Elon Musk says cutting government spending alone cannot resolve the United States' rising national debt. In his view, artificial intelligence and robotics could raise productivity, expand economic output and potentially ease the pressure on public finances. Musk made the comments in the latest episode of The Builders, a podcast hosted by author Walter Isaacson, while reflecting on his time at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. US national debt reached a record $40 trillion in August and has continued to rise.
Musk Says Spending Cuts Cannot Reverse the Debt Trend
Musk served as a special government employee during Donald Trump's second administration and effectively led the White House DOGE office from January through May 2025, a period of about 130 days. DOGE was tasked with seeking reductions in federal spending.
Musk said that experience led him to conclude that artificial intelligence and robotics, rather than attempts to solve the problem through savings, represented the only route to addressing the national debt. In his assessment, relying solely on spending cuts would be unlikely to produce a meaningful solution.
He said Washington lacks the political will to make deep spending reductions and substantially lower the deficit. Musk argued that the government might be able to act if the president made deficit reduction the top priority, but that efforts to eliminate wasteful spending would face opposition. He said that limited willingness extends beyond the presidency to the House of Representatives, the Senate and the judicial system, while noting that there are a small number of exceptions.
AI Output Estimate Set Against $40 Trillion Debt
Musk estimated that what he called “digital superintelligence” could increase global production of goods and services by 20% to 30%, adding about $30 trillion in annual output to the world economy. That figure is his estimate of AI's productivity potential, not a measure of economic growth that has already occurred.
His argument is that if technology and automation expand the overall size of the economy, the resource base available to governments and the wider economic system could also change. Musk did not, however, set out a specific mechanism showing how that additional output would translate into US tax revenue or reduce the national debt.
Data from the US Treasury show that national debt reached a record $40 trillion in August and continued to increase afterward. Musk's comments therefore contrast a long-term scenario based on technology-driven output growth with the current policy approach of using fiscal adjustments to control deficits. The interview did not include a debt forecast or quantify how widespread AI adoption could affect the federal budget.
Musk Links Robotics to a Long-Term Lunar Economy
Musk also included robotics, space development and “mass drivers” on the Moon in his longer-term vision. He said these technologies could eventually expand the economy to as much as one million times the size of the Earth's economy. From that premise, he suggested that traditional money could become less important in the future.
He did not say that money would disappear entirely. Instead, he envisioned a system in which economic activity might increasingly be measured through physical units such as watts, tons, mass and energy.
These comments represent Musk's personal views on the long-term development of technology and the economy. The interview provided no timetable for realizing the technologies or detailed economic calculations. By contrast, the $40 trillion national debt figure reflects a fiscal burden that is already accumulating.
Musk Says He Should Have Returned to AI Sooner
Musk also reflected on how he approached his work at DOGE. He said he had “gone a little too far” and should have remained more behind the scenes. In his view, DOGE's work might have lasted only one or two months because he had already reviewed most of what could reasonably be learned at the time.
He added that he could have left government work earlier and redirected his attention to artificial intelligence. The interview thus paired his assessment of DOGE's limits with a broader argument that future productivity gains, rather than spending cuts alone, could alter the fiscal equation.