# Musk Says AI and Robots Could Make Conventional Money Less Important

By Sonny Jang

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/people/36905
Published: 2026-10-21T18:08:04.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-21T18:08:04.000Z
Section: People

> He estimated digital superintelligence could add roughly $30 trillion in annual output, while describing that figure as a rough guess.

Tesla, SpaceX and xAI founder Elon Musk said AI and robots could diminish conventional money’s role as automated production expands, shifting attention toward the physical inputs behind economic value.

In an interview released Tuesday, Oct. 20, Musk said some form of currency could remain but be measured in fundamental physical terms. He pointed to power measured in watts, mass measured in tons and energy as possible measures.

His premise is that AI and robots could produce goods and services at very low cost. In that setting, he said, conventional money would become less important even if a means of accounting still existed.

Musk estimated that digital superintelligence could increase global production of goods and services by 20% to 30%, roughly $30 trillion a year. He described the figure as a rough guess. He argued that digital systems alone face physical limits, while robots able to handle objects could take part in manufacturing, research and infrastructure work.

He extended the idea to production beyond Earth, including a possible electromagnetic launcher on the moon. With AI, robots and space industry combined, he speculated that economic activity could eventually reach as much as 1 million times the size of Earth’s current economy.

Musk also separated his own wealth from personal consumption. He said it consists largely of stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, and that he needs enough shares and voting rights to direct the companies. Beyond a certain point, he said, more money does little to expand what one person can consume; a large fortune instead affects who directs resources.

He connected that desire for control to long-term work in AI, robotics, sustainable energy and making humanity multiplanetary. He also said much of his wealth could eventually go to a foundation supporting those goals.

The prospect of machines doing nearly any job leaves a question about human purpose, Musk said. He compared future choices to gardening, cooking and making art: people may still pursue those activities for enjoyment even when machines can do the work. He said he is still considering how people might find meaning in that world.