The 2023 DealBook Summit concluded with an interview of Elon Musk that caught even Andrew Ross Sorkin off guard. In a 90-minute conversation, the divisive billionaire didn’t hold back.
Mr. Musk accused advertisers that had pulled their money from X, following his endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, of trying to “blackmail” him. He used an expletive multiple times to emphasize his point. Mr. Musk also shared his concerns about the rapid-fire development of artificial intelligence and OpenAI, the chatbot maker he had co-founded and later left over philosophical differences. That feud has since grown into one of the tech world’s most closely watched lawsuits.
Mr. Musk opened up about his demons, his passions, what drives him and what bugs him. He said he wouldn’t vote to re-elect President Biden, but he also expressed misgivings about Donald J. Trump.
The world knows what happened next: He became Mr. Trump’s biggest supporter, helping and bankrolling him to victory last month in the race for the White House.
Since 2012, the DealBook Summit has brought together the biggest newsmakers in business, policy and culture to speak candidly about the global economy and the forces shaping it. Prominent interviewees have included the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the entrepreneur and social media influencer Kim Kardashian.
The one-day conference has also featured interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen crypto executive convicted of masterminding one of the biggest business frauds of recent times, as well as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and BlackRock’s chief executive, Larry Fink.
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