The long-awaited interview between X owner Elon Musk and former CNN reporter Don Lemon was released Monday on Lemon’s personal social media platforms and YouTube channel. Lemon’s new show on X, where the interview was supposed to air, was canceled by Musk and his team after the fiery interview.
Musk and Lemon addressed a wide variety of controversial topics during the 90-minute session, with Musk becoming increasingly agitated as the interview went on.
Related: ‘Elon is mad at me’: Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled his new talk show after controversial interview
“You’re shocking me,” Musk said near the end.
Here are four key moments from the tension-filled interview.
Musk admits to using ketamine to increase productivity and doesn’t think Tesla shareholders should be worried
When pressed about the prescribed use of Ketamine, a horse tranquilizer, Musk told Lemon that he believes the drug is “helpful for getting out of a negative mood.”
“If you use too much ketamine, you can’t really get the job done. I have a lot of work, I usually work 16 hours a day,” Musk explained. “So, I don’t really have a situation where I can’t be mentally sharp for a long period of time.”
When Lemon asked Musk if he was concerned that this would pose a problem for Tesla shareholders, Musk remained unfazed.
Related: Elon Musk sued by former Twitter executives for $128 million
“From Wall Street’s perspective, what matters is execution. Are you building value for investors? Tesla is worth as much as the rest of the auto industry combined,” he said. “So from an investor perspective, if there’s something I’m taking, I should continue to take it.”
When asked about the nature of the prescription, Musk responded that it was “private.”
Musk believes his work is for the greater good of humanity
Musk told Lemon that he believes the work he is doing is for the greater good of human civilization and the future of humanity.
“If I died knowing I did what was right, or did my best to do what was right, and even if the history books said I was wrong, I would still feel okay. I’m interested in the reality of goodness , not the perception of it,” he said. “We want to make sure that there is not, for example, a demographic collapse, as happens in many countries, but only a very low birth rate. We want to avoid, obviously avoid, the Third World War. All that is a risk of civilization. This is what interests me. Risks of civilization.”
Musk says X is for jokes
“I use it to post jokes, sometimes trivia, sometimes things of great importance,” he said.
X (and Twitter before it) sparks meaningful conversations at best and incites intense discussion at worst. Musk told Lemon that he thinks X could be used as a “player-versus-player platform”—a video game term in which players battle against each other instead of playing against the computer.
While Musk explained that he enjoys playing PVP video games as a way to relax, he noted that it’s not necessarily why he logs on to the platform.
Musk said he has not donated to anyone politically this election cycle and has no plans to do so
Despite exciting breakfast meetings with former US President Donald Trump in Palm Beach and expressed opinions on many issues, Musk has said he will not make political donations.
“I’m going to express my opinion. I think I don’t want to put an inch on the scale, monetarily, this is significant,” Musk told Lemon.
He also noted that he hasn’t made a final choice on who will get his vote this November.