7 Lines From Trump's Interview With Elon Musk

In an apparent reference to firings at Tesla, Donald Trump called Elon Musk "the greatest cutter" during Musk's interview of Trump on Monday night on X. "I mean, I look at what you do," Trump said to Musk. "I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike. And you say, 'That's OK, you're all gone. You're all gone. So every one of you is gone,' and you are the greatest." NBC News reports that the comment was an apparent reference to a 2023 complaint filed by Tesla workers in Buffalo, New York, who said that at least 30 employees were fired in retaliation for launching a unionization drive at the Gigafactory. More big lines from the Musk-Trump sit-down:

• On his belief in God: "Now, I'm more of a believer" following the attempt on his life at a July rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said.
• More on the assassination attempt: "Illegal immigration saved my life," Trump said, referring to the last-minute turn of his head to consult a chart about immigration that he has credited with ensuring the bullet didn't strike him fatally.
• On education: Trump repeated his previously stated desire to shut down the Department of Education, the Washington Post reports. He said he thinks the US should "move education back to the states" but said that "not every state will do great."
• On controversial foreign governments: "Getting along well with them is a good thing, not a bad thing," Trump said. He later said, "In many cases the people from within are more dangerous for our country than the Russias and the Chinas. If you have a smart president you're not gonna have a problem with them."
• On artificial intelligence: "This is shocking to me, but AI requires twice the energy that the country already produces for everything," Trump said. "You're gonna need a lot of electricity, you're gonna need tremendous electricity, like almost double what we produced now for the whole country, if you can believe it." The Verge notes Musk simply said "sure" and moved on, rather than taking the opportunity to talk more about AI, a favorite topic of his.
• On electric vehicles: "You do make a great product. I have to say, I have to be honest with you," Trump said of Tesla vehicles. "That doesn't mean everybody should have an electric car, but these are minor details, but your product is incredible." Trump has largely criticized EVs in the past.

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