Overview
- Speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., Elon Musk said advances in AI and robotics could make work voluntary within 10 to 20 years and eventually render currency less central to daily life.
- He promoted Tesla’s Optimus program and said humanoid robots from multiple companies could become the largest industry and take over most physical and cognitive labor.
- Musk shared an AI-generated video on X showing robots in household, emergency and construction roles, drawing online concern about potential job displacement; panelist Jensen Huang forecast sweeping changes to how people work and learn rather than no work at all.
- Economists cited high robotics costs, slow workplace adoption and limited labor-market disruption to date as reasons to doubt the timeline, while raising unresolved questions about redistribution and political feasibility for income supports.
- Musk said the optimistic outcome depends on AI systems valuing “truth and beauty,” as scrutiny of his AI ventures persists, including a French probe referencing posts from xAI’s Grok.