The John Johnston Lounge

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how the world's wealthiest man, Elon Musk, has been attacking Jennifer Welch from the popular podcast I’ve Had It, and Jennifer has been clapping back, hard. JJ reacts to a video Welch made about Elon’s toxic behavior and attitude towards her and others. Related episodes: BUSTED: Trump Admin Concedes Elon's DOGE May Have Stolen Data https://open.spotify.com/e...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Elon Musk and DOGE news that the Trump administration is conceding that DOGE team members led by Elon Musk may have misused Social Security data . Some DOGE personnel had more access to data than previously acknowledged, and had been sharing it via third party servers. Two members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team working at the Social Security Administration were also se...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Tesla and Elon Musk news that Waymo founder John Krafcik is saying the Tesla’s Full Self Driving Supervised (FSD) has a “bad case of myopia”, and he doesn’t think the current hardware will get Tesla to “super-human driving” capabilities. In addition, JJ provides an update on Tesla’s dismal Cybertruck sales numbers, Tesla’s mission change to “Amazing Abundance” fr...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to some of a recent video by well known tech journalist Taylor Lorenz, in which she details how tech billionaires, such as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen and others, are planning for an AI future in which humans don’t exist. The way that they see it, and desire it,, their post-human tech future will be dominated by artific...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the latest Elon Musk and Tesla news, including that Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics has hired Tesl’a former head of Optimus, after he said he was leaving Tesla to spend more time with family. Elon has also said the Tesla is “almost done” with its A15 chip design, six months after saying it was already finished. Tesla is also ending its direct sales of FSD software, amid sp...

Join John Johnston (JJ) for the Weekly Lounge, a compilation of the week's episodes of The John Johnston Lounge. Below are the individual episode titles and links. Recent Weekly Lounge episodes:  Slow Joe Rogan is Waking Up to Harsh Reality https://open.spotify.com/episode/0H7F4FIPxQCqBzKlBm9Iba Elon Musk's Grok AI Scandal: Ashley St Clair Speaks Out (Taylor Lorenz Reaction)  https://open....

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to what popular podcaster Joe Rogan has been saying about what’s been happening recently in Minneapolis with the ICE presence and actions in the community. Joe does not like what he’s seeing at all, but is still sitting on the fence on some issues. Is Joe Rogan starting to pull back from his MAGA support? Related episodes: Joe Rogan’s Embarrassing Tech Billionaire Worship...

ohn Johnston (JJ) reacts to part of a recent interview tech journalist Taylor Lorenz had with Ashley St Clair, about Ashley’s horrific experiences with Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok, specifically it’s new image-generating abilities and the nonconsensual content it has been generating to do with her and many others. Ashley has been increasingly outspoken in her criticism of Elon Musk’s X platform’s hand...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to Kyle Kulinski’s commentary and political analysis of Elon Musk’s current rhetoric on the social media platform Elon owns: X. Kyle shows how Elon has been becoming more and more obviously far-right in his political rhetoric. Related episodes: "Elongelical" Tesla Influencers Have Lost Their Minds (It's getting weird) https://open.spotify.com/episode/0sENslM...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the latest Elon Musk, Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX news, including that Tesla sales in Europe are continuing to fall. Does this mean Tesla Gigafactory Berlin’s days are numbered? Elon’s xAI company is burning staggering amounts of money by the month, while it talks about building AI for Tesla’s Optimus; “safe unsupervised” FSD still looks at least 6 months away, and more n...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down what one of Elon Musk’s most loyal “Elongelical” Tesla influencers is saying about one of Elon’s wildest predictions for the future of technology and society. We also look at some of Elon’s predictions over the past year that didn’t come true, and one that did.  Related episodes: Elon Musk’s Tesla Predictions Fall Way Short Again https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GLw...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the growing alliance between some tech billionaires and “theocracy bros”, referencing their desire for network states or freedom cities, and the anti-democratic influence of Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Curtis Yarvin and others on US government figures such as JD Vance and Trump himself. Related episodes: Peter Thiel Calls Pope ‘The Antichrist’: JD Vance’s Palantir Proble...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down Elon Musk’s top predictions for Tesla for 2025 that have not come true. We also look at other related Tesla and Elon news, including the new lower sales estimates for the final quarter of the year, and what Elon and some critics are currently saying about Tesla’s outlook.  Related episodes: Tesla Optimus Hilariously Collapses! Is Elon Faking Autonomy? https://open.sp...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to an interview between comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and the All-In Podcast “Besties” at a live event. Hinchcliffe get’s defensive about his involvement with the Rogansphere comedy scent in Austin, after all the recent criticism of it from other comedians and podcasters. Related episodes: Rogansphere Collapsing as Comedians Brutally Roast It  https://open.spotify.com/episode...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the two main risks famous “Big Short” investor Steve Eisman currently sees in the AI sector, which have implications for AI-related stocks, the overall stock market, and the wider economy. Related episodes: ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry Slams Tesla Stock: "Ridiculously Overvalued"  https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ifpJOikaer1ipPqyGQ0DJ AI Bubble: Sam Altman Cr...

