Elon Musk Gave Don Lemon ‘A Pile of Money’ Upfront For New X Show, Kara Swisher Reports

Andy Kropa/Invision/AP; AP Photo/Michel Euler, File

Don Lemon’s new show on Twitter/X reportedly came with a hefty price tag for the platform’s owner, Elon Musk.

Kara Swisher reported during the latest episode of her Pivot podcast that she advised the former CNN anchor not to work with Musk — but if he did, get the money upfront. Following the announcement last week that Lemon was making his broadcasting return in the form of a thrice-weekly show on Twitter/X, Swisher and co-host Scott Galloway discussed the deal.

Swisher first disclosed that she was in touch with Lemon before the deal was announced:

I knew a lot about this because I talked to Don about it quite a bit. I had other suggestions for him. I suggested he do a deal with Ben Shapiro or do the Megyn Kelly route. I didn’t think this was a good idea. So that that’s just full disclosure. And I told him so, and I said, you know, get the money upfront. I just don’t think it’s going to go well for you on this platform. But he did it.

And a bit later, she and Galloway discussed the deal:

Swisher: I think they paid Don a pile of money. I know they did, pile of money up front. The pile…

Galloway: X paid Don Lemon?

Swisher: Yes.

Galloway: Really? … Oh, I didn’t know. Well yeah. If that’s the case then, I think economic security is important. If he’s, if he’s…

Swisher: He has a lot of money. … When they fired him, I think they had to pay out his contract.

You can listen to the full episode at the Vox Media Podcast Network.