Joe Rogan Experience #1287 - Rich Benoit

1. 0:00 – 1:09

   Flooded Tesla origin story: Hurricane Sandy, total-loss EVs, and why Rich bought one anyway

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      ... believe in wireless. He needs to see it. (laughs) Boom, and we're live. What's up, Rich? How are you, man?

   2. RBRich Benoit0:05

      What's up? What's popping, baby? What's going on, man?

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it.

   4. RBRich Benoit0:08

      Dude, thank you for having me on this show, man.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:10

      Well, I read about you, a fellow Boston native.

   6. RBRich Benoit0:13

      Right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:13

      And, uh, I read about your Tesla journey.

   8. RBRich Benoit0:16

      Right.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      And I was like, "This is a fucking interesting story." This guy buys a broken Tesla-

   10. RBRich Benoit0:20

       Right.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:20

       ... and then you couldn't get parts for it anywhere.

   12. RBRich Benoit0:23

       Nope.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:24

       So how, what had happened to the car? Had it been in a accident?

   14. RBRich Benoit0:27

       No. So the, I, I met the previous owner, and he actually, uh, I think it was during Hurricane Sandy.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:32

       Oh.

   16. RBRich Benoit0:32

       He thought that, uh, he goes, "Wait a minute. That water level seems, uh, low enough for me to drive through it." And he just started driving through the water, I think got up to, like, the, uh, almost, like, the B pillar.

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       Oh, no.

   18. RBRich Benoit0:42

       Up to where, like, his neck is. Yeah. And he just-

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       Jesus Christ.

   20. RBRich Benoit0:44

       Yeah, I know, right? So, uh, he thought he could fight the water. He lost, obviously. And, um, it was just under water, and I'm like, "You know what? I gotta try this thing."

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       And so what did, what would Tesla do in that situation if he wanted to bring it back to them? They would have to rebuild the entire car?

   22. RBRich Benoit0:57

       They wouldn't even do it, because at that point, uh, once, uh, anything liquid, you know, any kind of, like, water intrusion happens in an EV, they just write the whole car off.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:05

       Oh.

   24. RBRich Benoit1:05

       Insurance company's just like, "We're not gonna deal with this."

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:07

       Too risky.

   26. RBRich Benoit1:08

       Too risky, not worth it.

2. 1:09 – 2:44

   EV fire lore and a misinformation detour: the Fisker “explosions” discussion

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:09

      Were you aware of the, uh, Fisker, uh, dilemma at Hurricane Sandy? When they had, uh, the Fiskers that were parked at the... It was, like, at a, some sort of a dock-

   2. RBRich Benoit1:19

      Right. What'd they all burn?

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:20

      ... where they brought 'em up to ship. They all exploded.

   4. RBRich Benoit1:22

      Yeah, they all burned, yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:23

      The water level rose-

   6. RBRich Benoit1:24

      Right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:24

      ... and the water got into them, and they just went off-

   8. RBRich Benoit1:27

      And they-

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:27

      ... like fucking fireworks.

   10. RBRich Benoit1:28

       And they lost a whole bunch of them, yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:29

       Yeah. Look, here's a video of it. You can watch the video of them fucking blowing up. So as the water level rose, and the Hur- you could see the water breaching.

   12. RBRich Benoit1:37

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:37

       Well, the water gets to the cars, and when it gets to the cars, they just start going off like fucking fireworks. (laughs)

   14. RBRich Benoit1:42

       Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, I know that feeling. Oh, yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:44

       There it goes.

   16. RBRich Benoit1:45

       Oh, wow.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:45

       Look at it. Boom, boom, boom. (laughs)

   18. RBRich Benoit1:47

       Oh, damn. I never- (laughs)

   19. GBGuest (Rich Benoit)1:49

       (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:49

       Look at that shit. Dude.

   21. RBRich Benoit1:51

       Whoa, it's like a supernova.

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:52

       I mean, those are big ass fucking batteries-

   23. RBRich Benoit1:54

       Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:54

       ... just blowing the fuck-

   25. RBRich Benoit1:56

       That's no joke.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:56

       That's insane. It turns night into day.

   27. RBRich Benoit1:59

       That's amazing. How many... They lost, like, 40 cars or something like that?

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:02

       They lost a fuckload.

