Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

Episode Title: Silicon Valley's Dark Quest For Techno Fascism
Date: December 22, 2025
Guest: Jacob Silverman, author of "Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley"

Episode Overview

This episode features Krystal Ball in conversation with investigative journalist Jacob Silverman, diving into the political and social transformation of Silicon Valley and its elite. They discuss how tech oligarchs—like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks—have shifted from libertarian economic interests to a more explicit right-wing, even authoritarian agenda, particularly in alliance with the Trump administration ("Trump 2.0"). Silverman's new book, "Gilded Rage," provides the backdrop for a wide-ranging exploration of power consolidation, AI, crypto, radicalization, internal tech industry politics, and the implications for democracy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Tech Takeover & Trump Alliance

• Front Row at Trump's Inauguration: Krystal recalls the striking image of tech billionaires prominently seated at Trump's inaugural events, positing a visible tech oligarchy now out in the open.
• Central Project of Trump 2.0: Ball argues that a "tech takeover" is the central agenda of Trump’s second administration—rolling back Biden-era regulations on AI, deregulating crypto, and favoring tech industry power. (06:00)
  • Notable Quote (Krystal Ball, 06:00):
    “I feel like the tech takeover is actually the central project of what is going on here… Executive orders to roll back any Biden era regulation of AI… banning states from regulating AI at all for 10 years… How central do you see this project in Trump 2.0?”
• Mutual Profit & Alignment: Silverman describes a synergistic relationship:
  • AI and data center build-outs as economic policy substitutes for industrial policy.
  • Trump is "handing it all over" to tech, with both administration and oligarchs benefiting.
    (Jacob Silverman, 07:04)

Oligarchic Mindset: The "Exit" from Society

• Tech Elite's Desire to Opt Out:

  • The “exit” is both literal (charter cities, Mars colonization) and figurative (exemption from regulation, accountability).
  • Example: Prospera charter city in Honduras, funded by Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, actively legally battling the Honduran government.
    (Jacob Silverman, 08:39)
  • Quote: “They are very fed up with mainstream society. They don’t want to live with the rest of us…”

• AI as Ultimate Exit:

  • Krystal suggests AI is another escape route, consolidating immense power if they win the AGI/superintelligence race.

The AI Gold Rush & Coming Crash?

• Tech’s Bubble Mentality & Superintelligence Hopes:
  • Industry over-investing in large language models, bet “this is the only game in town.”
  • Critics inside the field, and even within industry, foresee a bubble bursting if projects like OpenAI can’t fulfill promises. (Jacob Silverman, 10:50)
  • Quote: “For some reason the tech industry has decided this is the only game in town… they’re still going to spend tens or hundreds of billions until it all blows up.” (11:34)

Radicalization of Silicon Valley

• Elon Musk as a Case Study:

  • Once close to the Obama administration, Musk shifted politically during COVID, partly due to business conflicts (lockdowns, EV summit snub) and personal trauma (his trans daughter’s public estrangement).

  • Musk embraced and amplified reactionary and transphobic views, with his radicalization fueled by both real-world and online echo chambers (Twitter/X).

    • Quote (Silverman, 15:10):
      “You cut to the 2024 cycle, and he basically was doing climate change denial on [X]... while talking to Trump.”

  • Twitter/X became “a radicalization machine” for Musk, amplifying right-wing and even extremist content.

    • Quote (Silverman, 18:33):
      “Really, this is the black pilling of Elon Musk the same way it would be of anyone else on a 4chan-like environment.”

Opportunism vs. Ideology in Silicon Valley

• Distinctions among Tech Leaders:

  • Silverman explains the difference between opportunistic actors like Zuckerberg and ideological figures like Peter Thiel, David Sacks, and Marc Andreessen.
  • Many switch allegiance depending on who’s in power, while “activated” ideologues drive deeper reactionary trends.
    • Quote (Silverman, 21:51):
      “Yes, there is a lot of opportunism of a typical corporate billionaire type, but there’s also a lot of people in the Silicon Valley elite who are kind of ready to be activated or radicalized in their own way.”

