A beleaguered tech CEO walks into the broadcasting studios of provocative podcast host Joe Rogan. What happens next?

We'll find out tonight when Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes his debut on "The Joe Rogan Experience." The podcast will air at 9:30 p.m. PST and, if it keeps with Rogan's style, could last more than three hours.

Rogan announced Musk's pending appearance in June. Even then — before Musk called a Thai diver a "pedo" and said he considered taking Tesla private — some people said the podcast guest-spot was a bad idea.

"As smart as Elon Musk is, he is a terrible speaker," noted one commenter on a video announcing the Musk appearance.

Others hoped Musk would set the record straight about some of his wilder claims this summer — are short shorts really coming to Tesla? — but the vast majority were eager to watch what promises to be a spectacle.

"That will be the most watched podcast of the new millennium," one commenter said.

Rogan began his eponymous video and audio show in 2009. The show has won multiple awards, and by October 2015, had been downloaded more than 16 million times a month, making it one of the most-downloaded podcasts on iTunes.

You can tune-in to the episode here.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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