   29. RBRich Benoit2:03

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:03

       And the company essentially went, they went radio silent-
3. 2:44 – 4:54

   Design and driving feel: Fisker critique, flashy wraps, and German vs American engineering

   1. JRJoe Rogan2:44

      ... when they all fucking blew up. It's a beautiful car, though. Fisker did a great job of making a car that looks really good.

   2. RBRich Benoit2:51

      Right. But you know what's funny? I, I think the back end's kinda ugly.

   3. JRJoe Rogan2:54

      Do you?

   4. RBRich Benoit2:54

      I think the front looks like a fish. The back's kinda ugly, and it actually... Have you ever driven one?

   5. JRJoe Rogan2:58

      No.

   6. RBRich Benoit2:59

      You ever been in one?

   7. JRJoe Rogan2:59

      No.

   8. RBRich Benoit3:00

      When you drive one, you'll be like, "Ah, I get why this didn't work out."

   9. JRJoe Rogan3:03

      Well, Justin Bieber had a all-chrome one.

   10. RBRich Benoit3:05

       I remember that.

   11. JRJoe Rogan3:06

       (laughs)

   12. RBRich Benoit3:07

       Yeah. Does he still have it, though? Does he still have it?

   13. JRJoe Rogan3:09

       He pro- he probably doesn't even know.

   14. RBRich Benoit3:10

       Yeah, he probably doesn't know at this point, yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan3:12

       You know? The amount of money that dude must have.

   16. RBRich Benoit3:14

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan3:14

       He probably has no idea if he has that car.

   18. RBRich Benoit3:16

       No kidding.

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:16

       He's got it tucked away somewhere. But what do they drive like?

   20. RBRich Benoit3:20

       They're just, they're just not really great cars. It's not really a driver's car.

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:22

       Uh-huh.

   22. RBRich Benoit3:22

       The, uh, it's, it's a two plus two. The, uh, the center console-

   23. JRJoe Rogan3:26

       Keep this thing-

   24. RBRich Benoit3:26

       Oh, yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan3:26

       ... a little closer to you.

   26. RBRich Benoit3:27

       Sorry, the, the-

   27. JRJoe Rogan3:27

       That's all right. You can, moves around if you want to take it with you.

   28. RBRich Benoit3:29

       The, uh, the, the center console's super wide. It's a super awkward car-

   29. JRJoe Rogan3:32

       Mm.

   30. RBRich Benoit3:33

       ... to drive. And it's not really good at really anything. You know, it doesn't, styling wise, I'm like, "Oh, there we go."
4. 4:54 – 7:17

   Tesla acceleration as a physics glitch: dyno talk, torque, and why EVs change expectations

   1. JRJoe Rogan4:54

      ... place where the Americans fuck with it is, like, have you ever driven a Camaro ZL1?

   2. RBRich Benoit4:59

      I have, yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan5:00

      They're, that's a preposterous car.

   4. RBRich Benoit5:01

      It's an awesome car.

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:02

      It's amazing.

   6. RBRich Benoit5:03

      I have a, um, uh, a Corvette Z06.

   7. JRJoe Rogan5:06

      Ooh.

   8. RBRich Benoit5:06

      And-

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:06

      Which year?

   10. RBRich Benoit5:07

       And- it's a '06.

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:08

       Ah.

   12. RBRich Benoit5:08

       Z06. Which is, you know, the LS7, seven liter. And, uh, it's an insane car. Uh, uh, by today's standards, it only has, like, 505 horsepower.

   13. JRJoe Rogan5:16

       Isn't that funny?

   14. RBRich Benoit5:17

       But, like, it's a-

   15. JRJoe Rogan5:18

       That that's not a lot? (laughs)

   16. RBRich Benoit5:18

       It's a mean, it's a mean car. The car'll put you on your ass really quick, man.

   17. JRJoe Rogan5:22

       Well-

   18. RBRich Benoit5:22

       Turn you into a man.

   19. JRJoe Rogan5:23

       ... our friend Taylor out there was telling us that they put a, a Tesla in ludicrous mode on, uh, a dyno.

   20. RBRich Benoit5:30

       Mm-hmm.

   21. JRJoe Rogan5:30

       And it had some insane number of torque.

   22. RBRich Benoit5:33

       Right.

   23. JRJoe Rogan5:33

       It was like s- 900 pound, pound foot of torque.

   24. RBRich Benoit5:36

       Torque, right.

   25. JRJoe Rogan5:37

       And somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 horsepower.

   26. RBRich Benoit5:39

       And the dyno could barely even read it. A lot of dynos don't even go that high in a lot of cases.

