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 alliance between tech oligarchs and politics means for the future of freedom.

Related episodes:

Sam Harris: Joe Rogan’s Podcast is a “Bug Light” for Maniac Guests https://open.spotify.com/episode/0y5EBw33i8DPf8fPQnMl8E

Elon Musk’s Friend EXPOSES His Lies & Betrayal https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ykqwuELZi7FwJtLVVf85E

Referenced video:

Sam Harris on Silicon Valley’s Slide into Techno-Authoritarianism | On With Kara Swisher https://open.spotify.com/episode/6IQCtjoPJWNrYn6U9T82Ol

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 enough for public use?

Related episodes:

Elon Musk's Delusional Tesla Robotaxi Claims vs Waymo's Reality (20 mill Trips) https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CNNqzm1LBn76Ko289aDhP

Tesla Optimus Hilariously Collapses! Is Elon Faking Autonomy? https://open.spotify.com/episode/61FgiacC7B8uOirfrOkBTK

Tesla Europe Sales Crash Deepens & Bricked Batteries Nightmare https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hLXZlUklCzGGwf19rrcdw

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and nothing in this content is financial advice. This content is for general education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision.

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 Autonomy? https://open.spotify.com/episode/61FgiacC7B8uOirfrOkBTK

Palantir Co-Founder Joe Lonsdale’s Call For “Public Hangings” Sparks Outrage https://open.spotify.com/episode/1d7RUufbl1a9utngPU3XZK

Elon Musk's Delusional Tesla Robotaxi Claims vs Waymo's Reality (20 mill Trips) https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CNNqzm1LBn76Ko289aDhP

Gamified: Big Tech’s Bet on Gambling & Scams https://open.spotify.com/episode/313XUFxnNRpiWJhAFbasCg

Recent Weekly Lounge:

Weekly Lounge: Rogan’s "AI Jesus” Rant, TSLA Overvalued (Burry), Tesla EU Sales Crash https://open.spotify.com/episode/7k6b9wnmgqmCMt6vbqq7AP

Weekly Lounge: Rogan vs Theo Von, Thiel Dumps NVDA, Musk vs Bezos in Space https://open.spotify.com/episode/4JnYCpEijlloMimu0zPvoh

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and nothing in this content is financial advice. This content is for general education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision.

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 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2UjHc7btIkoiQJ77Ln5MT2

Elon Musk’s WILDEST Tesla Optimus Robot Claims https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QbgkOLIopzzgyHV89DnhL

Elon Claims Money Will Be Irrelevant. Is He Delusional? https://open.spotify.com/episode/22dU3JaBm6mtIVA4CzqoF6

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 in about three weeks, without safety monitors.

Related episodes:

Tesla's Rough Month: Sales Drops, Robotaxi Cuts, Model Y Defects https://open.spotify.com/episode/1KieNeplYRuu6mAlIMRS6V

‘Big Short’ Burry Slams Tesla: "Ridiculously Overvalued" https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ifpJOikaer1ipPqyGQ0DJ

Elon Musk’s WILDEST Tesla Optimus Robot Claims https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QbgkOLIopzzgyHV89DnhL

Referenced articles:

Elon Musk delusionally claims Waymo ‘never had a chance’ against Tesla https://electrek.co/2025/12/10/elon-musk-waymo-never-had-chance-against-tesla/

Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims driverless Robotaxis coming to Austin in 3 weeks https://electrek.co/2025/12/09/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-claims-driverless-robotaxis-coming-to-austin-in-3-weeks/

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and nothing in this content is financial advice. This content is for general education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision.

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 educational and journalistic purposes only. It analyzes public comments made by a public figure.

Related episodes:

Joe Rogan GLAZES Peter Thiel & Palantir, Theo Von COOKS https://open.spotify.com/episode/1kNKj2d1vOXqlTKosqBhTY

Thiel Calls POPE ‘The Antichrist’: JD Vance’s Palantir Problem https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RnSiaoFFsXUU52TDZSeLx

Peter Thiel: Antichrist Greta & US Headed for Civil War? https://open.spotify.com/episode/587zdde7DrHCMysy8T5bTg

Referenced article:

Joe Lonsdale Calls For Public Hangings | Gil Duran https://www.thenerdreich.com/joe-lonsdale-calls-for-public-hangings/

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 https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QbgkOLIopzzgyHV89DnhL

Tesla Europe Sales Crash Deepens & Bricked Batteries Nightmare https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hLXZlUklCzGGwf19rrcdw

Tesla's Rough Month: Sales Drops, Robotaxi Cuts, Model Y Defects https://open.spotify.com/episode/1KieNeplYRuu6mAlIMRS6V

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and nothing in this content is financial advice. This content is for general education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision.

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 Fascism: Borsook's Early Prediction Was Correct https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LbNyXqq7em3G2xCUp1E78

Elon to Joe Rogan: Capitalist AI Will Bring Socialist Utopia https://open.spotify.com/episode/2N4kl85FtFISzul06CmGgy