Elon Musk reacts to record-breaking Joe Rogan podcast
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, responded after his 2018 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience became the most-watched episode in the podcast’s history. His short reaction quickly went viral online.
According to Forbes, Musk, 54, remains the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $497 billion. He bought the social media platform X in 2022, where he now has more than 228.6 million followers.
Joe Rogan, 58, is one of the most popular podcast hosts globally, frequently topping Spotify charts and boasting 20.4 million YouTube subscribers.
The claim on X and Musk’s response
On Monday, a user on X named niccruzpatane wrote that Musk’s 2018 podcast with Rogan “is the most-watched JRE episode ever” and added that it “has 69M views on YouTube alone.”
“Banger.” — Elon Musk
As of publication, Musk’s one-word reply had gained over 4.6 million views, along with 74,000 likes and 2,100 comments.
The memorable 2018 episode
Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience on September 7, 2018. The conversation was widely discussed for its casual, unscripted tone and for the viral moment when Rogan offered Musk a cigar containing tobacco and marijuana.
“Or is it a cigar?” — Elon Musk
“It’s both.” — Joe Rogan
The clip of Musk taking a puff spread rapidly across social media, becoming one of the most recognizable podcast moments of the decade.
Author’s summary
Musk’s brief yet viral reply underscores the enduring popularity of his 2018 Rogan interview, still a landmark moment in digital culture and social media virality.