Two of the world’s most recognisable entrepreneurs sit across from each other across a coffee table in a softly lit black‑and‑white frame; the sound of their laughter cuts through the quiet hum of the background sounds. Nikhil Kamath, cofounder of Zerodha and the driving force behind this “WTF is” podcast, leans in to tell Elon Musk, “The first thing I must say is you’re a lot bigger and bulkier muscular than I would have thought you are.” Musk bursts into a chuckle and replies with disarming humour as the conversation quickly veers to one of his quirks that has long fascinated followers-his fixation on the letter X.
“Why do you like the letter X as much as you do?” Kamath asks. Musk responds after a pause: “It’s a good question. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with me.” The exchange, captured in the 39‑second teaser Kamath shared on X, formerly Twitter, has already been viewed more than 140,000 times, with earlier clips from the same session racking up millions. Its monochrome aesthetic, candid banter, and glints of shared laughter have piqued curiosity for the full episode that will delve into success, hard-won perseverance, and Musk’s quirks.
Yet the viral clip has created a parallel conversation online: is it real, or AI‑generated? Speculation ran particularly rife after Musk’s own AI chatbot Grok responded to user queries to say the video “appears to be AI‑generated,” because face morphing effects were evident.
It was Grok’s assessment that poured more fuel into the fire, with some going on to suggest that the teaser could be some kind of clever marketing. Others cited the cinematic nature and seamlessly stitched visuals to indicate it had been digitally tampered with. Sources close to the production maintain, however, that it is a genuine teaser for an upcoming episode, with any AI effects used purely for humour.
For Kamath, Musk’s appearance represents another high point of this journey. Over time, “WTF is” has become a destination for heavyweight guests in business, technology, and political matters: the likes of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, investor Vinod Khosla, and Aravind Srinivas of Perplexity AI. The most high-profile moment so far has been an interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi-a testimony to its allure among leaders who head industries and nations.
Musk’s appearance furthers his rising presence in global media and podcasting too. Rare long-form conversations from Musk almost uniquely meld technical insight with offbeat humor, drawing audiences deeply invested in his ventures-from Tesla and SpaceX to his social media platform X. In recent months, Musk has deployed his online presence to everything from policy commentary to the sharing of conspiracy-tinged content-a digital persona that’s both unpredictable and highly engaging.
Kamath’s work comes at a time when the Indian podcast ecosystem is booming. India has become the world’s third‑biggest podcast market, with 57.6 million monthly listeners, in no small part due to celebrity-fronted shows, regional language content, and dominance by YouTube over video-based formats.
With the strong tradition of oral storytelling in the country, episodic and personality-driven conversations came naturally to audiences, and the transition to video further extended reach. The range of popular podcasts includes business and finance, mainly featuring high-profile entrepreneurs, which perfectly aligns with Kamath’s guest roster. However, most of them have not managed to resolve the problem of monetization. While the biggest shows might bring in sponsorships or brand deals-like “WTF is”, for example-smaller productions usually have to get by with little income; for most of them, it’s about passion and not profit. This video-first trend has also introduced more production costs, another pressing concern for the sustainability of independent podcasters.
In fact, for the technology-savvy professional and any keen follower of startups in general, this Musk-Kamath teaser does a lot more than entertain; it’s a view into where technology leadership worldwide meets India’s rising influence inside spaces of thought leadership. Whether the polished look of the clip owes itself to AI or not, the appetite it has created speaks volumes about conversations mixing insight, authenticity, and a touch of unpredictability-qualities that Musk and Kamath seem particularly adept at delivering.
