Elon Musk joined Joe Rogan for the fourth time on his podcast on Tuesday, talking all things X and monologing about a “zombie apocalypse.”
But when the conversation turned to the Israel-Hamas war, Mr Musk made an awkward joke that appeared to even make the controversial podcast host uncomfortable.
The pair were dressed up in Halloween costumes and smoking for the special episode. Mr Rogan donned a blond wig and a baseball jersey, while the business mogul wore a silk scarf and a jacket, describing himself as “half-dressed as the wizard of Australia”.
The conversation dove into Mr Musk’s coverage in the New York Times and what it is like to have that sort of constant attention on himself.
“If you’re a high-profile figure like yourself, it’s impossible to make everybody happy. So, there’s going to be someone that says something s***** about you,” Mr Rogan said.
“When it’s in print, does that mean more, because other people are going to see this s***y thing? That’s where it gets odd,” he asked Mr Musk. “Essentially, an article in the New York Times is just a single person’s opinion, and whatever editor gets involved.”
“It’s just a lot of people will read that,” Mr Musk replied, “I find the New York Times these days to be hard to read.”
Mr Rogan went on: “Well, unfortunately, they make some grave errors. Like that Hamas bombing the — ”
“Hummus?” Mr Musk interrupted, then laughed at his own apparent play-on-words on the war that has left thousands of people dead on both sides.
“- the Israelis bombing the hospital,” Rogan finished as the pair shared a muted chuckle.
Despite the cringeworthy interaction, Mr Musk carried on with his joke, much to the disappointment of the podcast host, who seemingly wanted to continue his train of thought on the newspaper.
“Chickpeas!” Mr Musk blurted out.
Joe Rogan tried to change the subject when the joke fell flat— (Joe Rogan/X)
“Yes, it’s delicious,” Mr Rogan answered, trying not to interact with where Mr Musk’s joke was heading.
“I think we should just cut off chickpea exports,” Mr Musk then said through his laughter.
“That’ll bring them to their knees right away. What are you gonna do, take a chip and dip it in nothing?”
“What we need to do is introduce them to pineapple and anchovy pizza,” Rogan said in an attempt to change the subject to the pizza they have ordered. Mr Musk exclaimed: “I hope that’s coming!”
Mr Rogan continued to look unamused while talking to someone off-camera, but Mr Musk, content with his wisecrack on the ongoing war, continued to smile to himself.
The business magnate has recently been criticised for his social media platform X spreading misinformation about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but the platform has promised they are treating the crisis with its highest level of response.
Mr Musk inserted himself in the war conversation over the weekend by offering to send SpaceX’s Starlink to Gaza, to which the Israel Government slammed back, saying, “Hamas will use it for terrorist activities.”
Mr Musk claims Starlink will be only be used for humanitarian reasons and said it would take “extraordinary measures” to implement.