Join John Johnston (JJ) for the Weekly Lounge, a compilation of the week's episodes of The John Johnston Lounge. Below are the individual episode titles and links, and recent Weekly Lounge links too, if you want to catch up on them: Tesla’s Robotaxi Service in Austin Still Barely Exists https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wxUplIujYdEtz6BNi31Jo Gilded Rage: Elon Musk & Tech Billionaires Radicaliz...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to a Breaking Points interview between Krystal Ball and author Jacob Silverman, about his new book Gilded Rage. The book and interview explore Silicon Valley tech billionaires’ turn to far-right politics, and the quest for more power and money, and the techno-authoritarian future they want. Related episodes: Sam Harris & Kara Swisher on Elon Musk: Techno-Authoritarian...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that Tesla’s Robotaxi project in Austin may be much smaller than Elon Musk claims. We also look at some of the other grand claims and predictions that Elon is currently making for SpaceX, and for the tech utopian future he envisions.  Related episodes: Tesla Robotaxi Unsupervised: Safety Monitors Removed in Austin https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iyrnPUJQZZ...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to part of a recent episode of the All-In Podcast with the tech billionaire “Besties”, Chamath, Jason, David Sacks, and Friedberg, in relation to what politician Bernie Sanders is currently saying about AI sector development. Senator Sanders is proposing an AI data center moratorium, and is critical of the tech billionaires involved. The All-in Besties explain why they th...

Join John Johnston (JJ) for the Weekly Lounge, a compilation of the week's 5 episodes of The John Johnston Lounge. Below are the individual episode titles and links, and recent Weekly Lounge links too, if you want to catch up on them: Tesla Robotaxi Unsupervised: Safety Monitors Removed in Austin https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iyrnPUJQZZovdrK2VXqsp Sam Harris & Kara Swisher on Elon Musk...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how Joe Rogan is continuing down the road of worshiping the tech billionaires he has on his podcast, such as Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg and others. It’s a far cry from the “everyman” and “anti-establishment” image he cultivated in the past. JJ reacts to Emma Vigeland and Sam Seder from The Majority Report, who discuss Rogan, and then com...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that a judge in California has ruled that Tesla’s marketing of its “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” systems was deceptive, and that Tesla’s license to sell and produce cars in the state should be revoked for 30 days. The California DMV has said it will give Tesla 60 days to comply and fix its marketing before going through with the suspension. This news c...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to a controversial segment of the All-In Podcast featuring guest Tucker Carlson. Hosts Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Sacks attempt to diagnose the rising anti-AI sentiment among the general public. As Silicon Valley insiders, the "Besties”, along with Carlson, discuss the cultural backlash against Artificial Intelligence, why the public feels threa...

Is Silicon Valley becoming a threat to democracy? John Johnston (JJ) reacts to a recent conversation between Sam Harris and Kara Swisher, discussing the controversial political pivot of tech billionaires like Elon Musk. Also discussed in this episode: The concept of "Techno-Authoritarianism" and why it matters. Sam Harris's critique of the fa right-wing movement in Big Tech. What the...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Tesla news that the company has begun removing the in-car safety monitors from its robotaxis in Austin, during a new testing phase. Elon Musk recently said this would happen by the end of the year. Questions remain; are the robotaxis being partially or fully tele-operated, and will Tesla begin to share safety data publicly, to show that Tesla robotaxis are safe e...