• Class Interests Triumph:

  • Despite supposed social liberalism, self-interest and class solidarity drive the tech elite steadily rightward, especially when deregulation and power consolidation align.

Authoritarianism as a “Natural Fit”

• Tech Industry’s Comfort with Autocracy:

  • Silverman ties the founder-worship and autocratic culture of tech startups directly to Silicon Valley’s embrace of authoritarian politics—mirrored in their relationships with Middle Eastern autocrats (e.g., Saudi, UAE).

    • Quote (Ben Horowitz, via Silverman, 25:30):
      “You have a founder also, you just call him Your Highness.”

  • Trump’s authoritarian instincts and disregard for legal constraints are a “thin” but effective ideological fit for the valley’s oligarchs.

Workshop in Reactionary Politics: San Francisco

• Local Political Experiments Preceding National Trends:

  • Tech elites used San Francisco politics to workshop recall elections (2019–2022) and defeat progressive actors like DA Chesa Boudin.

  • David Sacks played a leading monetary and strategic role—recalls funded as test beds for future national-level right-wing strategies.

    • Quote (Silverman, 31:19):
      “This is a model that we plan on replicating across the country.”

  • Rising antagonism toward “woke” or activist employees led to greater internal repression and union-busting, visible at Google, Microsoft, Palantir, and others.

The New War Tech Complex: Palantir, Anduril & Defense

• Defense-Industrial Tech Ascendant:
  • Focus on Alex Karp, Palantir’s CEO: from pseudo-liberal academic to jingoistic, aggressive tech nationalist.
  • Palantir and similar firms exploit Pentagon dysfunction to pitch themselves as disruptive, efficient, and ideologically on board with authoritarian priorities.
  • Quote (Silverman, 35:59):
    “[Karp] embodies this new proud, very much like war seeking tech elite who thinks that we need to build weapons and surveil everyone and project power…”

Laws Are Optional—For Them

• Rule-Breaking as Cultural Ethos:
  • Krystal & Jacob highlight the consistency of tech elites flouting laws (taxes, labor, environmental, and even physics, with Musk’s Mars obsession).
  • Laws seen as optional; regulation or democratic check as intolerable.
    • Quote (Krystal, 45:00):
      “All of them see the laws as optional at best.”

Techno-Fascism & Social Contract Breakdown

• Surveillance, AI, and Social Reengineering:
  • Tech elite anticipation of a post-labor world: replacing human work with AI, augmenting surveillance and repression to handle backlash.
  • Palestine and mass deportation efforts as real-world applications of surveillance capitalism.
  • Silverman cautions that a dystopia is less a shiny “Black Mirror” world than a dysfunctional, repressive acceleration of current trends—misfunctioning AI, economic collapse, and deepening control.
    • Quote (Silverman, 55:55):
      “It’s not too conspiratorial… Larry Ellison has talked in recent months that we are going to have perfect, always-on, everywhere AI-powered surveillance…”

Can Tech Power Be Reined In?

• Potential for Political & Legal Pushback:
  • Silverman contends that Democrats (and political actors generally) have been fractured and slow to realize the tech elite are adversaries, not allies.
  • Real opportunities for popular, cross-partisan backlash are surfacing, especially local activism against data centers due to rising utility costs and minimal job creation.
  • Institutional erosion under Trump, corporate capture, and lack of accountability pose deep challenges.
    • Quote (Jacob Silverman, 61:48):
      “There is a real opportunity for Democrats to tap [this backlash]. The problem is… the rule of law is really gone… so much makeup work to do in a way before we talk about moving forward or even just tamping down the power of these guys.”

