Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, has provided some details about her recent interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In a segment aired on CNBC’s popular financial news show 'Squawk Box', Minton Beddoes discussed key takeaways from their conversation.
The interview took place at an event in California and involved a brief interaction between the two. According to Minton Beddoes, she was "bemused" by some of Musk's comments during the interview. She elaborated on this in her segment with 'Squawk Box', where she shared that while she found certain aspects of Musk’s remarks amusing or puzzling, she did not believe they represented a significant departure from his usual public persona.
Minton Beddoes also mentioned that one of the key takeaways from their discussion was Musk's views on climate change. She noted that during the interview, Musk expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of current climate policies and suggested alternative approaches to addressing environmental issues. This stance is consistent with some of Musk’s previous statements in public forums.
In contrast, another news outlet, Rawstory.com, reported a different angle. In their piece, they claimed that Minton Beddoes made controversial remarks during her interview with 'Squawk Box', suggesting that she should "look in the mirror" for issues related to climate change skepticism. This interpretation of her comments was not mentioned by The Economist or CNBC and has been widely criticized as misleading.
The sources do not agree on whether Minton Beddoes's statements were controversial, but they all confirm that she did discuss Musk’s views on climate change during their interview.