   27. JRJoe Rogan5:42

       (sighs)

   28. RBRich Benoit5:43

       Yeah. They're insane cars, man. I'm telling you. The Americans know how to do it now. I think it, it, it's interesting that, you know, people don't realize this when they see a Tesla, it's a fully American car.

   29. JRJoe Rogan5:52

       Yeah.

   30. RBRich Benoit5:52

       And they don't realize that. They're just like, "Oh, it's probably something, like, you know, German or, like, Japanese car." But th- the car's 100% made here. And they mean well.
5. 7:17 – 15:52

   Buying salvage: $15K flood Tesla, auction reality, and months of late-night rebuilding

   1. JRJoe Rogan7:17

      ... and you refused to f- f- let it go. You're like, "I'm gonna figure out how to fix this fucking thing." How much did you buy it for?

   2. RBRich Benoit7:23

      Well, it was 15 grand and just to be clear on something, I'm not like some like evil genius or brainiac. This was driven by my cheapness.

   3. JRJoe Rogan7:30

      (laughs)

   4. RBRich Benoit7:31

      (laughs) Because I didn't wanna spend the kind of money they were asking for one.

   5. JRJoe Rogan7:34

      Right.

   6. RBRich Benoit7:35

      So, so basically this car was like 15 grand and, um, uh, the whole story started when my friend came over. He actually had a job at Tesla and he's like, "Buddy, listen, there's these crazy cars. Uh, I know you have a ZO6, but this car is faster than that. You're gonna love this thing." I was like, "That electric crap box? I don't want anything to do with that." Whatever.

   7. JRJoe Rogan7:51

      Right.

   8. RBRich Benoit7:52

      He brought the car over. Great looking car. I said, "All right," you know, "I'll take it for a drive," or whatever, and the thing was amazing, right? Amazing car. So I was in tech and I'm just like, "Listen," like, you know, like, "How much does this thing cost?" Like, "I make decent money." Whatever, I'll just throw some money at it. He's like, "Listen, this will cost you about $120,000." I said, "You know what? Have a nice day."

   9. JRJoe Rogan8:10

      (laughs)

   10. RBRich Benoit8:10

       "I'm not buying that shit." Um, and then he, he ... So he left and I thought to myself like every night I was like, "You know what? I gotta get my hands on one of these cars, man. I g- I gotta get one." Like, you know, sell a kidney, whatever, sell a testicle, whatever I could do. And it's ... I was searching online and, you know, what happens is whenever a car gets messed up, whenever a car gets, uh, as they say totaled in a way and it's a total loss, an insurance company will take it and they'll kinda auction it off to like the highest bidder. So I went to an auction site and I saw one for sale. It was like, you know, 15 grand. They said it didn't run or drive and it was in a flood, and I'm just like, "15 grand? I could do that. That's a piece of cake, man. I'll throw some money at it, whatever. How hard can it be?" You stick it in a bag of rice, you know-

   11. JRJoe Rogan8:52

       (laughs)

   12. RBRich Benoit8:52

       ... you tie it up. You know like an iPhone? You know you ever drop your iPhone in the toilet?

   13. JRJoe Rogan8:55

       Right, right.

   14. RBRich Benoit8:55

       You know what I mean? It's just like, "Ah, man."

   15. JRJoe Rogan8:56

       Yeah.

   16. RBRich Benoit8:56

       "it sucks." You throw it in a bag of rice and you're good to go. So I figured all I'd do is just buy more rice for this thing and, uh, I got it home and, um, I was like, "You know what? This is, uh ... I got myself into some shit here 'cause, uh, this ... it was a lot more work than I thought it was gonna be."

   17. JRJoe Rogan9:11

       So you didn't ... sight unseen? You purchased it?

   18. RBRich Benoit9:14

       Sight unseen.

   19. JRJoe Rogan9:14

       Okay.

   20. RBRich Benoit9:14

       Nope. Sight unseen. And that's, that's the way it is most of the times. They don't really let you on the auction lots too often.

   21. JRJoe Rogan9:17

       Mm-hmm.

   22. RBRich Benoit9:18

       So they took five photos of it. It was, uh, some from the interior, some from the side and, uh, one under the, the frunk and I was just like, "I could probably do this, right? No big deal."

   23. JRJoe Rogan9:27

       So this begins this project which takes how long from, to completion?

   24. RBRich Benoit9:31

       I think it took me about maybe six or seven months or so.

