Tech billionaire Elon Musk told attendees at a U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum that artificial intelligence and robotics will make currency "irrelevant," reported Business Insider.
Speaking Monday alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Musk described a future where paid work becomes a choice instead of a requirement. He drew a parallel to backyard vegetable gardens: people put in extra effort to grow food at home even though stores sell it more easily, simply because they find it satisfying.
Musk told those at the forum that employment would turn into something resembling hobbies or recreation, suggesting Musk agrees with Pete Buttigieg's public nonpartisan comments about instituting an AI "dividend" for citizens to receive some societal benefit from the work replaced by AI, as a result of AI being built in large part through government investments and infrastructure.
The Tesla CEO tied his vision to the Optimus robot his company is building. During a November shareholder meeting, he argued this technology is the sole route to eliminating poverty and delivering medical care to all people.
Should AI and robotics remove the need for paid employment, Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan in October that governments must give citizens what he describes as "universal high income" instead of merely basic income. This setup would let people purchase whatever they desire.
In the meantime, Musk's car company faces current-day business challenges. Tesla's China deliveries fell 36% last October compared to the same month in 2024. Sales have fallen in multiple European countries as well during 2025.
Musk pointed to novelist Iain Banks and his Culture book series as a model for understanding beneficial AI futures. Banks depicted worlds where sophisticated machines eliminated resource scarcity and made money unnecessary.
How widespread robotics and AI might affect the planet is presently unclear. Building robots needs raw materials and power, and the server farms running AI technology draw substantial electricity.
"We'll have, in a benign scenario, universal high income," Musk said during an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast. "Anyone can have any products or services that they want. But there will be a lot of trauma and disruption along the way."
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