Don Lemon's defending his interview with Elon Musk ... asking people to watch the interview before they dismiss him -- and saying X would benefit from these kinds of convos.
We caught up with the talk show host in the Big Apple Friday and asked him all about his upcoming interview with Elon ... he's challenging people to sit down, watch the interview and let him know why he's not the right voice for X -- 'cause Don says he can't figure it out!
CNN
Lemon -- who says he's open to speaking to Musk despite his recent firing -- says he's giving the platform the kind of conversation he thinks it needs .