   25. JRJoe Rogan9:34

       Of straight work?

   26. RBRich Benoit9:35

       No. So I have, um ... So I was working at the time and, uh, I, I think only between the hours of like 7:00 PM and like 11:00 PM, like every night.

   27. JRJoe Rogan9:46

       Jesus.

   28. RBRich Benoit9:46

       And then weekends for a few hours until I figured it out. Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan9:49

       So goodbye social life.

   30. RBRich Benoit9:51

       Pretty much, yeah. I was, I, I was a hermit for the, for those months and what I actually ended up doing was ... So I, I had the car, right? So I was freaking out because my wife was just like, "How much was that thing?"
6. 15:52 – 20:38

   Parts scarcity and the workaround: Tesla refuses to sell components, so Rich buys a second wreck

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:52

      So what- what was the struggle? Initial struggle? You have the car, you take it apart, and what did you see?

   2. RBRich Benoit15:58

      Right. So pretty much I was kinda taking my time because I knew there was a point where I couldn't fix the damn thing and I was just kinda wasting everyone's time. My wife's like, "Hey, is this thing almost done?" I was like, "Yeah, babe, don't worry about it."

   3. JRJoe Rogan16:06

      (laughs)

   4. RBRich Benoit16:07

      (laughs) "We're good, don't worry, our money's safe." And, um ... So there was a certain point where I took everything apart and I was like, "All right, cool." I found a dead fish in the back of the car, by the way.

   5. JRJoe Rogan16:17

      Ah.

   6. RBRich Benoit16:17

      So actually, you know what the turning point of this whole thing was?

   7. JRJoe Rogan16:20

      (laughs)

   8. RBRich Benoit16:20

      The- the turning point was, um, I- I realized it was salt water and not fresh water.

   9. JRJoe Rogan16:26

      Oh.

   10. RBRich Benoit16:26

       So you know what salt water does to stuff, right?

   11. JRJoe Rogan16:28

       Yeah, gross.

   12. RBRich Benoit16:28

       So it just- it just kills everything. So, uh, 90% of the car was kinda toast. And, uh, I said to myself, "All right, uh, I'm gonna call Tesla up, you know, buy a motor, buy a battery pack. I'll be good." You know what I mean? "Maybe I'll spend like 20 grand for a battery and like maybe 10 for a motor. I'll be in the red for 40."

   13. JRJoe Rogan16:44

       Mm-hmm.

   14. RBRich Benoit16:44

       It's still cheaper than 100.

   15. JRJoe Rogan16:45

       Right.

   16. RBRich Benoit16:46

       Right? So- so I called them up and, uh, you know, they were like, "Hey," you know, "How's it going, man?" I was like, "Hey, you know what? Uh, crazy thing happened, right? So (laughs) I bought this Tesla, it was underwater, and, um, I need like a couple of things. I need a battery, I need like a motor. You know, just- just throw me those things. It's fine." They're like, "Well, we're not gonna sell it to you." I was like, "Well, why not?" "Because you have no capability of fixing the car yourself. You know, you're gonna get yourself killed. It's not gonna work. You know, l- l- give me your VIN number." And I gave them the VIN number, they're like, "No, that car's listed as salvaged. That thing was underwater. We're not gonna help you." And they just hung up the phone pretty much.

   17. JRJoe Rogan17:15

       Oh.

   18. RBRich Benoit17:16

       Yeah. So like, this is the crazy part too is that they know ... Uh, you know, I'm putting my conspiracy theorist hat on. They know where every single car is. They know what it's doing. They know if the airbags went off. They know if you farted in the front seat. They know everything about these cars.

   19. JRJoe Rogan17:29

       Right.

   20. RBRich Benoit17:30

       So pretty much when you give them the VIN number, you know, the cars are always connected back to the mothership to give you the status in the car.

   21. JRJoe Rogan17:35

       Yeah.

   22. RBRich Benoit17:35

       So they know what's going on. So, you know, if you try to hide from them, you just- you just can't do it.

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:40

       Mm-hmm.

   24. RBRich Benoit17:40

       Um, so- so I had the, uh, I had the car and I said to myself, "You know what? This isn't gonna work. I gotta figure something out." So what I did basically, I bought another car for 15 grand. And I was like, "I gotta swap this stuff over." So I swapped everything over.

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:54

       So the other one that you bought for 15 grand, everything worked?