J.D. Vance as Tech’s Political Trojan Horse

• Vance as Valley’s VP of Choice:
  • VCs advocated successfully for Vance as Trump’s running mate—he is, per Silverman, a “puppet for these guys,” connecting the “new right” and venture capital interests.
    (Krystal, 63:33; Silverman, 63:46)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “I divide some of these tech elites into kind of the opportunistic group and then some into the more dyed-in-the-wool ideological people. But they're all kind of moving in the same direction.”
  – Jacob Silverman, 05:08

• “The tech industry has been operating on this assumption, or at least article of faith, that if they keep pouring resources into AI… superintelligence or AGI… will somehow emerge.”
  – Jacob Silverman, 10:50

• “Really, this is the black pilling of Elon Musk the same way it would be of anyone else on a 4chan-like environment. But of course it's very different because of who he is and because he eventually does buy that platform and basically amplify all those tendencies and features we're talking about.”
  – Jacob Silverman, 18:33

• “They don't want to be governed.”
  – Silverman, 42:27

• “He [Alex Karp] embodies this new proud, very much like war seeking tech elite who thinks that we need to build weapons and surveil everyone and project power in order to somehow deter aggression against the United States.”
  – Silverman, 35:59

• “All of them, you know, they see the laws as optional at best.”
  – Krystal Ball, 45:00

• “They want as much power as we can and even slight little pesky annoyances within our own companies or lives or operations are unacceptable and we're going to move heaven and earth to push all of those out of the way.”
  – Krystal Ball, 42:02

• “Larry Ellison has talked about in recent months that we are going to have perfect, always on everywhere AI powered surveillance and everyone will be on their best behavior at all times...”
  – Silverman, 55:55

• “There is a real opportunity for Democrats to tap [this backlash]… hopefully [there will be] prosecutions and breakup of companies and wealth taxes, big sweeping gestures that say there are other ways of relating to these people. You don’t have to surrender power to them.”
  – Silverman, 61:48

Key Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:05] — Krystal intro, outlines episode focus, frames tech oligarchy as central to Trump era
• [04:27] — Jacob Silverman joins; discussion of tech oligarchy at Trump’s inauguration
• [07:04] — Alignment of tech industry and MAGA; AI and data centers as de facto industrial policy
• [08:39] — “Exit” ideology; Thiel/Andreessen’s Prospera project; Musk and Mars
• [10:50] — Unchecked AI investment bubble; likelihood of crash
• [13:26] — Musk’s political transformation: Obama, COVID, family trauma, Twitter radicalization
• [18:33] — Musk radicalized via Twitter/X; parallels to broader online radicalization
• [21:51] — Opportunists vs. ideologues among Silicon Valley elite
• [25:30] — Tech culture’s affinity for authoritarianism; founder-worship and autocratic partnerships
• [27:49] — San Francisco political experiments and recall strategies
• [35:59] — Alex Karp, Palantir, and the new jingoistic war-tech elite
• [45:00] — Tech industry’s disregard for law & regulation; normalization of lawbreaking
• [55:55] — What tech wants: AGI dreams, surveillance capitalism, and plans for social unrest
• [58:21] — Is reining in tech possible? Legal and political obstacles
• [63:33] — VCs back J.D. Vance as Trump’s running mate/asset

Memorable Moments

• Krystal highlights the personal, petty grievances (like Musk not being invited to a White House event) that seem to drive massive political moves. (42:27)
• Silverman’s account of VC-funded recall campaigns in San Francisco as prototypes for broader reactionary politics. (31:19, 32:19)
• The open acknowledgment of “exit” strategies by the tech elite—not just in business, but from society itself, via charter cities and utopian projects. (08:39)
• Discussion of tech elites actively suppressing internal employee activism, shifting from the days of Google’s “Don’t be evil” mantra to today’s firings and surveillance. (33:29)

Conclusion

The episode presents a stark, well-documented portrait of how Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures have coalesced around self-interest, right-wing politics, and a willingness to upend democratic norms for the sake of unchecked ambition. Silverman’s book, "Gilded Rage," is positioned as an essential guide to understanding this “techno-fascism”—and both he and Krystal call for new strategies, regulation, and grassroots resistance as necessary counterweights to oligarchic power.

Recommended Action:
Read "Gilded Rage" for a detailed account, and stay informed about the intersections of tech, power, and democracy as they shape our future.