The John Johnston Lounge

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down what Kara Swisher just said about Elon Musk potentially facing Congressional Investigations after the Midterms, relating to DOGE and SpaceX’s Starlink operations, which will depend on the election results. Then we see what Kyle Kulinski just said about Elon Musk, breaking down a litany of alleged crimes Elon could be held accountable for. Related episodes: Elon Musk...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Jennifer Welch on the I’ve Had It podcast has criticized both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg for their “dirty dealing” to do with elections in both the United States and Brazil. Welch and her I’ve Had It team think that Musk and Zuckerberg are also scared of looming accountability, which is why they are trying to interfere. Related episodes: Elon Musk Threatens To...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Elon Musk is spending a massive amount of money on an Midterm election campaign in Texas, against Democrat James Talarico, and he’s also attacking Talarico on Elon’s own social media platform, X. We hear from various commentators on the issue, including writer Stephen King, Alex Gibney, Dave Neal, Emma Vigeland, Crystal Ball, Elon “influencer” Steven Mark Ryan, a...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Elon Musk is continuing to threaten people online, who are calling for some serious accountability for him. Elon has threatened The Bulwark Podcast, and Tim Miller has responded to what Elon said. Elon also threatened Robert Reich with prison, after Reich called for “defunding Elon Musk” from government money, particularly for SpaceX.  Send Episode Feedback: thej...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down why Elon Musk is threatening to sue popular ‘I’ve Had It’ podcaster Jennifer Welch over her harsh criticism of him. This comes a day after Elon threatened another prominent podcaster, Kara Swisher, over what she said about him. JJ looks behind Elon’s social media meltdowns over speech critical of him, to find out the real reason he might be worried about what these p...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Elon Musk has been lashing out at podcaster and journalist Kara Swisher, and others, after Swisher implied that Elon knows that fate is coming for him eventually, in the form of renewed investigations into him and his company dealings. MUSK documentary maker also has some choice words about Elon. Send Episode Feedback: thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your digit...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to part of a new video that suggests the spectacular Tesla Roadster “demo” may have used a magnetized ramp, not only suction from the car’s fan system, to help it up the ramp and hold upside down at the top of the ramp, before vaulting off the end. Could this be true? Send Episode Feedback: thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your digital privacy like I do, consider Proton...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the new Tesla Roadster “demo”, which was more Hollywood stunt than product demo. Except for the potentially workable “fan car” system, will much of the other tech involved ever see the light of day? Send Episode Feedback: thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your digital privacy like I do, consider a Proton Mail deal:  https://go.getproton.me/SH32U (and signing up suppo...

John Johnston (JJ) gives an update on how the AI bubble is currently playing out, including an AI neocloud company, Coreweave, that looks to be in trouble. Is it the “canary in the coal mine”, in terms of the ballooning AI sector? We hear the thoughts of Brad Gershner, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Eisman, George Noble,Ed Elson and more, about the current state of AI companies, AI stocks, and AI financin...

ohn Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that Ukraine was blindsided by Elon Musk’s Starlink being cut off, severely disrupting military drone operations during a Russian attack. Elon Musk is blaming President Trump, while the White House (unofficially) is pointing back at SpaceX. JJ also reacts to part of a recent interview with President Zelensky by Piers Morgan about the current situation. Send E...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to some of the MUSK documentary maker Alex Gibney’s comments on the current media environment, and how he’s been attempting to navigate it with the release and distribution of his MUSK movie, given Elon would like it not to be seen.  Send Episode Feedback: thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your digital privacy like I do, consider Proton Mail:  https://go.getproton.me/SH32...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that Elon Musk has now become by the largest U.S. midterm election donor, to try and save Republican’s Senate majority with some of the biggest political donations in history.  Send Episode Feedback: ⁠thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your digital privacy like I do, consider a Proton Mail deal:  https://go.getproton.me/SH32U (and signing up supports the pod...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down part of an interview with MUSK documentary maker Alex Gibney, by Mehdi Hasan. Gibney describes how he thinks that Elon Musk is in part a classic trickster or “confidence man”, rather than some genius inventor or engineer; he’s an expert at selling people dreams.  Send Episode Feedback: thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your digital privacy like I do, consider Proton...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down a brief part of an extensive interview with MUSK director Alex Gibney, and ex-wife Justine Musk, from On With Kara Swisher, about the new MUSK documentary and Elon Musk the flawed person. JJ also discusses the new David Byrne song “Let Me Sell You A Dream”, which is part of the documentary soundtrack. The question is asked: do the bad things Elon has done now outweig...