   26. RBRich Benoit17:56

       Well, it was in a front end collision.

   27. JRJoe Rogan17:58

       Okay.

   28. RBRich Benoit17:58

       It was in a hard front end collision and, uh-

   29. JRJoe Rogan17:59

       So the frame's bent or something?

   30. RBRich Benoit18:01

       Frame was bent, the thing was toast. And I just took all the electronics from one to the other.
7. 20:38 – 31:03

   The key and the creep factor: tracking the previous owner via the touchscreen

   1. RBRich Benoit20:38

      Oh, my gosh. So pretty much the, the computer thing was interesting because there was... So I called Tesla again, right?

   2. JRJoe Rogan20:45

      (laughs)

   3. RBRich Benoit20:45

      I was like, "Hey, buddy. Like, this car is like 99% of the way there."

   4. JRJoe Rogan20:49

      Do you know... Do they know who you are?

   5. RBRich Benoit20:51

      At this point, they still don't know who I am. Nor do they care. They, they still-

   6. JRJoe Rogan20:54

      Right.

   7. RBRich Benoit20:54

      ... probably don't care who I am.

   8. JRJoe Rogan20:55

      But, but did you say, "Hey, man. Remember you hung up on me, like, four months ago?"

   9. RBRich Benoit20:57

      Yeah, yeah. "You son of a..." Yeah, right? (laughs)

   10. JRJoe Rogan20:59

       (laughs)

   11. RBRich Benoit20:59

       "The car still doesn't work."

   12. JRJoe Rogan21:01

       "Almost."

   13. RBRich Benoit21:01

       The car still didn't work.

   14. JRJoe Rogan21:02

       Right.

   15. RBRich Benoit21:02

       So, uh, the tough part was I had to... So remember, I had no, I had no key for the car.

   16. JRJoe Rogan21:09

       Oh.

   17. RBRich Benoit21:10

       So I was like, "Hey, I need a key."

   18. JRJoe Rogan21:11

       (laughs)

   19. RBRich Benoit21:12

       You know what I mean? Like, "Help me out here. I need a key." And they were like, "Well, are you the same idiot that called?" I'm like, "Yeah. I need the key." They're like, "We can't... As I stated before, we can't help you 'cause, you know, this, this is a salvaged car, so you're on your own." So what I did was I actually... In the, in the GPS screen, 'cause the screen turned on. The, the, the guy still had the home location, so I pushed home on the GPS screen, found the guy's address, right?

   20. JRJoe Rogan21:38

       (laughs)

   21. RBRich Benoit21:38

       Right? This is creepy. I get it gets creepy, right? Found the guy's address and I was like, "Hey, you know, can we..." Uh, I called him up. I was like, "Hey, did you own, like, a, a white Tesla by chance?" And he's like, "Y- who, who is...?" Like, "Yeah, I, I own one." I was like, "Yeah, um, so I bought it and I need the key. Do you have the key to the car?" And he's like, "No, I, I, I don't, I don't have that." Like, "What, what are you calling me for? Like, I, I don't understand." I was like, "Well, I'm rebuilding it. I'm putting th- the electronics from your car into another and, um, and yeah, I wanna figure it out." And he's like, "You know what? I, I can't help you. I don't have the key." And I was like, "Damn, that sucks, you know. 'Cause, you know, I have a family and stuff and, you know-" (laughs)

   22. JRJoe Rogan22:15

       (laughs)

   23. RBRich Benoit22:15

       I really kinda... Getting into this talk sort of like, you know?

   24. JRJoe Rogan22:17

       Right.

   25. RBRich Benoit22:17

       If you could really look for it and help me out, that'd be good. And, uh, we started talking about general topics and he's like, "You know, you know, I know you're a car guy. That's awesome. Um, I had a, I had a Z06 once." And I was like, "Hey, I have a Z06 too." And, uh, he's like, "Yeah, it was, it was Le Mans blue." And I was like, "Hey, mine's Le Mans blue." And he's like, "What year is it?" I was like, "It's an '06." He goes, "I sold that same car, or a car like it, like two years ago to a guy in Florida." I was like, "I bought the car from a guy in Florida." So we started bonding, so it turns out I actually owned his old Z06.

   26. JRJoe Rogan22:47

       That's insane.

   27. RBRich Benoit22:48

       Yeah, it's crazy, right?

   28. JRJoe Rogan22:49

       What are the odds that two human beings on the planet, you own both of this guy's cars?

