ELON MUSK PREDICTS A FUTURE WHERE WORK BECOMES OPTIONAL

Elon Musk believes that artificial intelligence and robotics will fundamentally reshape human society within the next two decades, to the point where having a job will no longer be an economic necessity.

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Speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, Musk said that in 10 to 20 years, most people will not need to work to survive, as intelligent machines take over the vast majority of productive labor.

Musk framed the idea not as mass unemployment, but as a radical shift in how work is defined.

In his view, employment will resemble a personal choice rather than an obligation, comparable to maintaining a vegetable garden or playing a sport. People may still choose to work, he said, but primarily for personal satisfaction rather than income.

HOW AI AND ROBOTICS CHANGE THE ECONOMIC EQUATION

Musk's argument rests on the accelerating capabilities of AI systems and autonomous machines. As AI models become better at reasoning, planning, and learning from human behavior, and as robots gain physical dexterity, the cost of producing goods and services could fall dramatically.

According to Musk, this combination leads to what he has previously described as “extreme abundance,” where basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, and energy can be provided at minimal marginal cost. In such a system, money becomes less relevant because scarcity, which underpins traditional economics, largely disappears.

This vision aligns with Musk’s longstanding belief that AI will surpass human intelligence across most domains. He has repeatedly warned that once machines outperform humans in both cognitive and physical tasks, the labor market as it exists today will no longer function.