Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 29, 2025

'This dude is bullshit': Elon Musk describes the first time he met now-disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

'This dude is bullshit': Elon Musk describes the first time he met now-disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

Musk said during a Twitter Space chat he formerly met with the cryptocurrency exec to discuss a potential investment in Twitter prior to the takeover.
Elon Musk is piling on after the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, claiming his "bullshit meter was redlining" in a previous meeting with the disgraced crypto leader to discuss a potential Twitter investment.

Musk's remarks came at around 2:30 a.m. ET Saturday during a Twitter Space conversation with 60,000 listeners, Coinbase reported. The discussion began shortly after news broke on Friday evening that FTX was investigating "abnormal transactions" in an apparent hack, the cherry on top of a very bad week for the imploding crypto exchange.

"To be honest, I'd never heard of him," the new Twitter CEO said, per Coinbase. "But then I got a ton of people telling me he's got, you know, huge amounts of money that he wants to invest in the Twitter deal. And I talked to him for about half an hour. And I know my bullshit meter was redlining. It was like, 'This dude is bullshit' — that was my impression."

On Friday, FTX announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to secure emergency funding. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO, lost 94% of his net worth, and admitted he "fucked up twice" in an apology on Twitter. He explained FTX's decline was a result of high customer withdrawals and his incorrect assessment of the amount of debt the company had accrued.

On Saturday, the Financial Times reported that FTX carried just $900 million in sellable assets against $9 billion of liabilities one day before the company announced it was filing for bankruptcy.

While it's unclear when exactly the meeting between Bankman-Fried and Musk took place, it appears to have been in the early days of Musk's plans for a Twitter takeover, and well before FTX's public downfall. Still, Musk said he felt there was "something wrong" during the discussion.

"Man, everyone including major investment banks — everyone was talking about him like he's walking on water and has a zillion dollars. And that was not my impression … that dude is just — there's something wrong, and he does not have capital, and he will not come through. That was my prediction," Musk said.

Musk tweeted early Saturday morning "FTX meltdown/ransack being tracked in real-time on Twitter" and also posted a crude meme of Bankman-Fried.


The comments come as other crypto and tech leaders speak out about their own recent interactions with Bankman-Fried, including Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, who told CNBC earlier this week that the FTX founder reached out to him to raise emergency funds for the struggling company.

"I was basically reading the room, and it felt like a pretty bad situation that we wanted to stay away from," Armstrong said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
×