John Johnston (JJ) asks the question: was the recent, very public breakup of Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis just a PR move, more to do with business and geopolitics than for personal reasons? Drey, from The Drey Dossier, thinks she may have joined the dots that point to this. Send Episode Feedback: thejjlchat@proton.me If you value your online privacy like I do, consider Proton Mail:  https://go.getpr...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to part of a recent On with Kara Swisher interview with the maker of the new MUSK documentary, Alex Gibney, and with Elon’s first wife Justine Musk. Gibney describes Elon as unhinged but with enormous power. Justine describes Elon as thriving on chaos and intensity. JJ also reacts to part of an Mehdi Hasan interview with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, who discuss Elon Musk...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how billionaires in multiple countries are “donating” to political parties and third party groups in order to influence politics and elections in their favor. JJ discusses what’s currently happening in the United States leading up to the midterm elections, and in New Zealand leading up to the national election.  Get the Proton Mail deal: https://go.getproton.me/SH32U...

John Johnston (JJ) discusses and reacts to some of the recent thoughts of tech oligarch or “broligarch” Peter Thiel, and some of his high profile critics: Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor. Is Peter Thiel more dangerous to democracy than the likes of Elon Musk, even though not as publicly visible?  Referenced videos: Why are the super rich obsessed with the apocalypse? | LBC  https://youtu.be/lFZ8-OLTl...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down Elon Musk’s apparent hypocrisy when it comes to working with and praising China and its leader, while at the same time (falsely) blasting Democrats, and even one high profile MAGA supporter as being communists.  Elon Musk, China, Tesla, Elon Musk China, US politics, geopolitics, John Johnston, JJ, Elon Musk hypocrisy, Tesla China, MAGA, Democrats, political commentar...

John Johnston (JJ) gives an update on how the AI Bubble is playing out so far, and the cracks that are starting to show, especially in financing associated with the massive AI data center buildout.   Referenced videos: Cracks Are Showing In The Data Center Boom | Prog G Markets https://youtu.be/yasYNC_5Ki8 Hyperscalers are hiding a massive secret about uninstalled GPUs | Ed Zitron | The Tech Repor...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the controversy over the new Musk documentary trailer for the latest Alex Gibney documentary: MUSK.  Referenced videos: Musk | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street https://youtu.be/eY_8SyndC10 CNN Bombshell UNVEILED As Elon Musk Investment Revealed | The Damage Report https://youtu.be/ct7A6EQ4RGk

John Johnston (JJ) reflects on some of the similarities and differences between Elon Musk and Elizabeth Holmes, sparked by Alex Gibney’s documentaries and interview comments about both tech company CEO’s. Both figures have made highly questionable comments about their companies’ products to the public and investors. Elizabeth Holmes went to prison. Elon Musk (briefly) became a trillionaire. Refere...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to a recent interview with the ‘Musk’ documentary maker Alex Gibney, about Elon Musk and the soon to be released film. He discusses Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD issues, and the way Elon has promoted it, as well as Elon’s seizing of political power with DOGE. Related episodes: Musk Doc: Is Universal Too Scared of Elon To Release It? https://youtu.be/L7GJShK2xoE “Megalomaniac...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that Universal may be getting cold feet about releasing the new Elon Musk documentary by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Comcast-owned studio is being slow to commit to rolling it out internationally. Is political pressure being applied by Elon Musk and the Trump administration behind the scenes? elon musk, alex...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the new book and companion video from Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: ‘End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World.’ The book investigates how tech billionaires are preparing for “the end times,” even as they accelerate global inequality, political instability, and climate change.  Related episode: The Elon Musk Documentary Just Premiered. It’s Brutal. https:/...