Jon Stewart just did something unexpected—he accepted Elon Musk’s very specific and very Elon-like terms for an interview on The Daily Show. Yes, we might actually get the most awkward bromance of the decade on late-night TV.
Now, in case you missed the drama, here’s the tea: The 53-year-old Tesla overlord and part-time meme enthusiast, who is also the self-declared head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE… because of course), recently announced that he’d be willing to sit down with Jon Stewart—but only if the interview aired unedited. Because nothing screams “total confidence” like demanding final cut privileges before even stepping onto the set.
Musk, not one to let things stay civil for long, then took a detour to his personal rant factory (formerly known as Twitter, now legally trapped as X) and accused Stewart of being gasp a propagandist. He then mourned the loss of Jon’s so-called “bipartisan” past, as if Stewart were a former boy band member who abandoned his roots and went solo.
But Jon, being the comedy sniper that he is, took all of this in stride and responded with a monologue that could only be described as chef’s-kiss level trolling.
Jon’s Response: A Masterclass in Verbal Jiu-Jitsu
“After a long, thoughtful week with my family—well, a family, technically. It’s a bit of a family hall pass situation,” Jon began, already setting the tone for maximum chaos.
He then pointed out that Musk’s big demand—an unedited interview—was actually already how The Daily Show aired its in-studio interviews. (You’d think a billionaire genius would have Googled that first.)
But then, Jon, in his infinite generosity, upped the ante:
“We’d be delighted,” he said. “In fact, let me sweeten—or unsweeten—the pot. The interview can be 15 minutes, an hour, two hours, whatever. Honestly, I don’t even think this network makes other programming. So we can do whatever the f—k we want.”
Jon Claps Back at Musk’s “Propaganda” Comments
Now, because Musk can’t simply challenge someone without first launching a Twitter war, he had already accused Jon of being “too partisan.” To which Jon basically said, “Oh honey, no.”
“You give me too little credit,” Jon replied, before casually roasting Musk like a well-seasoned Thanksgiving turkey. He pointed out that this is the same guy who custom-made a dark MAGA hat (???), hangs out in the Oval Office with a president he dropped $270 million to elect, and still thinks Jon Stewart is the one being too political.
“I’m really not sure what he thinks bipartisan means,” Jon added, which is a polite way of saying, “Sir, what planet do you live on? And can I catch a ride on one of your rockets to avoid it?”
Will Elon Actually Show Up?
Now, Stewart has made it clear: Musk is welcome to The Daily Show anytime to discuss government efficiency, tech, space, or even which Twitter users he’s planning to ban next. But Jon also called out the billionaire’s excuse-making, basically saying, “Look, if you don’t wanna do it, just say that. But please, spare us the lecture on journalistic purity when you personally run a social media site that treats misinformation like a VIP guest at a Vegas club.”
So far, Elon has yet to RSVP. Maybe he’s too busy naming his 15th child X Æ A-14B: Reloaded or scheduling his next gladiator match with Mark Zuckerberg. Either way, we wait.
Will this showdown actually happen? Will Jon Stewart and Elon Musk engage in the most unhinged late-night interview of the decade? Or will Musk back out and tweet something cryptic about aliens instead? Stay tuned.