Elon Musk Says He Cancelled His Partnership With Don Lemon Over His 'Dull' Approach, Outlandish Demands

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X CEO Elon Musk has released his side of the story for why he backed out of his agreement with Don Lemon to let the former CNN anchor host a show on his platform. 

On Wednesday, news broke that Musk decided to not let Lemon host his show (aptly titled "The Don Lemon Show) after an interview that got intense. Lemon grilled Musk for 90 minutes over Musk’s political leanings, his past drug use and the site’s content moderation policy.

Lemon stated that Musk ended the partnership because the X CEO went back on his promise to promote free speech. But Musk had a different version of events.

After the interview, Musk called Lemon "dull" and "uninspiring," and insinuated in a post that he was no different than CNN CEO Jeff Zucker. 

Frankly, that’s no surprise, given his performances on his former network. But that’s not the only thing at play in this situation.

Read: Don Lemon Says Elon Musk Canceled His Partnership With X Following 'Tense' Interview

In addition to not offering much as an on-air personality, Musk’s camp revealed that Lemon made an outlandish list of demands as part of their agreement (which they apparently didn’t officially sign, it was just a verbal agreement). The New York Post reported that the items included:

  • A free Tesla Cybertruck (a $61,000 car).
  • A $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary
  • An equity stake in X
  • The right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content
  • A private jet flight to Las Vegas
  • A suite for him and his partner
  • The company pay for his day drinking and massages with his partner

I don’t think there’s anyone in their right minds who would think that anyone, much less Lemon of all people, would deserve even two of these items from this outrageous list. Sources further told the Post that Musk was still willing to do the interview.

Lemon will still host a show on X, it will just continue without the official partnership of the platform. After seeing Lemon’s grossly exaggerated assessment of his worth, it’s not hard to see why.

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John Simmons graduated from Liberty University hoping to become a sports journalist. He’s lived his dream while working for the Media Research Center and can’t wait to do more in this field with Outkick. He could bore you to death with his knowledge of professional ultimate frisbee, and his one life goal is to find Middle Earth and start a homestead in the Shire. He’s still working on how to make that happen.