NEW DELHI: Elon Musk says saving money is ‘pointless’ as AI could make money irrelevant in future
SpaceX CEO billionaire believes artificial intelligence and robots could eventually make saving money for the distant future unnecessary, as automated production drives down the cost of goods and services. He has repeatedly predicted a world of abundance, while proposing government-backed universal high income to address AI-driven unemployment.
What if your questionable shopping habits were not really questionable because money might not matter in a few years? Elon Musk appears to have found an interesting argument for that line of thinking, and it involves artificial intelligence making almost everything cheaper.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has reignited his prediction of a future in which traditional ideas about wealth, savings and employment could lose their significance. Responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk suggested that putting money aside for the distant future may not make much sense in an economy transformed by super-intelligent AI.
His comment came after an X user, @battleangelviv, joked about using the promise of future prosperity to defend questionable spending decisions. The user suggested that while people should not become completely reckless with their finances, many purchases might seem less consequential if the world is heading towards unprecedented abundance.
It was a short post, but the idea behind it is considerably bigger. Musk has repeatedly argued that advances in AI and robotics could fundamentally change how economies function, potentially reducing the importance of money itself. However, this remains a prediction about a hypothetical future, rather than an indication that conventional financial planning is about to become obsolete.
Elon Musk thinks AI robots could make money irrelevant
Musk has previously explained his economic vision in a conversation with entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, executive chairman of the XPrize Foundation, earlier this year.
Musk’s argument is that if machines can manufacture products and deliver services at extremely low costs, the traditional relationship between employment, income and consumption could change beyond recognition.
“I think money will stop being relevant at some point in the future,” he said during the discussion.
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Diamandis highlighted an amusing contradiction in the billionaire’s prediction. Musk, whose wealth is closely tied to the companies he has built, could potentially become even richer just as money begins losing its importance.
When Diamandis pointed out this irony, Musk agreed with his assessment, responding, “Yeah, pretty much.”
There is, of course, a considerable gap between producing more goods through automation and creating an economy where money is no longer needed. Resources, energy, land and access to technology would still have to be accounted for. Musk’s prediction also leaves open questions about who would own the machines and how the benefits of automated production would be distributed.
Musk wants universal high income to tackle AI-driven unemployment
While Musk imagines a future where employment becomes optional, he has also acknowledged that the transition could create serious economic challenges.
One of his proposed solutions is what he calls ‘Universal high income’. The idea involves governments distributing money directly to citizens through federal payments, allowing people to maintain access to goods and services even if AI and robotics eliminate large numbers of jobs.
Musk advocated this approach in April, arguing that rising productivity from automation could make widespread government payments possible without necessarily triggering inflation.
“Universal high income via cheques issued by the Federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI,” he wrote on X.
He also suggested that the volume of goods and services generated by AI-powered systems could grow faster than the money supply, preventing the additional payments from pushing prices upwards.
The proposal is an extension of Musk’s broader argument that technological progress could eventually make traditional employment and income structures less relevant. However, it does not explain how governments would fund such payments, determine their value or ensure that the benefits reach everyone.
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