On February 28, 2025, tech titan Elon Musk returned to The Joe Rogan Experience for his latest sit-down with host Joe Rogan, marking their third conversation in the past five years and their first since Musk took on a senior advisory role in President Donald Trump’s administration overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Recorded in Austin, Texas, this three-hour episode (#2281) dropped on YouTube and Spotify on Friday afternoon, generating buzz across social media platforms like X. Posted just hours before midnight at 10:57 PM PST by Rogan himself with the caption “Fun times with Captain X! @elonmusk now available on @spotify,” the podcast lived up to its hype, blending humor, wild speculation, and serious discussions about the future of humanity.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the conversation, timestamped for clarity and enriched with context from Musk’s recent activities and Rogan’s evolving podcast dynamic.
00:00:00 – Opening Banter: Misinformation and “Unhinged” Grok
The episode kicks off with Rogan and Musk easing into their familiar rapport, laughing about the chaotic state of information in 2025. Rogan sets the tone: “Man, it’s wild out there. I can’t tell what’s real anymore—Democrats tweeting lies, Republicans doing the same, fake stories blowing up my phone. What’s going on, Elon?”
Musk chuckles, “Yeah, it’s a mess. I see the same garbage. Democrats with their nonsense, Republicans with theirs—it’s like a misinformation arms race. And then there’s Grok making it weirder.” Rogan jumps on this: “Wait, Grok? Your AI thing? What’s it doing now?” Musk explains, “We’ve got an ‘unhinged’ mode for Grok at xAI. It’s less filtered, more raw. People love it because it doesn’t pull punches, but it’s stirring up some chaos.”
They decide to test it live. Rogan asks, “Alright, let’s hit it with something big. Is all the gold still in Fort Knox?” Musk grins, “Good one,” and prompts Grok: “Hey, tell us about Fort Knox.” The AI’s response, dripping with sarcasm, cracks them up: “What are you, a f***ing conspiracy theorist?” Rogan, laughing, admits, “Well, yeah, I kinda am!” This sets the stage for a recurring theme—questioning official narratives with a mix of skepticism and humor.
00:15:32 – DOGE and Government Efficiency: “The First Threat to Bureaucracy”
The conversation shifts to Musk’s role with DOGE, the Trump administration’s ambitious (and controversial) initiative to slash federal spending and workforce. Rogan leans in: “Elon, you’re up there with Trump now, cutting jobs, shaking things up. How’s that going?” Musk, energized, replies, “It’s the first real threat to bureaucracy in ages. We’re not just trimming fat—we’re rethinking the whole system. The revolution might actually succeed.”
Rogan probes deeper: “But people are freaking out—protests, lawsuits. How do you deal with that?” Musk shrugs, “If the government wants to come after you, they’ll find a reason. Look at SpaceX—DOJ tried to nail us over nothing. It’s like Beria, Stalin’s torturer, said: ‘Show me the man, I’ll show you the crime.’ That’s the game. But we’re pushing back.” He highlights recent cuts, mentioning Friday’s blocked mass firings of probationary employees, saying, “The courts are slowing us down, but the momentum’s there.”
Rogan, impressed, adds, “History’s gonna look at this like when your robot arms caught that rocket—insane achievement, but now the feds are the bad guys chasing you.” Musk nods, “Exactly. It’s wild to be on this side of it.”
00:38:14 – The Nazi Salute Controversy: “Positive Spirit, Misread”
Things get personal when Rogan brings up a social media firestorm from January 2025. “Elon, people lost their minds over that gesture you made at Trump’s inauguration event—like a stiff-arm salute. They’re calling you a Nazi. What’s the deal?” Musk sighs, “It was obviously meant in the most positive spirit possible. I was hyped, celebrating DOGE kicking off, and yeah, it looked like that to some. But come on—context matters. Social media just amplifies the outrage machine.”
Rogan backs him up: “Yeah, it’s nuts. They’ll twist anything. You’re not out here sieg-heiling—people need to chill.” Musk laughs, “They actually want to kill me over this stuff. It’s ridiculous.” The exchange underscores Musk’s growing friction with critics as his political influence expands.
01:02:45 – Video Games and Stress Relief: Diablo Domination
Lightening the mood, Rogan pivots to a fan-favorite topic: video games. “Elon, you’re still gaming hard, right? What’s your latest obsession?” Musk lights up, “Diablo, man. It’s brutal on extreme difficulty. I’m in the top 20 globally—only two Americans up there. It’s mostly China, some Korea, Taiwan. Those guys are machines.”