   29. RBRich Benoit22:52

       Both of this guy's cars. It was-

   30. JRJoe Rogan22:54

       That's insane.
8. 31:03 – 32:57

   Hacking the mothership: masking the car from Tesla, restoring features, and update access

   1. JRJoe Rogan31:03

      So you, you have to rely on the software in the state that it's at. There's no software updates?

   2. RBRich Benoit31:09

      No, so here's the, here's the long story. So, get the car going, everything's great. In order to get mask- masked from the Tesla system, so there's a certain system that the... Tesla knows where all their cars are.

   3. JRJoe Rogan31:20

      Right.

   4. RBRich Benoit31:21

      And they could disable whatever they want.

   5. JRJoe Rogan31:22

      Oh, no.

   6. RBRich Benoit31:22

      They could do whatever they want. They see-

   7. JRJoe Rogan31:23

      They could shut you down.

   8. RBRich Benoit31:24

      Exactly. So I had to reach out to, like, this Tesla black hat hacker, pretty much.

   9. JRJoe Rogan31:29

      Oh, Jesus. You had to go-

   10. RBRich Benoit31:30

       I was-

   11. JRJoe Rogan31:30

       ... to the dark web?

   12. RBRich Benoit31:30

       I had to go to the d- dark web.

   13. JRJoe Rogan31:32

       Damn.

   14. RBRich Benoit31:32

       And, um-And he was able to mask Tesla from seeing the car, which is why I can't have the Tesla app.

   15. JRJoe Rogan31:39

       Oh.

   16. RBRich Benoit31:39

       So, he masked that. Um-

   17. JRJoe Rogan31:40

       So, he got into the actual software itself?

   18. RBRich Benoit31:43

       Into the actual software itself. Guy's a genius.

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:44

       Switched one to zero?

   20. RBRich Benoit31:46

       His name is Phil. Switch one to zero. Exactly.

   21. JRJoe Rogan31:47

       Yeah.

   22. RBRich Benoit31:47

       He flipped the bit, and then it was able to be, uh, the car could supercharge, the car could do everything-

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:53

       Wow.

   24. RBRich Benoit31:53

       ... that a regular car could do. And the car gets updates too. It's great.

   25. JRJoe Rogan31:55

       Oh, it does?

   26. RBRich Benoit31:56

       It does get updates, yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan31:57

       And Tesla doesn't know it's getting updates?

   28. RBRich Benoit31:59

       No. You know what's funny?

   29. JRJoe Rogan32:00

       Maybe we shouldn't say this.

   30. RBRich Benoit32:01

       Yeah. No, I'm just kidding. No, they, they, they know the deal. And here's, here's the problem with that, is that, um, people love these cars a lot, man.
9. 32:57 – 34:51

   Summon, Autopilot, and driver psychology: convenience vs safety and ‘Autopilot buddy’ hacks

   1. RBRich Benoit32:58

      I- it doesn't make any sense, but people love the company.

   2. JRJoe Rogan33:00

      Yeah.

   3. RBRich Benoit33:00

      And they love this guy. So, so speaking of that, um, when he was working 16 hours a day, uh, and he was sleeping on the floor in the factory, right? You know, it was a big sob story, a billionaire sleeping on the floor of the factory. A bunch of Tesla owners rallied together, and they purchased a couch for him to sleep on.

   4. JRJoe Rogan33:17

      (laughs)

   5. RBRich Benoit33:17

      Like, tens of thousands of dollars.

   6. JRJoe Rogan33:19

      What kind of couch is this?

   7. RBRich Benoit33:20

      It must've been a nice ass couch.

   8. JRJoe Rogan33:21

      Crazy coach.

   9. RBRich Benoit33:21

      Yeah, be- be either way, like, they, they rallied. They purchased a couch for him. And like, I, I made a video on it, and I said to myself, "You know what? This guy's a billionaire."

   10. JRJoe Rogan33:29

       Yeah.

   11. RBRich Benoit33:29

       With a B. But the fact that everyone rallied together to help this guy, to show that their support-

   12. JRJoe Rogan33:35

       Yeah.

   13. RBRich Benoit33:36

       It's cr- ... People are hands over fists for this company, man.

   14. JRJoe Rogan33:38

       They are.

   15. RBRich Benoit33:38

       Head over heels.

   16. JRJoe Rogan33:39

       It reminds me of Apple back in the day.

