Elon Musk became the world’s first millionaire with the successful IPO of SpaceX, but the world’s richest man wants you to know that money eventually becomes completely useless. In a recent interview with Peter Diamandis, entrepreneur and executive chairman of the XPrize Foundation (via Fortune), Musk offered a “moonshot” vision of a future where human labor is optional and currency no longer exists.
Musk bets on robots
According to a video clip of the conversation shared on X (formerly Twitter), Musk believes artificial intelligence (AI) robots will change the global economy. “AI and robots will create so many things and provide so many services that humans won’t be able to do it,” Musk said.In Musk’s view, this automated affluence will lead to massive economic changes, with the amount of goods and services produced by robots far exceeding the actual money supply, and retail prices plummeting toward zero.He also said that production costs will virtually disappear as robotic labor becomes cheap and continuous. Without the need to pay human workers to create supply, the traditional need for money collapses.“I think at some point in the future money will not matter,” Musk said bluntly.Diamandis was quick to point out the contradiction between Musk’s words and his own wealth.“So the moment you become a multi-trillionaire, the value of your money starts to diminish?” Diamandis asked. Musk replied: “Well, almost.”
“Universal high income”
To balance a world in which humans no longer earn traditional wages, Musk has previously advocated for a “universal high income” system that would ensure people have access to this automated abundance.
