Public accounts trace Elon Musk and Kanye West’s connection from a reported 2011 tour of SpaceX to a recorded exchange at SXSW, a high-profile Twitter episode in 2022 and documentary footage released in 2025. Those moments show contact and public admiration—but they do not establish whether the two consider themselves friends today.
How did Elon Musk and Kanye West meet?
Retrospective reporting places their first meeting in 2011, when Musk reportedly gave West a private tour of SpaceX’s rocket factory. The Independent recounts the tour, while a 2016 Guardian investigation points to a December 2011 Musk post mentioning a call with West. The post supports that they were in contact, but does not independently confirm the factory visit.
Years later, Musk recalled the earlier meeting onstage at SXSW. The event archive records him saying, “We, we met a number of years ago.”
What did Musk say about West at SXSW?
On March 11, 2018, Musk named West as an inspiration during a SXSW appearance. Asked who inspired him, Musk replied, “Well, Kanye West, obviously.” The event recording and transcript also preserve Musk’s recollection that they had met years before. The remarks document Musk’s public admiration at that event; they do not show how close the pair were privately or whether that closeness continued.
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What happened between them on Twitter in 2022?
October: Musk welcomes West back
In October 2022, Musk publicly welcomed West back to Twitter after an account restriction. TIME also reported that Musk later said he had discussed concerns about West’s antisemitic tweet with him. This was a public exchange amid controversy over West’s posts and platform access.
December: West’s account is suspended again
On December 2, 2022, Musk announced that West’s account had been suspended after West posted a swastika image, according to Axios. The December suspension followed the October welcome-back episode; it does not establish that all personal contact between them ended.
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What does the 2025 documentary footage show?
Nico Ballesteros’s documentary In Whose Name? includes a scene in which Musk and West talk. The Los Angeles Times reported that Ballesteros filmed West from 2016 until late 2022; The Daily Beast described the scene as including a conversation about their personal relationships. The film’s 2025 release date is not the date of the filmed interaction, and the scene is footage from the years-long period in which Ballesteros followed West—not evidence of a new 2025 meeting or of the pair’s current relationship.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are Elon Musk and Kanye West still friends?
The available public record does not resolve that question. It documents a reported early meeting, Musk’s praise of West, public interaction around Twitter account restrictions and a conversation captured in documentary footage. Those events cannot establish whether they currently call each other friends, how often they speak or whether their private relationship has changed. West is also known as Ye, the name used in some coverage of the later period.
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