had a fraught relationship with the media.

In an interview with the BBC in April 2023, he said he had a “love/hate” relationship with the press – but leaned more towards the “hate” side. He also gloated about removing the verification mark from the New York Times account on the X platform.

Musk is also known for disbanding or cutting the communications departments at his companies, leaving no one to answer questions from the press — or, in the case of Twitter (now X), responding to press emails with offensive emojis.

In articles about Musk, there is almost always a note that he or his representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Reporters say it can be difficult to determine who is actually handling Musk’s communications—the White House, his personal staff, or Musk himself.

The White House and Musk’s representatives did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on who coordinated his interviews.

“I have no obligation to answer questions from the press, Don. The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re broadcasting on platform X and you asked me to do it,” Musk told Lemon last year. “If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be doing this interview.”