CNN - Elon Musk finally meets the press and compares himself to Buddha

By Hadas Gold, CNN
Published 1:41 PM EDT, Thu May 1, 2025

Elon Musk has told his followers on X, “You are the media now.” Since joining the Trump administration, he has eschewed interviews with outlets he perceived as unfriendly, preferring to stay within the safe spaces of Fox News, conservative podcasts and his own social-media conversations.

But as the Wall Street Journal prepared to publish a piece Wednesday evening about Tesla’s board allegedly seeking to replace Musk as CEO (a claim Musk and Tesla strenuously denied), the world’s richest man and top Trump adviser stepped out of the proverbial bubble. Musk, along with three top Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team members, sat down with about a dozen mainstream news reporters in the West Wing’s Roosevelt Room to reflect on his time in the Trump administration — at one point comparing himself to an iconic religious figure.

“Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?” he said, according to The Washington Post, when asked about who will lead DOGE in his absence. Musk has indicated he intends to step back from his DOGE role this month. “Was it not stronger after he passed away?”

Reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Axios, Semafor, Bloomberg, ABC, NBC, and Fox News were in attendance. Even the Associated Press was present — a notable inclusion considering the White House has tried to remove the wire service from the press pool and ban them from key events over their coverage.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Musk sit-down came together rather quickly. White House officials notified reporters on Wednesday morning that they were invited to interview Musk and were given about an hour to respond. The gaggle took place in the late afternoon and lasted about an hour.

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