Musk: "Had a 30-minute call with FTX founder in the past... a guy who talks nonsense"

Founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who recently declared bankruptcy (Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed a past conversation with Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX that filed for bankruptcy, when Bankman-Fried proposed investing in Twitter, calling him a "guy who was talking nonsense."

According to cryptocurrency media CoinDesk, Musk stated on the 12th (local time) via Twitter's live voice chat service 'Twitter Spaces' that he once had a 30-minute conversation with Bankman-Fried regarding the Twitter acquisition.

He said, "Honestly, I had never heard of him, but many people told me 'he has a huge amount of money and wants to invest in the Twitter deal,'" adding, "I had a 30-minute conversation about raising funds for the Twitter acquisition." He continued, "During the conversation, my 'bullshit detector' went off," and said, "It felt like the guy was talking nonsense. That was my impression."

(Photo capture: Twitter)

Last September, Bankman-Fried expressed to Musk's side his intention to invest more than $3 billion (about 4 trillion won) in the Twitter acquisition and discuss the integration of social media and blockchain.

Musk said he judged that Bankman-Fried did not have the ability to raise $3 billion and rejected the proposal.

Musk confirmed that Bankman-Fried did make such an offer at the time, stating, "Back then, everyone, including major investment banks, talked as if Bankman-Fried was walking on water and had enormous money, but my impression was different," adding, "That guy was something wrong."

Musk also commented on the mysterious virtual asset leak incident that occurred at the exchange after FTX filed for bankruptcy, saying, "If you have cryptocurrency, it is wise to store it in a 'cold wallet' (an offline wallet to prevent hacking) rather than an exchange account."

He added, "I believe Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin have a future," and claimed, "If you keep one of these three coins in a 'cold wallet,' it will do well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.