In a conversation with Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk said that traditional money could lose its value because of the development of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and space exploration.
Why money may stop serving its current role
Musk believes that a large-scale technological advance will make it possible to produce so many goods and services that traditional currencies will gradually cease to serve their role. Instead of currencies, the economy could operate on physical measures — energy, power and mass.
He suggested that value could be measured “by fundamental physical metrics”, in particular power in watts and mass in tonnes. “I think currency will be measured by the fundamental metrics of physics,” Musk said.
What role people might have in an automated world
According to Musk, the spread of AI and robots could lead to a situation where people no longer need to work, because machines will perform an increasing share of tasks. He noted that humanity will be able to adapt and find fulfilment in other activities.
As an example, Musk pointed to pensioners: “I think people will find ways to be happy. For example, many pensioners are perfectly content with life even though they no longer work. But I think, ultimately, there will be nothing that people can do better than artificial intelligence and robots,” Musk said.
AI, robots and the US national debt
Musk said robotics and AI could be “the only way” to solve the problem of the US national debt after 130 days serving as a special government employee in Donald Trump’s administration in 2025. “I came to the conclusion that the only way to solve the national debt problem is AI and robots,” Musk told Isaacson.
He rejected cutting government spending as a realistic path because of political resistance and said that to reduce the debt the government would have to capture some of the additional economic output through taxes or other means. Musk also expects his own wealth to shrink over time because of taxation.
Musk’s views on wealth
The entrepreneur said that increasing wealth does not necessarily lead to a proportionate rise in happiness: “If your wealth increases from one billion to ten billion dollars, it will not make you ten times happier. And you will not have ten times more things,” Musk said.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index at the close of trading on Monday, Musk’s fortune stood at approximately $921 billion. The bulk of his wealth is tied to his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, which he keeps to retain control of the companies.
