In the future, Elon Musk sees humans as metaphorical vegetable farmers.
Tesla’s CEO said at the recent US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington that jobs will become optional in the next 10 to 20 years, likening the decision to have a job to maintaining a vegetable garden, which is more labor intensive.
“My prediction is that work will be voluntary. It will be something like playing sports or playing video games,” Musk said. “If you want to work, [it’s] Similarly, you can go to the store and buy vegetables, or you can grow them in your backyard. Although it is much more difficult to grow vegetables in the backyard, some people like to grow vegetables and still do so. ”
Musk says the future of optional work could bring about a wave of productivity improvements as millions of robots are introduced to the workforce. The tech mogul, worth about $681 billion, has recently focused on expanding Tesla beyond just electric cars, working to integrate its vast business interests into a broader vision of an AI-fueled, robot-powered future. This includes his goal of deriving 80% of Tesla’s value from the Optimus robot, even as production of the humanoid robot continues to be delayed.
Musk says these advances in automation have other benefits as well. In the episode, Moonshot with Peter Diamandis In a podcast earlier this month, Tesla’s CEO predicted that his company’s automated machines will outnumber human surgeons within a decade. These medical advances will exceed the quality of service the president receives, he said.
In the future Musk envisions, humans will need such exceptional medical care for longer periods of time. He told Diamandis that overcoming the problem of limited lifespans is a matter of programming, and that AI will put immortality within human reach.
“Humans are pre-programmed to die, so if we change that program, we can live longer,” Musk said.
Dealing with the growing pains of an automated future
For many others, the concept of an automated future is less bright, especially amid concerns and early evidence that AI will replace entry-level jobs, and that AI may be contributing to Gen Z’s job market woes and flat income growth, making it more of a nightmare than a utopian dream.
But in a future where Mr. Musk does automated, self-directed work, money won’t be an issue, he said. Musk takes a page from Iain M. Banks’ Science Fiction novel series, in which the self-proclaimed socialist author conjures up a post-scarcity world filled with superintelligent AI creatures and no traditional jobs.
“In those books, money doesn’t exist. It’s kind of interesting,” Musk said. “And my guess is that if we’re out long enough, and assuming advances in AI and robotics continue, which seems likely, the money will become irrelevant.”
At Viva Technology 2024, Musk suggested that a “universal high income” could sustain the world without needing work, but he did not go into detail about how this system would work. His reasoning echoes that of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who advocates for universal basic income, or regular payments given unconditionally to individuals, usually by governments.
“There will be no shortage of goods or services,” Musk said at a conference last year.
Tesla did not respond immediately. luckThis is a comment request from .
Is Mr. Musk’s optional work concept possible?
Economists say creating the world Mr. Musk envisions will be difficult. First of all, there is the question of whether technology that automates jobs will become available and affordable in the coming decades. Ioana Marinescu, an economist and associate professor of public policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said that while the cost of AI is decreasing, robotics remains expensive and difficult to scale. Last year, he published a research paper at the Brookings Institution with colleague Conrad Cording. (For example, AI expense management platform Ramp noted that in April 2025, companies are now paying $2.50 per million tokens, the basic unit to power AI, compared to $10 a year ago.)
“We’ve been building machines at scale since the Industrial Revolution,” Marinescu said. luck. “We know from economics that in this kind of activity you often end up with diminishing returns, because in this case it becomes difficult to advance on a set of technologies that we have been working on for centuries.”
AI is advancing rapidly, she said. While large-scale language models can be applied to countless white-collar careers, the physical machines required for automated labor are not only more expensive, but also highly specialized, contributing to slow adoption in the workplace.
Marinescu agrees with Musk’s vision of full-scale automation as the future of work, but has doubts about Musk’s timeline. That’s not only because of the limitations of robotics, but also because the adoption of AI in the workplace is still not as rapid as expected, despite recent tech-related job cuts. According to an October 2025 Yale Budget Institute report, “the broader labor market has not experienced any measurable disruption” due to AI automation since ChatGPT was launched in November 2022.
Then there’s the question of what these sweeping changes in the workforce will mean for the millions, or perhaps billions, of people who have lost their jobs. Samuel Solomon, assistant professor of labor economics at Temple University, said that even if the need for universal basic income is established, finding the political will to make it a reality is another matter. he said. luck The political structures that support a transformed workforce will be just as important as the technological structures.
“AI is already creating a lot of wealth and will continue to do so,” Solomon said. “But I think one of the key questions is: Will this be inclusive, will it create inclusive prosperity, will it create inclusive growth, will everyone benefit?”
The current system seemed to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots in this AI industrial revolution that began with Musk’s $1 trillion pay package. The expanding AI bubble also highlights class disparities, with earnings estimates for the Magnificent Seven being revised upwards as a result of the AI boom, while forecasts for the rest of the S&P 493 are being revised downwards, said Thorsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management. That suggests it as of today.
“The most important driver of growth has been the spending of wealthy Americans, driven by skyrocketing stock portfolios,” Throck said in a blog post.
Changes in existence due to AI
It is one thing to work out the complexities of the work-at-home world. Whether that’s what humans really want is another story.
“When the economic value of labor declines, when labor becomes less useful, we will need to rethink how our society is structured,” said Anton Korinek, professor and faculty director of the Economics Transformation AI Initiative at the University of Virginia. luck.
Korinek cited research such as a landmark 1938 Harvard University study that found that humans derive satisfaction from meaningful relationships. Now, he says, most of those relationships come from work. In the future Musk envisions, the next generation will need to shift the paradigm of building meaningful relationships.
Musk offered his own take on humanity’s existential future at Viva Technology in 2024.
“The question really becomes a question of meaning: If a computer or a robot can do anything more than you can, does your life have any meaning?” he said. “I think there is probably still a role for humans in giving meaning to AI.”
A version of this article was published on Fortune.com on November 20, 2025.
Learn more about Elon Musk’s vision for the future:
- elon musk stock 4 bold predictions For the future of work: Robotic surgeons, immortality and no need to save for retirement in 3 years
- Bad luck for those making six-figure incomes: Elon Musk warns Money “disappears”A future where AI will make work (and pay) irrelevant
- Elon Musk says Savings for retirement don’t matter Because AI will create a richer world: “It doesn’t matter”