Rogan’s intrigued: “People think gaming’s frivolous, but you’ve said it’s more than that.” Musk explains, “When it’s that hard, you have to focus—nothing else gets in your head. It’s calming, restorative. Like martial arts or archery for you—full concentration clears the noise.” Rogan agrees, “Jiu-jitsu’s the same. It’s a mind wipe. You’re just in it.”
They geek out over Musk’s anonymous handle (which he refuses to reveal), joking about leaderboard rivalries and the mental reset gaming offers amid their high-stakes lives.
01:29:17 – Aliens and Security Clearance: “No Secret Propulsion Here”
Rogan, ever the conspiracy enthusiast, steers toward extraterrestrials. “Elon, you’ve got SpaceX, you’re digging into the cosmos—what’s the real story with aliens? You’ve got clearance, right?” Musk smirks, “I’ve got the equivalent of an all-access pass—top-level security stuff. I don’t think Lockheed, Northrop, or Boeing have some hidden propulsion tech for drones or UFOs. If they did, I’d know. No one’s hiding that from me.”
Rogan presses, “So no Area 51 goodies?” Musk shakes his head, “Not that I’ve seen. The UAP stuff? Probably just weird atmospheric tricks or foreign tech we haven’t pinned down. No little green men—sorry, Joe.” Rogan sighs dramatically, “You’re killing my dreams, man.”
01:55:03 – Epstein Clients and Power Plays
The mood darkens as Rogan asks about Jeffrey Epstein, a topic Musk’s hinted at on X. “Elon, you’ve name-dropped alleged Epstein clients before—what’s that about?” Musk leans forward, “There’s a list floating around, and some big names are on it. I’m not saying it’s all true, but the fact it’s out there and no one’s really denying it? That’s power protecting itself. DOGE’s rattling those cages too—cut the budget, and the skeletons start falling out.”
Rogan, fired up, adds, “That’s why they hate you guys. You’re exposing the swamp.” Musk nods, “Trump wouldn’t be back without this push. Alex Jones either—X gave them a lifeline. The old guard’s losing its grip.”
02:20:39 – Gulf of America Standoff: “Propaganda Wars”
A quirky tangent emerges with the “Gulf of America” debate. Rogan laughs, “Dude, the AP’s fighting the White House over calling it the Gulf of Mexico—what’s that about?” Musk grins, “It’s Trump trolling, and it’s working. AP’s clutching pearls, screaming ‘propaganda,’ but they’ve been distributing lies forever. We’re just flipping the script.”
Rogan piles on, “They’re propaganda campaigns masquerading as news. Total hypocrites.” They riff on the absurdity, with Musk quipping, “Next, we’ll rename California ‘Muskistan’—watch ‘em freak.”
02:45:12 – Closing Thoughts: History in the Making
As the clock nears three hours, Rogan reflects: “Elon, I’m not exaggerating—you’ve changed history’s course. That fork in the road? We were headed for censorship hell, and you, Trump, X—it’s a whole new path.” Musk, contemplative, replies, “Maybe. We’re trying to wake people up, give ‘em truth, freedom. If DOGE works, if SpaceX gets us to Mars, if Tesla keeps rolling—history might say we pulled it off.”
Rogan wraps with, “Captain X, huh? Keep steering the ship, man.” They clink glasses (likely whiskey), and the episode fades out, leaving listeners buzzing.
Analysis and Context
This podcast captures Musk at a pivotal moment—bridging his tech empire with political power, defending DOGE amid protests and legal battles, and navigating personal controversies like the Nazi salute flap. Rogan, meanwhile, fully embraces his pro-Musk, pro-Trump arc, alienating some fans (as noted in POLITICO) but doubling down on his anti-establishment ethos. The Fort Knox bit and Epstein mentions fuel conspiracy chatter, while gaming and aliens keep it classic Rogan-Musk.
The episode’s 54 million+ YouTube view precedent suggests #2281 will dominate online discourse into March 2025, especially as Musk’s DOGE role—and Trump’s administration—face mounting scrutiny. It’s raw, unfiltered, and quintessentially them: two outsiders challenging the system, one laugh at a time.
