Elon Musk says money could become less relevant if advances in robotics and space travel lead to a multi-planet economy, where value might be measured in material resources, electricity or energy instead. The idea could reshape how people think about wealth, savings and work, though Musk offered no timeline or plan for how such an economy would function.
Musk made the comments on The Builders podcast, in an interview with his biographer Walter Isaacson. Recorded in early August, the episode was released on Tuesday. He also said that, assuming money retains its current meaning, only a small fraction of his wealth may remain after several generations.
Musk sees AI and robots changing work and wealth
Musk has previously suggested that people may not need to save for retirement in the same way over the next 10 to 20 years. He expects artificial intelligence and other technologies to raise productivity substantially, creating a period of abundance in which people can obtain most of the goods they need.
In the podcast, he said there would eventually be “nothing that humans can do that AI and robots can’t do better.” People might instead spend time growing fruit and vegetables or making art, finding purpose outside paid work and the social status associated with it.
The scenario goes beyond automation replacing jobs: it also raises questions about the role of income, savings and inherited assets if automated systems provide most productive capacity. Musk did not outline a specific timetable or economic framework for such a shift.
Tesla and SpaceX stakes underpin Musk’s wealth
Musk said his fortune largely reflects his holdings in Tesla and SpaceX. He needs to retain substantial stakes, he argued, to preserve voting power and control of the two companies.
After SpaceX went public in June, Musk briefly became a trillionaire. As of Monday’s close, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at $920 billion, putting him at the top of the ranking. The estimate fluctuates with the value of his stakes in public and private companies and does not represent cash he can readily spend.
Musk also said his wealth would face a high tax burden and that there was no “magic” way to avoid taxes. He expects taxes, spending and philanthropy to reduce the fortune over time, leaving descendants with only a small portion after several generations.
Musk links foundation goals to space and energy
Musk said he wants his foundation to pursue the expansion of life beyond Earth, the extension of consciousness into space and improvements in sustainable energy on Earth. Those aims overlap with projects at SpaceX and Tesla, but publicly available information does not spell out the foundation’s full funding plans.
On Monday, he also announced plans to give one SpaceX share to every child in the United States next year. At current valuations, the proposed gifts would be worth more than $10 billion. The eligibility criteria, delivery method and arrangements for holding the shares have not yet been detailed.
Acemoglu challenged Musk to follow through on giving
At the end of July, Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu publicly questioned Musk’s view that money would lose importance in the future. Acemoglu argued that if Musk believed money would no longer matter by 2036, he should donate his then-estimated $1 trillion fortune to charity by that year.
Musk later said he would do something along those lines. The proposed SpaceX share gifts to children are among the concrete philanthropic steps he has discussed publicly in recent years, although the scale, timing and eventual recipients remain subject to further details.