Elon Musk is betting that artificial intelligence and robots will make work optional and render money irrelevant by 2036, while financial experts warn against the risks of abandoning savings.
Elon Musk’s tweet on the futility of saving for the distant future
The Economist interview and the treasury-backed universal high income proposal
Repeating the message on podcasts and comparing work to gardening
Financial experts’ objections, Bill Gates’ warnings, and Forum reports
Frequently asked questions
Elon Musk’s tweet on the futility of saving for the distant future
Billionaire Elon Musk said on Thursday, October 29, 2026, that saving money for the future is pointless, as he bets that artificial intelligence and humanoid robots will produce massive quantities of goods and services to the point where work becomes a personal choice and money becomes less important.
The head of Tesla and SpaceX wrote on the X platform in response to a user joking about not worrying about “questionable financial decisions,” according to Business Insider: “Saving money for the distant future is pointless with the advent of the hyper-intelligent abundance era.”
This post follows up on a broader prediction Musk put forward earlier this year. In a July 2026 interview with The Economist, he said money will not matter by 2036 because artificial intelligence and robots will produce more than people can consume, according to India Today.
The Economist interview and the treasury-backed universal high income proposal
Musk spoke with The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes at the Tesla Gigafactory in Texas on July 23, predicting that artificial intelligence will surpass total human intelligence in about five years, with AI handling intellectual tasks and humanoid robots performing physical labor, according to Tech Times. He compared future work to gardening, which people practice for psychological satisfaction rather than survival.
Musk described the most likely outcome as an “age of incredible abundance,” while acknowledging that events like a world war could disrupt it. When Beddoes asked how displaced workers would manage, Musk suggested a “universal high income,” saying, “I think the Treasury should simply issue checks to people,” arguing that the surge in production would curb inflation, though he provided no figures, eligibility conditions, or timeline.
Repeating the message on podcasts and comparing work to gardening
Musk has promoted this idea throughout most of the year. In an episode released in January of the “Moonshots” podcast with Peter Diamandis, he said according to Fortune: “Don’t worry about hoarding money for retirement 10 or 20 years from now, it won’t matter.” In an earlier post, he wrote that “AI and robots will replace all jobs, and work will be optional like growing your own vegetables,” according to ABP Live.
Financial experts’ objections, Bill Gates’ warnings, and Forum reports
Business Insider spoke with seven personal finance and AI experts, who agreed that individuals must continue saving for retirement in case Musk’s predictions turn out to be wrong. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also predicted “real abundance,” but warned that the next two decades could be “as turbulent a period as any in human history.”
Labor research points to a more complex picture. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 projected the displacement of 92 million jobs by 2030 against the creation of 170 million new jobs, while raising a question left open by Musk’s vision: a person who loses their job in 2028 cannot pay their bills with the promise of an income system that might appear by 2036.
In light of the comprehensive comparison between Elon Musk’s statements in The Economist interview, Peter Diamandis’s podcast, and his posts on the X platform on one hand, and the warnings of the seven financial experts surveyed by Business Insider and the World Economic Forum’s estimates on the other, it is confirmed that the time gap between expected labor market disruptions by 2030 and promises of abundance and universal high income in 2036 makes financial planning and retirement savings an indispensable practical necessity for individuals and families.
As part of the comprehensive editorial review for the Friday, October 30, 2026, newsletter on the “Elon Musk Statements on Savings” file, journalistic verification based on primary sources and documented news reports confirms the necessity of methodically distinguishing between officially announced financial and technical figures and future expectations or preliminary tests under review, ensuring Arab readers receive integrated and accurate professional coverage spanning all aspects of the event and its direct and indirect repercussions on the global artificial intelligence sector and the future of competition among major tech companies.
Frequently asked questions
Question: Why does Elon Musk consider saving money for the distant future pointless?
Answer: Because he expects artificial intelligence and humanoid robots to produce a massive abundance of goods and services that exceed human consumption by 2036, reducing the need for money.
Question: What solution did Musk propose to support workers who lose their jobs due to automation?
Answer: He proposed implementing a universal high income system through which the Treasury Department issues direct financial checks to individuals, considering that production abundance will prevent inflation.
Question: How did personal finance experts and Bill Gates advise responding to these expectations?
Answer: Seven financial experts agreed on the necessity of continuing to save for retirement, while Bill Gates warned that the next two decades might witness unprecedented turbulence before abundance is realized.
Question: What are the World Economic Forum’s expectations regarding jobs by 2030?
Answer: The Future of Jobs Report projected the displacement of about 92 million jobs by 2030 against the creation of about 170 million new jobs.
