Elon Musk says 'pompous fool' Don Lemon is still free to upload his show to X AND receive advertising revenue despite spat over questions

Elon Musk has branded Don Lemon a 'pompous fool' after the two men spectacularly fell out following an interview for the former CNN star's new X show.

Taking to X Friday, Musk wrote: 'Even though I think Don (lemon emoji) is a pompous fool who spouts nonsense, he is still free to upload his show to X and will receive advertising revenue.'

The billionaire posted shortly after Lemon appeared on The View to detail their fractured relationship and their upcoming sit-down interview. 

Musk approached Lemon to debut a new chat show on X after his axing from CNN in April 2023.

But the Tesla and SpaceX tycoon canceled his contract following a tense interview for the same show filmed recently. 

Musk has shared his thought on Don Lemon after Lemon dished on their tense relationship during Friday's episode of The View 

Don Lemon  revealed Elon Musk dished to him about his private chats with Donald Trump before the 'tense' interview resulted in the Tesla billionaire deciding to ax his show

That saw Lemon grill his former boss over a proliferation of hate speech on X since Musk bought the social media platform previously known as Twitter. 

The show will still be screened on X, but Musk and Lemon no longer have an exclusive contract, meaning it'll be broadcast elsewhere too. 

'I think getting fired by Elon Musk is something you should wear as a badge of honor,' host Ana Navarro told Lemon.

Despite the rift, Lemon revealed he was able to glean some more information about Musk's relationship with Donald Trump which has been in the spotlight following reports the two billionaires had met.

Lemon appeared on The View on Friday to plug the forthcoming show, which is still going ahead through other platforms, where was consoled about the cancellation

Lemon was due to partner with Musk's X before things turned sour after the former CNN anchor questioned him about the rise in hate speech on his app

'Did he show his hand on whether he would support Trump?' Host Alyssa Griffin asked.

'He did talk about the meeting, why he went down, the context and the venue were in and he did talk to me about what the former president did have to say,' Lemon replied.

Musk met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, fueling speculation he could be about to provide a much-needed cash injection into the presidential hopeful's campaign. 

Scant details have been released about the meeting, although Musk publicly came out to deny he would be endorsing any candidate shortly after.

The South African CEO invited Lemon to bring his show to X after the former CNN host was dumped by the network on April 2023 after allegations of misogyny.

But Musk reneged on the multimillion-dollar deal hours after the sit-down, where Lemon asked him about hate speech on Twitter and his drug use.

In one clip played on The View, Lemon asked Musk about X users and hate speech including the 'great replacement theory' which Musk himself has amplified.

The 'Great Replacement Theory' preaches that white European populations are being demographically and culturally replaced by non-white peoples - especially from Muslim countries.

Musk reneged on the multimillion-dollar deal hours after the sit-down, where Lemon asked him about hate speech on Twitter and his drug use

Speculation was ignited that Musk could be backing Trump after the two met in Florida. Pictured: President Donald Trump talks with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the White House Feb. 3, 2017

But the billionaire was unimpressed and refused to answer the question directly, telling Lemon he did not have to agree to the interview.

'I don't have to answer questions from reporters. Don the only reason I'm doing this interview is because you're on the X platform and you asked for it. I'm criticized constantly I could care less.' 

The exchange prompted The View co-host Joy Behar to brand Musk a 'snowflake' and to ask Lemon if he knew what he was getting into with the controversial billionaire.

'There's an old saying in the south, you knew I was a snake when you picked me up. I'm not saying he is a snake, but it is relative to this situation I went into it with my eyes open.

'Truly I went into it with the best of intentions. I am an independent regardless of what people think, Elon Musk thinks I'm on the left, I am an independent.

'I believe in free speech. I believe people have the right to say whatever they want to say but you suffer the consequences for it.

'Twitter or X is one of the biggest information platforms in the world so why cede that to extremists? I wanted to get on their and fight it out so that everybody could have a voice.'

Lemon revealed he was able to glean some more information about Musk's relationship with Donald Trump which has been in the spotlight following reports the two had met

Musk has stated he is not endorsing any candidate in the upcoming election

Lemon previously claimed he is clueless over why Musk became 'so upset' by the interview, the billionaire countered that he canned the show after finding Lemon's approach was 'basically just CNN, but on social media.'

'And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity,' he wrote on Twitter.

In the clips that have surfaced from the piece, which Lemon described as 'tense at moments,' the pair covered a wide-range of topics, including Musk's use of drugs, his lack of support for Joe Biden and issues over moderation at X.

CNN aired footage showing Lemon asking Musk about his recreational use of horse tranquilizer ketamine.

The Tesla founder's use of the drug has been widely reported on and he himself has admitted to taking it.

'The reason I mentioned ketamine with prescription on the X platform is because I thought: "Maybe this is something that could help other people." That's why I mentioned it.

'Obviously I'm not a doctor but I would say that if someone has depression issues, they should consider talking to their doctor about ketamine.'