Published 05/12/26 AT 6:40 PM AEST Share on Facebook — Joe Rogan Podcast News (@joeroganhq) May 10, 2026 The conversation, which originally aired Dec. 3, 2025, highlighted a pivotal 2015-2016 period when NVIDIA's deep-learning technology was still largely unproven outside research labs. Huang recalled announcing the company's DGX-1 AI supercomputer at its annual GTC conference to a largely silent audience. "Nobody in the world wanted it," he told Rogan. Musk, attending the event for a fireside chat on self-driving cars, became the first customer. From Early Hardware to AI Supercomputer Delivery Huang went further, describing how he personally delivered the first DGX-1 — a $300,000 system packing unprecedented compute power for the era — to OpenAI's small office in San Francisco in 2016. At the time, OpenAI was still structured as a nonprofit co-founded by Musk. "All the blood drained out of my face" when Musk mentioned the nonprofit status, Huang joked, noting the financial risk after NVIDIA had invested billions in the platform. Rogan and Huang shared a laugh over photos from the delivery day, noting Huang wore the same black leather jacket he had on during the podcast. The moment underscored the humble beginnings: a small room of researchers, including early OpenAI figures, receiving hardware that would help accelerate modern AI development. The clip's recent surge in popularity comes as both NVIDIA and Tesla dominate headlines in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. Huang's story serves as a reminder of the intertwined fates of the two companies long before either reached trillion-dollar valuations. Tesla's Evolution Beyond NVIDIA Hardware While NVIDIA supplied early computing components for Tesla's vehicles and autonomy efforts, the electric automaker has since developed its own hardware. Tesla's HW3 and HW4 chips, along with the Dojo supercomputer, now handle much of its in-vehicle inference and training workloads. Yet industry analysts note that NVIDIA GPUs remain central to Tesla's AI training infrastructure and broader ecosystem partnerships. Musk and Huang have maintained a public friendship amid occasional tensions in the competitive AI chip space. Both leaders frequently appear together at industry events and have discussed collaboration on future projects, including potential humanoid robotics applications through Tesla's Optimus platform. Broader Context of the AI Boom The podcast exchange arrives amid explosive growth in AI infrastructure demand. NVIDIA's data-center revenue has skyrocketed, fueled by hyperscalers and enterprises building massive GPU clusters. Huang has repeatedly credited early believers like Musk for helping validate the market when skepticism was high. OpenAI, which received that first DGX-1, has since transitioned to for-profit status and become one of the world's most valuable private companies. Huang and Rogan lightly ribbed the shift during the episode, with Huang quipping, "It's not really nonprofit anymore, though, is it?" Musk left OpenAI's board in 2018 amid strategic differences but has since launched xAI as a competitor. The clip has sparked widespread discussion online. Supporters praised the "American Dream" narrative of immigrant founders Huang and Musk building world-changing technology. Others noted the historical significance of NVIDIA's role in Tesla's autonomy journey before the company brought more development in-house. Reactions and Cultural Impact Fan-run account @joeroganhq posted the roughly four-minute excerpt on May 10, 2026, triggering thousands of replies celebrating the "builders" ethos. Comments ranged from nostalgia for early Tesla days to speculation about future NVIDIA-Tesla synergies in robotics and energy. Tech observers say the story humanizes the rapid pace of innovation. What began as custom automotive computers evolved into the backbone of today's generative AI revolution. NVIDIA's market capitalization has repeatedly crossed $3 trillion, while Tesla's valuation swings with autonomy milestones and robotaxi ambitions. Industry veterans point out that Huang's willingness to bet on Musk when no one else would exemplified the risk-taking required in frontier technology. "Elon was there when nobody else was," Huang emphasized, underscoring a theme of visionary conviction over immediate commercial certainty. Looking Ahead in AI and Autonomy As both companies push boundaries — NVIDIA with its Blackwell, Rubin and upcoming architectures, Tesla with unsupervised Full Self-Driving, Cybercab robotaxis and Optimus — their early history takes on new resonance. Analysts expect continued collaboration in AI training even as Tesla emphasizes vertical integration. Huang has described the current era as an "inflection point" for physical AI and agentic systems, areas where Tesla's real-world data and NVIDIA's compute leadership could intersect. Musk has echoed optimism about humanoid robots potentially generating trillions in economic value. The viral clip also serves as timely marketing for the full JRE episode, which runs over two hours and covers deep learning history, CUDA's dominance, and the societal impacts of AI. Rogan's audience, known for long-form conversations, has driven renewed interest in the back catalog. For Huang, the anecdote reinforces a core philosophy: technology breakthroughs often start with a handful of believers willing to ignore conventional wisdom. For Musk, it highlights the network of partners who helped scale Tesla from startup to global force. As the clip continues circulating, it reminds the tech world of simpler times — when a $300,000 supercomputer delivered by its CEO could still feel like a moonshot gamble. Today, that same spirit fuels trillion-dollar industries racing toward autonomous everything. Whether the renewed attention leads to fresh Musk-Huang collaborations remains to be seen, but the story of their early alliance continues to captivate audiences fascinated by the personalities and decisions shaping the AI age. In an era of fierce competition, the podcast moment stands as a testament to the power of personal relationships in technological revolutions. © Copyright 2026 IBTimes AU. All rights reserved. MEET IBT NEWS FROM BELOW CHANNELS Request a Correction