   17. RBRich Benoit33:42

       Oh, gosh. Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan33:42

       How, uh, you know, I remember (laughs) there was a, a guy, God bless his heart, who, uh, was one of the editors on News Radio, the sitcom that I was on in the '90s.

   19. RBRich Benoit33:51

       Yep.

   20. JRJoe Rogan33:51

       And he was such an Apple head.

   21. RBRich Benoit33:53

       Mm-hmm.

   22. JRJoe Rogan33:53

       That he was like ... He, he was talking about it like it was a sports team. He was talking about it, "Well, I think we're really gonna get those PC guys-"

   23. RBRich Benoit34:01

       (laughs) Go team.

   24. JRJoe Rogan34:01

       "... when this, when the new MacBooks come out."

   25. RBRich Benoit34:03

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan34:03

       Like, but he really said something to that a- a- along those lines. "I think we're really gonna pull ahead."

   27. RBRich Benoit34:09

       Like, who's we?

   28. JRJoe Rogan34:10

       We.

   29. RBRich Benoit34:10

       What do you mean? (laughs)

   30. JRJoe Rogan34:11

       Mac users. We're all together.
10. 34:51 – 36:45

    Tesla fandom and tribal tech culture: criticism, Top Gear controversy, and Apple parallels

    1. RBRich Benoit34:51

       a Mac-owning, Tesla, vegan owner pretty much.

    2. JRJoe Rogan34:56

       (laughs)

    3. RBRich Benoit34:57

       (laughs)

    4. JRJoe Rogan34:57

       (laughs)

    5. RBRich Benoit34:57

       It's the scariest thing in the world. It really is the scariest thing in the world.

    6. JRJoe Rogan34:59

       (sighs)

    7. RBRich Benoit34:59

       Because they'll tell you all about it at a party, you know?

    8. JRJoe Rogan35:01

       Oh my God.

    9. RBRich Benoit35:02

       It's, it's-

    10. JRJoe Rogan35:02

        Yeah, you get cornered.

    11. RBRich Benoit35:03

        You get cornered, but like they-

    12. JRJoe Rogan35:04

        Yeah.

    13. RBRich Benoit35:04

        ... it, and it's ... And I've struggled with that in a lotta cases because whenever I say something remotely negative about Tesla, like, "Hey, I think Tesla could do a better job here," they're just like, "You're just a gas head. I know you own a ZO6. You work for big oil." Someone accuse me of working for big oil.

    14. JRJoe Rogan35:19

        Oh, you do?

    15. RBRich Benoit35:19

        Yeah. (laughs)

    16. JRJoe Rogan35:20

        What do you do for them?

    17. RBRich Benoit35:21

        How do you work for big oil?

    18. JRJoe Rogan35:23

        You can tell me, bro.

    19. RBRich Benoit35:23

        What does that mean, you work for big oil?

    20. JRJoe Rogan35:25

        Yeah, you, uh-

    21. RBRich Benoit35:25

        How do you-

    22. JRJoe Rogan35:25

        ... you're a part of the Illuminati.

    23. RBRich Benoit35:27

        Yeah, r- pretty much.

    24. JRJoe Rogan35:28

        That's what it is.

    25. RBRich Benoit35:28

        It's like, I just, yeah, so.

    26. JRJoe Rogan35:29

        You work for big oil.

    27. RBRich Benoit35:31

        How do I ... What does that mean?

    28. JRJoe Rogan35:32

        What does that mean? How much could they pay you too? First of all, like, before people would realize it. All of a sudden, you're walking around with like diamond chains on-

    29. RBRich Benoit35:39

        (laughs)

    30. JRJoe Rogan35:39

        ... and shit.
11. 36:45 – 45:47

    Privacy, surveillance, and tech creep: laptops, always-on microphones, and the end of anonymity

    1. JRJoe Rogan36:45

       Silly.Yeah, I have a Windows laptop and I have a Apple laptop.

    2. RBRich Benoit36:48

       Oh, you do?

    3. JRJoe Rogan36:49

       Yeah.

    4. RBRich Benoit36:49

       Jesus Christ.

    5. JRJoe Rogan36:50

       I have both.

    6. RBRich Benoit36:51

       Really?

    7. JRJoe Rogan36:51

       Yeah. You know why?

    8. RBRich Benoit36:52

       Why?

    9. JRJoe Rogan36:52

       'Cause Windows has more options and when you have more options, you get better configurations, you get better keyboards.

