Joe Rogan’s remark about the full self-driving (FSD) capabilities of his Tesla has gone viral on social media.
Why It Matters
In January, Musk announced Tesla had hit a milestone in its quest to full FSD technology. The billionaire SpaceX founder shared footage from Tesla AI’s account that showed vehicles driving from the factory “to their designated loading dock lanes without human intervention.”
“Unsupervised full self-driving begins,” Musk shared.
What To Know
On Tuesday, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast host, 57, took to X, formerly Twitter, to speak out about the electric vehicle’s FSD capabilities. Rogan reposted a video from influencer Mario Nawfal that showed how it worked.
“I had my Tesla model S drive me home the other day with FSD, and it’s f****** wild,” Rogan said. “Changes lanes to avoid slow traffic, stops at red lights and stop signs, hits the blinkers and turns for you. It’s bananas.”
At the time of publication, his post garnered 41.5 million views, 35,000 likes and 2,300 comments.
Newsweek has reached out to Rogan’s representative via email for additional comment.
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic; Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to Rogan’s note by posting, “Cool,” via X. His own message went viral too, racking up 38.5 million views, 83,000 likes and 3,300 comments.
Currently, Tesla’s FSD mode is supervised, meaning the vehicle is not fully autonomous. According to the Model S owner’s manual, “When Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is engaged, Model S attempts to drive to your destination by following curves in the road, stopping at and negotiating intersections, making left and right turns, navigating roundabouts, and entering/exiting highways.”
It warns, however, that “driver intervention may be required in certain situations, such as on narrow roads with oncoming cars, in construction zones, or while going through complex intersections.”
It also notes: “You must keep your hands on the steering yoke (or steering wheel) while Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is engaged.”
There are several settings for FSD: Standard, Chill or Hurry. “Chill provides a more relaxed driving style with minimal lane changes and Hurry drives with more urgency,” the manual states.
What People Are Saying
Musk has become the face of efforts to slash federal government spending, with his team gaining access to sensitive personal data of Americans, including Social Security information. His unofficial Department of Government Efficiency has faced multiple lawsuits from labor and rights groups seeking to prevent potential data misuse.
In February, Rogan defended the 53-year-old‘s role on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
“He has $400 billion. I’m telling you, he’s not going to steal your money. I’m telling you that’s not what he’s doing,” Rogan said.
“He’s a super genius that’s been f***** with, OK? And when you’ve been f***** with by these nitwits that hide behind three-letter agencies, and you’re dealing with one of the smartest people alive, and he helps Donald Trump get into office and he goes, ‘I want to find out what kind of corruption is really around.’ Well you f***** up,” he continued.
“You f***** up and picked the wrong psychopath on the spectrum because he’s going to hunt you down. He’s going to find out what’s going on. That’s good. That’s good for everybody.”
During an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2021, Musk revealed he has Asperger’s syndrome.
As of April 16, 2025, Forbes reports Musk’s net worth is approximately $370.7 billion.
What Happens Next
Tesla continues to be one of the largest suppliers of electric vehicles in the world, but competitors have taken note of recent disappointing sales figures and are likely to move to secure a greater share of the market. Musk has said that he will remain CEO of the company while also retaining his political appointments.