The John Johnston Lounge

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...

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: Elon Musk’s €120M MELTDOWN: Wants EU “Abolished”  https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bAlLvop4uEXymfBGrrY3n Tesla Optimus Hilariously Collapses! Is Elon Faking Aut...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to and expands on a recent voidzilla video on the topic “Big tech is betting on gambling and scams”. We look at some of the companies and venture capital, and people behind the funding and investments of financial gamification in this “real money gaming” category, including a16z and Y Combinator.  Related episodes: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Triggers ‘CODE RED’ as Gemini Gains...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Tesla and Waymo news that Elon Musk has claimed that robotaxi rival Waymo “never had a chance” against Tesla, despite Tesla not yet having deployed even one fully autonomous, paid robotaxi ride without an in-car safety monitor, while Waymo is about to pass the twenty million milestone. Elon is now saying the Tesla will deploy fully driverless robotaxis in Austin...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down a controversy surrounding Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. On Elon Musk’s X platform, the tech billionaire Lonsdale sparked outrage by explicitly calling for the return of "public hangings" in the United States. He talks about his desire for this kind of radical “masculine leadership” in relation to dealing with criminals. Disclaimer: This video is for edu...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how and why a new video going viral, from a Tesla “Autonomy Visualized” event, shows the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot taking a nasty collapse backwards. The demo strongly suggests the Optimus robot was mimicking a remote operator suddenly removing a VR headset, rather than the robot being autonomous.  Related episodes: Elon Musk’s WILDEST Tesla Optimus Robot Claims h...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news and reactions to the news that EU regulators have hit Elon Musk’s X platform with a 120 million euro fine for breaching its social media law. Elon has retaliated by saying on X that the EU should be ‘abolished”. Related episodes: Tesla Europe Sales Crash Deepens & Bricked Batteries Nightmare https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hLXZlUklCzGGwf19rrcdw Tech Fa...

Join John Johnston (JJ) for the Weekly Lounge, a compilation of the week's 5 episodes of The John Johnston Lounge. These are the individual episode titles: Elon Musk’s WILDEST Tesla Optimus Robot Claims https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QbgkOLIopzzgyHV89DnhL ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry Slams Tesla Stock: "Ridiculously Overvalued" https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ifpJOikaer1ipPqyGQ0DJ...

John Johnston (JJ) reacts to Joe Rogan speaking on the American Alchemy podcast with Jesse Michels. Rogan thinks that it’s not far-fetched to think that Jesus could return as AI. JJ asks, where could Joe Rogan have got this “God in a box” idea from? Could it be from the likes of tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who has talked about similar concepts, mingling Christianity and AI. Related episodes: Thi...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the news that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has apparently declared a “code red”, because Google’s Gemini AI has gained a lot of ground on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and has gained around 200 million new users in just three months. JJ also reacts to a segment of The Prof G Pod, in which co-host Ed Elson discusses this latest AI development with Alex Kantrowitz.  Related episodes: Is...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the Tesla news that European registrations for November, a proxy for sales, have continued to plummet, except for some minor bright spots, and now Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing a class action lawsuit over a Powerwall recall, that has left people with bricked Powerwall batteries for months. Related episodes: ‘Big Short’ Burry Slams Tesla: "Ridiculously Overvalued&q...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down how famous investor Michael Burry just released a brutal critique of Elon Musk’s Tesla on his new ‘Casandra Unchained’ blog. This episode is why the ‘Big Short’ investing legend think TSLA stock is “ridiculously overvalued”.  Related episodes: AI Bubble: Sam Altman Crashes Out, ‘Big Short’ Burry Bets on Bust https://open.spotify.com/episode/1O91IczRNH180RpGAetiZl Elo...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down a list of many of Elon Musk’s claims about the future of Tesla’s Optimus robots, including no less than ushering in an unprecedented ear of world peace and prosperity for all. Should we believe Elon’s claims, or is it really “extreme optimism” and extreme “corporate puffery”.  Related episodes: Tesla's Rough Month: Sales Drops, Robotaxi Cuts, Model Y Defects http...

This is a compilation of this past week’s five The John Johnston Lounge episodes, in order. Individual episodes: Is It Over? Google Gemini Crushes ChatGPT | All-In Pod Reaction https://open.spotify.com/episode/3tx19gCwXN709i9vHybnBt IT’S OVER: Elon’s DOGE Collapses & Criminal Charges Loom https://open.spotify.com/episode/3husqbwJVGAqerH4IxIiKD Thiel Calls POPE ‘The Antichrist’: JD Vance’s Pala...

John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the latest Tesla and Elon Musk news, including that Tesla’s European sales tumbled nearly 50% in October, Telsa sales have so far been pitiful in India, Elon Musk has now slashed Tesla’s Robtaxi fleet goal in Austin, Tesla’s Model Y has been labeled the most defective car this year in Germany. Finally we listen to what could be the best comedy impression of Elon so f...