Earlier this week, Elon Musk again proposed a universal basic high income, saying it could be the “best way” to deal with job losses due to artificial intelligence (AI). Musk’s post sparked debate and left many economists “perplexed.” While discussing the Tesla CEO’s proposal, a user named Not the Bee @Not_the_Bee shared an X post questioning universal high pay for AI-induced unemployment. The post caught the attention of Elon Musk, who responded by claiming that AI and robotics will increase the production of goods and services by orders of magnitude, creating a post-scarcity state where things like penthouses will become widely available without inflation.“Let’s say affluence is high. That’s fine. But money doesn’t just buy necessities. It buys luxuries. And even if everyone has a billion dollars, no one really has any money. If money has no meaning, then who does? “What determines who gets a house suite? I think poverty and hunger will end, but how do we address the very real need in everyday life for everything that cannot be mass-produced by robots?” a user wondered. Mr. Musk responded:“In fact, AI/robotics will allow everyone to have a penthouse if they wish. The output of goods and services will be orders of magnitude higher than in today’s economy.To best imagine what that might look like, read Ian Banks’ book on culture.That being said, what is the future you want? Amazing abundance seems the best to me. ”
When Elon Musk predicted A future without poverty
Notably, this is not the first time Elon Musk has spoken about predicting a future with universal high income and no poverty. In December 2025, Musk predicted that “poverty will disappear in the future.” Instead, there will be universal high incomes, he said, adding that people will no longer need to save money. Musk later responded to a post by investor Ray Dalio about the Trump account idea. Dalio praised the effort, calling it a bipartisan effort aimed at helping young Americans become financially literate and invest early. He also thanked Michael and Susan Dell for their support of the program, saying the effort was consistent with the ideas he shared six years ago in Why and How Capitalism Needs to be Reformed.In response to Dalio’s message, Musk said, “This is certainly a great move by the Dells, but in the future there will be no need to save money because there will be no poverty. There will be universal high income.”
