meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Rubin Report

When Elon Went Broke, the Dark Side of Podcasting & Tales from the Tech Trenches | Jason Calacanis

The Rubin Report

Emma Dog Productions

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.513.9K Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to the “All-In Podcast’s” Jason Calacanis about the origins of podcasting and how it evolved from blogging; his obsession with mastering every part of media production for independence; the early days of podcasting before mainstream adoption; the influence of figures like Howard Stern, Adam Curry, and Tom Green on new media; the emotional impact and asymmetrical intimacy of daily podcasting; how fame in podcasting differs from traditional celebrity; his extroverted nature and unique connection with fans; investing in startups like Uber and Robinhood with high risk but massive returns; his “mutant” ability to spot winners in angel investing early, like Uber's Travis Kalanick; how he looks for founder traits like intensity, awkwardness, and deep conviction; why his childhood poverty in Brooklyn fueled his drive for wealth and control; the emotional moment when he became financially secure; the dangers of post-exit depression for entrepreneurs; how true freedom comes from building without needing permission or investors; the importance of skills over vague dream-chasing; how Founder University helps teach practical startup essentials; how Silicon Valley figures like Elon Musk were initially dismissed in LA’s entertainment circles; how the tech industry evolved from being admired to viewed with skepticism after the rise of Facebook and social media toxicity; how Elon nearly lost Tesla and SpaceX during the 2008 crisis; how Jason offered to personally loan Elon money and pre-ordered two Model S cars to support him; how that Model S became a historic prototype worth over $1 million; and much more.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

It's what I told Elon, like when I got him on Twitter.

0:03.0

Just a big mistake.

0:04.0

Like I literally, my friend Billy and I at dinner got him to use Twitter.

0:08.0

Oh, God.

0:09.0

And he shows me the clay models of the Model S.

0:12.0

And he's flipping through it on, you know, the black braids.

0:14.0

He used to have that little track pad thing.

0:16.0

And he said, I think I can do it for $50,000. I said, if you can do that for $50,000, you'll change the fucking world.

0:21.7

I have an uncanny ability to look at a person and I will see above their head winner in a neon sign that they can't even see.

0:30.7

That's your mutant power.

0:31.6

That's my mutant power.

0:32.7

And so when I made my first couple million, I was sitting there with my wife after I sold the company.

0:37.0

She goes, are you okay? And I said, no. What you mean? This is incredible. She goes, you're crying.

0:40.7

And I said, I'm crying?

0:41.5

Wow.

0:41.9

What happened in San Francisco is they just had the best deal in the world. The lowest economic price for fentanyl, $5 a hit with the least policing.

0:49.1

There's a bunch of liberal guilt, you know, and people hate entrepreneurs. They hate billionaires. They hate people who've made money. Who wants to build a bridge? Who wants to do that? Who's capable of doing that?

0:58.5

You know, there's a group of people who are capable of doing that. They're called

1:00.7

entrepreneurs. How many people can we reasonably have seek asylum here?

1:13.7

All right, at Jason.

1:14.9

That's what I'm going to call you. At Jason.

1:15.9

It's a...

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 19 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Emma Dog Productions, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Emma Dog Productions and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.