    10. RBRich Benoit36:57

        Right.

    11. JRJoe Rogan36:57

        Like, uh, I have a Lenovo ThinkPad. You know those?

    12. RBRich Benoit36:59

        Oh, look at you.

    13. JRJoe Rogan37:00

        Dude, they're the shit.

    14. RBRich Benoit37:01

        Yeah.

    15. JRJoe Rogan37:01

        It's way better to write on.

    16. RBRich Benoit37:03

        Right.

    17. JRJoe Rogan37:03

        Like, the tactile feedback and the travel distance and the keys-

    18. RBRich Benoit37:06

        Right.

    19. JRJoe Rogan37:06

        ... is so much longer.

    20. RBRich Benoit37:08

        Right.

    21. JRJoe Rogan37:08

        You just know where you're typing.

    22. RBRich Benoit37:09

        Right.

    23. JRJoe Rogan37:10

        And it, for me, uh, as a writer, when I'm writing, like I'm writing standup or something like that, it requires less thinking.

    24. RBRich Benoit37:15

        Right.

    25. JRJoe Rogan37:15

        'Cause my fingers just find the keys easier. I mean, like, 10% plus easier. It's a big di- and the... And I bought an older Apple laptop, too.

    26. RBRich Benoit37:23

        Yeah.

    27. JRJoe Rogan37:23

        I bought a 2015, a refurbished one, 'cause their keyboards were superior.

    28. RBRich Benoit37:27

        Yes, the new ones are so low profile-

    29. JRJoe Rogan37:29

        They're terrible.

    30. RBRich Benoit37:29

        ... you can barely type anything. Absolutely.
12. 45:47 – 1:03:26

    LA/SF homelessness reality check: Skid Row, encampments, and living costs

    1. RBRich Benoit45:47

       So a real quick story of a time with Rich. So I landed, right? And, you know how f- you know Boston, I mean, the deal in Boston.

    2. JRJoe Rogan45:53

       Yeah.

    3. RBRich Benoit45:54

       Uh, so I landed and, you know, I, uh, a buddy of mine picked me up from the airport, and I, I got to where I was staying. I was staying in the Mission District.

    4. JRJoe Rogan46:01

       And you're like, "Look at all the sun, first of all."

    5. RBRich Benoit46:03

       It was fucking great.

    6. JRJoe Rogan46:03

       Sun.

    7. RBRich Benoit46:04

       The sun was awesome. Right? I was like, "Oh my gosh, sun."

    8. JRJoe Rogan46:06

       No, n- no gray skies.

    9. RBRich Benoit46:07

       And then I look down, literally homeless people everywhere.

    10. JRJoe Rogan46:12

        Everywhere.

    11. RBRich Benoit46:13

        What is going on with that?

    12. JRJoe Rogan46:14

        Everywhere.

    13. RBRich Benoit46:14

        Like, it, it just, it blew my mind, because it, it, it literally... Uh, th- so I w- I went to the gym in the morning and I was like at... It was like at 7:00 AM, and I saw probably just as many homeless people living in tents next to buildings-

    14. JRJoe Rogan46:27

        Mm-hmm.

    15. RBRich Benoit46:27

        ... as there were people commuting to work.

    16. JRJoe Rogan46:30

        Yeah.

    17. RBRich Benoit46:30

        Like thousand... It, it-

    18. JRJoe Rogan46:31

        Oh, yeah.

    19. RBRich Benoit46:32

        It's, it's amazing.

    20. JRJoe Rogan46:32

        Have you been to Skid Row yet?

    21. RBRich Benoit46:34

        No. God, I'm scared.

    22. JRJoe Rogan46:35

        Dude, you gotta go. You should go while you're here because it's like the Grand Canyon.

    23. RBRich Benoit46:38

        R- (laughs)

    24. JRJoe Rogan46:38

        It's like the Grand Canyon of homeless people.

    25. RBRich Benoit46:40

        Why would I wanna go there?

    26. JRJoe Rogan46:41

        Be- because, just so you can't believe the... It's like, did you watch, uh, the Battle of Winterfell, Game of Thrones?

    27. RBRich Benoit46:47

        No, don't tell... No.

    28. JRJoe Rogan46:47

        Okay, no spoil alerts.

    29. RBRich Benoit46:48

        No.

    30. JRJoe Rogan46:49

        I won't give you any spoil alerts. I'll have, have it come w- with a better... Okay.

Episode duration: 2:51:55